Little River
- Thread starter David
- Start date
David
Active Member
seeing everyone's spring threads moved me to share some of the non-habitat work taking place.
My hardest choice of the day is picking which hat to wear....
Two weeks ago we went to the farm for my birthday, my wife enjoyed the swing
My oldest two discussing the lizards, caterpillars, butterflys and inch worms they collected
marshmallow shooter battle
i did find 30 minutes to spread 10 lbs of partridge pea into my disked strips....i haven't found any naturally occurring on the farm yet.
the big girls wanted to sleep outside while the younger two wanted to sleep inside....daddy slept on the couch so i could keep an eye on both.
My hardest choice of the day is picking which hat to wear....
Two weeks ago we went to the farm for my birthday, my wife enjoyed the swing
My oldest two discussing the lizards, caterpillars, butterflys and inch worms they collected
marshmallow shooter battle
i did find 30 minutes to spread 10 lbs of partridge pea into my disked strips....i haven't found any naturally occurring on the farm yet.
the big girls wanted to sleep outside while the younger two wanted to sleep inside....daddy slept on the couch so i could keep an eye on both.
Merle Hawggard
Well-Known Member
Congrats on the turkey David! Looks like you all are having a time with your place too. The partridge pea will bring the bobwhite quail for you too. Even if you don't hunt them I love to listen to them call.
Sent from my SM-S903VL using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-S903VL using Tapatalk
Congrats on the bird!
Enjoy the kids while they are young and then later you get to do it all over again with grandkids!
Enjoy the kids while they are young and then later you get to do it all over again with grandkids!
David
Active Member
Just wanted to say thanks to all of you for your posts. i am not dynamic enough...(thats code for i'm to lazy) to reply to all of your threads, but i thoroughly enjoy them.
quick picture updates the Little River.....
Picking up fert/lime from Tri-County fertilizer in Honea Path SC
Walking up to my only American Chestnut, i was saddened to see it hadn't leafed out with its Chinese cousins. But upon closer examination, it is still alive, just a late bloomer.
I had a forester tell me one time that a high population of box turtles on your land is a sign of a healthy habitat. I don't know if that is true, but i certainly have my fair share.....and by the looks of it, i now have some new ones on the way! Ever wonder how two turtles find each other?
The next three pictures are my clover/oat plot from last fall....it was my first attempt ever. I am pleased with it. The oats didn't "winter kill" and i have a pretty bad grass problem, so i am headed down today to spray with Cleth. Last week i mowed the plots....i don't know if that helped at all seeing as how one week later i am going to spray them....sometimes its hard for me to leave things alone. I will update the plot in a few weeks after the Cleth has done its job.
And finally i painted and hung the gun rack
quick picture updates the Little River.....
Picking up fert/lime from Tri-County fertilizer in Honea Path SC
Walking up to my only American Chestnut, i was saddened to see it hadn't leafed out with its Chinese cousins. But upon closer examination, it is still alive, just a late bloomer.
I had a forester tell me one time that a high population of box turtles on your land is a sign of a healthy habitat. I don't know if that is true, but i certainly have my fair share.....and by the looks of it, i now have some new ones on the way! Ever wonder how two turtles find each other?
The next three pictures are my clover/oat plot from last fall....it was my first attempt ever. I am pleased with it. The oats didn't "winter kill" and i have a pretty bad grass problem, so i am headed down today to spray with Cleth. Last week i mowed the plots....i don't know if that helped at all seeing as how one week later i am going to spray them....sometimes its hard for me to leave things alone. I will update the plot in a few weeks after the Cleth has done its job.
And finally i painted and hung the gun rack
David
Active Member
When trying to measure acreage i dont want to "eyeball" it. So draftlogic.com has an acreage calculator. I measure the land down to the single acre, take a picture with my phone and now i have this in the field with me. i can use the landmarks in the pictures to place markers in the ground at the farm...presto i now know what an acre is. Very helpful when using expensive herbicide/seeds.
in the above pictures i am spraying Gly to nuke everything....a few weeks i will spread lime/fert, then disc, and seed and disc and cultipack.
in the above pictures i am spraying Gly to nuke everything....a few weeks i will spread lime/fert, then disc, and seed and disc and cultipack.
weekender21
Well-Known Member
Thanks for posting! I'm looking at a tract in Abbeville county and this thread has answered several of my questions like, "how do chestnuts grow in the upstate"!
The land I want to purchase is almost 100% pine plantation with a hardwoods creek bottom. The trees are young enough I could easily clear some areas for nut/fruit orchards and food plots.
