A walk in the woods

Blackhawk chapter of WWOA and Walnut Council Field Day

 

(I would like to thank Carol Nielsen for many of the photos included in this article. Click on any image to open a larger view.) 

 

It was a brisk Saturday morning in October 2014. The Walnut Council; Wisconsin Chapter and  the WWOA (Wisconsin Woodland Owner's Association); Blackhawk chapter held a joint field day near Waterloo Wisconsin on the farm of, and hosted by, the Weiland family.

This is the first time I've attended one of these field days. All the stars were aligned, you might say.  I wish I could've seen this 20 years ago when we first started planting trees on a large scale [more information on my re-forestation experience]. I had a great time and came away with a ton of new ideas and techniques (and reinforcement of some 'old').

The day started with some warm coffee and a lot of people meeting and greeting each other. Since I was new and didn't really know anyone else (and I am very shy) I was happy to watch and take it all in.





Finally we all sat down for a brief business meeting which was mainly about the two groups welcoming members of both groups and saying how we should do this more often (at least that's what I heard - my hearing isn't the best and I was sitting towards the rear - yes that was dumb).

Introductions

Bob Weiland

Luckily for me, our host had a strong voice so I could understand him as he gave us some background of his plantation and introduced the program for the rest of the day:

• Pruning demonstration
• Portable saw-mill demonstration - cutting fenceposts from Locust logs. 
• Goats as a management tool to control invasive species.
• Lunch:  a goat soup was provided as a demonstration - to supplement our sack lunches (it was good).
• Tour mixed hardwood/softwood stand planted in 1998-99
• Tour mixed hardwood/softwood stand planted in 2006

Pruning demonstration 

Notice the vine-covered 'bush'
in the foreground.

This tree farm is about the same vintage as mine so many of the issues discussed were very relevant to me.  The first item on the agenda involved pruning walnut trees. I just completed the second round of pruning in 5 acres of walnuts that were the first trees that we planted in the early 90's. Most of these are now pruned as high as I can reach with a chainsaw; from the ground.  It is recommended that you prune walnuts up to 16 feet - for two sawlogs.  I have been wondering how I will do the next pruning.

Here is how they solved this problem. A Brownie self-propelled, single person, man-lift.

When compared to the alternatives for pruning high branches, this unit provides:

• ease of use (compared to pole saws which are hard on the body)
• far more accurate cuts because the cut is right in front of you even 16 feet above the ground.
• single user; the lift is completely controlled by the person in the 'bucket' and it is compact enough to easily maneuver between tree rows - as long as the hills are not too steep or snow too deep.

This device was the hit of the morning for most of those gathered. Bob explained how he had found this unit used, on ebay and had it shipped up from Illinois.  If not for this fortunate find, the price would have been prohibitive for a single grower to absorb. Perhaps a group like the Walnut Council could purchase one for it's members.  But how would you manage such a thing? Nobody knew.

Sawmill

The Locust logs were cut from a mature woodlot area on the farm. Black Locust makes great fence posts because it is strong and very  resistant to decay. It is said that if you want to know when you will need to replace a Black Locust fence post, just set a rock on top each post. When the rock has weathered away, it's time to replace the post.

I've seen many sawmills in operation and this was a nice unit and fun to watch. It wasn't he highlight of the day for me.

Goats 

Cucumber vine takes over

One of the areas on the farm has defied forestation attempts. Plantings have failed due to overgrowth by invasive species. The cucumber vine has been a real problem in one low area (see also picture of 'Brownie lift' above).  Attempts to control this vine have included the use of herbicides, mowing (a special sprayer/mower was built just for vine control), etc. So far the vines have proven to be too durable.

Hungry goats to the rescue

They have discovered that goats love cucumber vine. So they plan to fence in the area where the vines are a problem and let the goats do their thing.

The goats also provide alternate sources of income for this working farm: milk, cheese and meat.  During lunch break our hosts offered us some goat soup as a demonstration of that particular market. It was good soup.  Why is it little hard to think of eating goat?

Tree farm tours

After lunch we all loaded into a wagon and two ATV Gators (and some walked) for a tour of the 200 plus acres of woodlots. This was really the highlight of the day. I'd forgotten how beautiful the foliage was until I saw these pictures.

This picture gives a hint of what was to come. There are alternate rows of conifer and hardwood. The Black Walnut are yellow (what leaves are left) and the Red Oak are red(ish).