Looking forward to following your progress!
The land I want to purchase is almost 100% pine plantation with a hardwoods creek bottom. The trees are young enough I could easily clear some areas for nut/fruit orchards and food plots.
Looking forward to following your progress!
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David
Active Member
2 weeks worth of photos and updates....
First year with apples from these teenagers....
.
The partridge pea is coming in nicely...(i think thats my partridge pea...)
this disc is probably 60 years old....it broke while prepping my summer plot. Dad took the bracket to a metal shop for repair, it was about a half inch off. So we had to finish the job with a 3/4 disc....worked fine.
summer plot after gly treatment (8 days before this picure) and discing (5 minutes before this picture). The lespedeza is tough!
If you followed my thread you know i was trying to eliminate non-native cool season grasses. i love this picture. You can literally see a line from left to right in this photo where the treatment ended. The sequence was
spray in late fall (to allow desirable plants to enter dormancy)
mow and maybe mow again after dead to break up thatch as much as possible
burn in late winter/early spring
spot spray remaining survivors before spring green up....the back half of this field is full of native broadleafs, forbs, summer grasses etc. the amount of lbs of food in the back ground is 10X that in the foreground.
unfortunately this is close to the house, and one of my limiting factors on the farm is "family". That means i am keeping some of the cool season grasses near the house.....and thus will battle them forever. I remember hearing a habitat expert say something like "we all have limiting factors in our habitat endeavors....if you identify yours it makes it easier to accept them"
First year with apples from these teenagers....
.
The partridge pea is coming in nicely...(i think thats my partridge pea...)
this disc is probably 60 years old....it broke while prepping my summer plot. Dad took the bracket to a metal shop for repair, it was about a half inch off. So we had to finish the job with a 3/4 disc....worked fine.
summer plot after gly treatment (8 days before this picure) and discing (5 minutes before this picture). The lespedeza is tough!
If you followed my thread you know i was trying to eliminate non-native cool season grasses. i love this picture. You can literally see a line from left to right in this photo where the treatment ended. The sequence was
spray in late fall (to allow desirable plants to enter dormancy)
mow and maybe mow again after dead to break up thatch as much as possible
burn in late winter/early spring
spot spray remaining survivors before spring green up....the back half of this field is full of native broadleafs, forbs, summer grasses etc. the amount of lbs of food in the back ground is 10X that in the foreground.
unfortunately this is close to the house, and one of my limiting factors on the farm is "family". That means i am keeping some of the cool season grasses near the house.....and thus will battle them forever. I remember hearing a habitat expert say something like "we all have limiting factors in our habitat endeavors....if you identify yours it makes it easier to accept them"
David
Active Member
summer plots and tending clover.....
Finished Plot!....40% soybeans 40% clay/cow peas 10% sunflower and 10% buck wheat......spread seed/fert/lime, lightly disc, pack....and i sprayed one more time.
Dad was my side kick....at 74 he can still out work most kids. The packing took the longest time, i rented a make shift cultipacker....it produced about 400lbs of pressure and only covered the width of a 4 wheeler. Dad road that thing for a few miles i am sure.
Clethodium doing its job....with so much grass (this is a field i left fallow for bedding/fawning....and i probably should have burned it also) its going to be a constant battle. but the Cleth did its job...this is 14 days later. the clover is doing well underneath that mess. You can clearly see the difference in color of the area that didnt receive any herbicide. Edit: this is a 4 acre fallow field with .8 acres in clover. This I didn't spray the entire field. Just the plot.
Finished Plot!....40% soybeans 40% clay/cow peas 10% sunflower and 10% buck wheat......spread seed/fert/lime, lightly disc, pack....and i sprayed one more time.
Dad was my side kick....at 74 he can still out work most kids. The packing took the longest time, i rented a make shift cultipacker....it produced about 400lbs of pressure and only covered the width of a 4 wheeler. Dad road that thing for a few miles i am sure.
Clethodium doing its job....with so much grass (this is a field i left fallow for bedding/fawning....and i probably should have burned it also) its going to be a constant battle. but the Cleth did its job...this is 14 days later. the clover is doing well underneath that mess. You can clearly see the difference in color of the area that didnt receive any herbicide. Edit: this is a 4 acre fallow field with .8 acres in clover. This I didn't spray the entire field. Just the plot.
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David
Active Member
Ran down friday am....this is my 3 acre summer plot....everything green has been sprayed and is showing signs of a good kill.....
i cant believe how these beans came up in 5 days!....without rain. We got a good rain friday night/saturday am that i am sure most of you georgia boys also enjoyed. Cant wait to see what it looks like this week.
I moved an old cattle feeder to the corner of the bean field. My thought is that it would work well as a ground blind. A little brush should make it disappear pretty well against the backdrop.
And finally you all know how excited i was about the elimination of cool season grasses and my controlled burn. This is what i am hoping takes pressure of my beans while they mature. Free food plot! When i add up the number of acres that are now holding valuable forbs and native warm season grasses i really feel good about the food/bedding on my place for the next few months. By august it will turn woody and become less desirable, but thats when i hope the beans and peas will be providing food in the form of seed pods. Its hard to have clover up and green in august down here. The 2 major stress points in the calendar down here are late winter and late summer. Acorns will make up for any drought, but i cant stand what it does to the quality of my hunting, it will completely alter deer travel patterns. Last year after september i dont think i saw more than 2-3 deer in my pastures. There was a poster on here who documented his attempt to "increase the day time deer density" on his farm. My efforts are to increase the "pasture deer density" on my land.
Food and Cover are currently in high supply right now.
i cant believe how these beans came up in 5 days!....without rain. We got a good rain friday night/saturday am that i am sure most of you georgia boys also enjoyed. Cant wait to see what it looks like this week.
I moved an old cattle feeder to the corner of the bean field. My thought is that it would work well as a ground blind. A little brush should make it disappear pretty well against the backdrop.
And finally you all know how excited i was about the elimination of cool season grasses and my controlled burn. This is what i am hoping takes pressure of my beans while they mature. Free food plot! When i add up the number of acres that are now holding valuable forbs and native warm season grasses i really feel good about the food/bedding on my place for the next few months. By august it will turn woody and become less desirable, but thats when i hope the beans and peas will be providing food in the form of seed pods. Its hard to have clover up and green in august down here. The 2 major stress points in the calendar down here are late winter and late summer. Acorns will make up for any drought, but i cant stand what it does to the quality of my hunting, it will completely alter deer travel patterns. Last year after september i dont think i saw more than 2-3 deer in my pastures. There was a poster on here who documented his attempt to "increase the day time deer density" on his farm. My efforts are to increase the "pasture deer density" on my land.
Food and Cover are currently in high supply right now.
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weekender21
Well-Known Member
Looking good, looks like all your hard work is paying off!
David
Active Member
a few updates....
i love the spring and summer, i prefer the fall, but i love the spring and summer. Put the bush-hog away for a few months...and be careful where you drive the pick up....i almost ran over this one.
When i bought the farm, the previous owner told me this was the 2cd largest dogwood in the state of SC. I read up on how to properly measure a tree, put the tape to it, and it is 8 points short of being a state champ. Now i am not an expert in measuring trees so i still plan on having a pro come do it. It has a 5 foot circumference on the trunk, roughly 45 foot average crown width, and the height was the hardest part, but its between 30-40 feet tall.
poke weed and black berry are the favorites right now, hopefully they keep crushing them and lay off my beans/peas for a few more weeks
The girls and i made a scare crow for the summer plot....this is 13 days growth.
These are everywhere....by far one of the prettiest weeds
And finally my brother and i said good bye to the hunt club....these are the last of our stands that needed to be moved. The tripod was a little too big, but we made it work. I am lazy and didnt feel like taking it apart. it was an 18 mile trip, but all on back roads.
i love the spring and summer, i prefer the fall, but i love the spring and summer. Put the bush-hog away for a few months...and be careful where you drive the pick up....i almost ran over this one.
When i bought the farm, the previous owner told me this was the 2cd largest dogwood in the state of SC. I read up on how to properly measure a tree, put the tape to it, and it is 8 points short of being a state champ. Now i am not an expert in measuring trees so i still plan on having a pro come do it. It has a 5 foot circumference on the trunk, roughly 45 foot average crown width, and the height was the hardest part, but its between 30-40 feet tall.
poke weed and black berry are the favorites right now, hopefully they keep crushing them and lay off my beans/peas for a few more weeks
The girls and i made a scare crow for the summer plot....this is 13 days growth.
These are everywhere....by far one of the prettiest weeds
And finally my brother and i said good bye to the hunt club....these are the last of our stands that needed to be moved. The tripod was a little too big, but we made it work. I am lazy and didnt feel like taking it apart. it was an 18 mile trip, but all on back roads.
weekender21
Well-Known Member
That is an impressive dogwood, what a cool tree to have on the property. What's the life expectancy of those things? I've never seen one close to that size.