This plantation is a beautiful example of the planting technique which has been recommended (required) for CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) re-forestation. Alternate hardwood (deciduous) and softwood (conifer) every other row. The conifers act as trainers for the hardwood so they will grow straight and self-prune. Here you see Pine/Walnut/Pine/Red Oak alternation. This was repeated - more or less for this entire 185 acre planting (1998-99).

You can imagine how many jaws were dropping among those in attendance.

Note: if you zoom in on the white stake behind Bob, you can one of his innovations. His various wood plots are color coded and he numbers each row with a white stake on every 10 rows. Therefore we can see that this is Walnut row is the 90th row in the red woodlot.

One of the amazing things, for me, on this tour was the level of expertize and breadth of experience represented in this group of people.  Every stop inspired a lively discussion of techniques and fundamental principles for silviculture in general, and management for high value lumber production in particular. We had the local county DNR Forester well as other representatives from the DNR. We had forest consultants and, I believe, representatives of the lumber industry in attendance. They all chipped in with good advice for when and how to prune. When and how to thin a stand. Chemical recommendations for release of seedlings and control of competition (mainly grass).  I can't remember everything they said but some information dove-tailed with my experiences so hopefully I can remember it long enough to apply it on my own tree farm.

Stand thinning.

Let me see if I remember some of the things that were discussed:

These rows were obviously carefully planted and well spaced with a good (great) survival rate. They have been pruned. The question was how much more pruning was needed and when thinning should start.

The consensus was that the Red Oak are doing just fine and can take care of themselves and will self-prune.

The Walnut could start to be thinned in places. Look up when making this decision. Which tree is dominant in the canopy? Is this dominant tree straight and clean for16 feet - or is the less dominate tree of better form? (perhaps consider taking out the dominant to release the better formed tree.) These decisions should to be made early in the process, of course.

Much emphasis was made on top-down pruning techniques. Don't worry about lateral branches if they are not close-crotch. Pay primary attention to the leader. Make sure there is only one leader. The lateral branches will take care of themselves  (in a stand like this, at least). Walnut are particularly good at developing multiple tops due to death of the terminal bud (from deer, insect, disease, and cold).

About pruning and thinning.

Wow!

Some of these Pine 'trainer' rows could be "row thinned" in places. Some newer recommendations for CRP plantations call for two rows of hardwoods for every row of conifer (I hope I got that right - since my farm is already planted it's a moot point for me). No one seemed too concerned about pruning up the conifers.

Here's a web site that I googled which explains some of these thinning techniques [Web site from University of Georgia]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pruning and release 

People hauler

Most of us choose to ride form one field to the next for this part of the tour. As you can see, the sky cleared in the afternoon and it turned into a beautiful fall day. They borrowed a wagon that was set up as a people hauler to carry us along with two ATV Gators.

2006 Planting

2006 Planting

I well remember this stage on my plantation. I believe our host said this field had failed the first attempt and had to be replanted. (I have fields that I've planted three times.) This is a beautiful sight to a tree farmer when you can finally 'see the forest for the weeds'.

Straight Walnuts

We learned the importance of this stage of growth for Walnuts. This is the time to make sure you have a straight trunk and single leader. If deer (and other things) have killed the leader bud and made for a crooked trunk, the whole top should be cut off down to the top of where the trunk is straight (even if this means cutting off all the branches). The tree will send out a new leader which will train itself straight up and this will grow out into a straight trunk.

I will admit that I've heard of this technique (I can't remember the term given) but it still blows me away. I will try it on some young walnuts on my farm that the deer have really bothered (I'd just caged some of these last fall and this will be a good test.)

At this stage it is also very important to control the grass (sod) in order to release the young trees. There are grass herbicides that can be used individually or in combination. Oust was recommended for pre emergent application to control grasses. Some folks used this in combination with Simazine but this combination is apparently not allowed under some management programs. Consult with local county agent about recommendations.  And most important; carefully read and follow the label instructions.

I have tried to remember all the good information that was shared during this field day but I'm afraid much of it has left me (I wish I had better notes). I hope you will share comments on areas that you remember - if you were there. And any additional tips and techniques you feel like sharing would be greatly appreciated (whether you were there or not).

I was impressed by the high level of expertize and experience that was assembled here from both the private sector and public sector.

After this experience I immediately renewed my membership in the Walnut Council (both national and Wisconsin). I am a life member of the WWOA but I had let my WC membership lapse a few years ago. These organizations are great resources and the do great work and are worthy of support.

Web sites: 

Wisconsin Woodland Owners Association 
Walnut Council
My web site (Treenut.net)