Double A Farm (NE Ohio) Updates

[Sam]

Glad you made it over here and your place looks great!

 

[Weasel]

I had not read alot of the land tours on the other site, its intimidating seeing 15+ pages that you had not read any of, three weeks ago I decided to sit down and read one front to back, well it happend to by yours. Glad you made it over and I can continue to follow along.

Thanks for sticking it out and reading the old thread! I know how hard that can be to find time to catch up. I'll be the first to say though it's worth doing. I would have missed a lot of good knowledge had I skipped some of those land tours. I'm always amazed at the helpful tips these guys come up with.

I'm so glad u decided to continue your land thread over here. I always loved your updates.

Really nice bucks also.
Todd

Thanks Todd, I was thrilled to see that you were posting here as well.

 

[Weasel]

Glad you made it over here and your place looks great!

Thank you Sam.

 

[Weasel]

Just realized there is a sub-forum called Property Tours... Oh well, at least I wasn't the only one to put mine here.

 

[Weasel]

Thought it would be fun to do some before and after pics.

 

[Weasel]

 

[Weasel]

 

[Weasel]

 

[Weasel]

 

[Weasel]

 

[Weasel]

Timeline:

2013 Closed on property in June. Didn't have much equipment. Cleared a few old logging roads for access. Hung stands on the outside edges of the property to learn deer movements. Killed a mature doe the very first sit on the farm, the opening morning of the archery season.

 

[Weasel]

2014 Improved access, put up a small building, bought a real tractor, put in a few small food plots and my buddy kept the opening day of archery streak going on another mature doe.

 

[Weasel]

2015 Local NRCS agent & wildlfe biologist walked the farm with me and we came up with a conservation plan. I added more food plots, started my apple orchard & chestnut grove, put gravel down on the driveway, passed a few immature bucks and took another mature doe.

 

[Weasel]

2016 Hinge cut a couple of acres and edge feathered some food plots, released a bunch of wild apples, planted more oaks, chestnuts, plums & crabapples, bought a tiller and had an equipment building put up. That leaves a few projects & fall plots through August.

 

[outdoorstom]

You've got a real talent for writing....great style! Love the tour....glad to see you here.

 

[j-bird]

Nice place Weasel. Looks like you have been busy as well....... That is great that you where able to sell high on the old place and then increase your acreage. I tell my wife if I every sell my place and move I want to be able to use the value of my crop ground to my advantage and then use it to buy even a bigger place because I want far more trees and far fewer opens spaces than I currently. The idea of selling won't even be a reality until my girls are out of school - youngest just started 7th grade. Get the kids out of the house = smaller house, sell farm land to by forested land = bigger place!!!! Not sure she will buy into that concept but that would be the plan. It seems like regardless of how big a place you have....you always want more.

Nice to see you bringing the kids out as well....

 

[Weasel]

You've got a real talent for writing....great style! Love the tour....glad to see you here.

Thanks Tom.

Nice place Weasel. Looks like you have been busy as well....... That is great that you where able to sell high on the old place and then increase your acreage. I tell my wife if I every sell my place and move I want to be able to use the value of my crop ground to my advantage and then use it to buy even a bigger place because I want far more trees and far fewer opens spaces than I currently. The idea of selling won't even be a reality until my girls are out of school - youngest just started 7th grade. Get the kids out of the house = smaller house, sell farm land to by forested land = bigger place!!!! Not sure she will buy into that concept but that would be the plan. It seems like regardless of how big a place you have....you always want more.

Nice to see you bringing the kids out as well....

Good luck j-bird. We live in what used to be a pretty rural suburb of Pittsburgh but most of the family farms have been turned into housing developments in the 18 years we've been here. Fortunately this part of SW PA is pretty rugged and they'll never be able to develop most of our township. Close to work, a great school and all the conveniences of suburb living. My wife has no interest in ever living out in the boonies. Me, my dad and my brother built her dream house on 1/4 acre lot. There were plenty of 5-20 acre pieces available back then but she didn't want to live out in the country while I worked shift work. On the flip side, the house will be worth 5X or more what it cost us to build when we retire and sell it. I see a condo near the beach in our future plans but you know what? That's her dream and she's let me live mine all these years. I figured summer and fall at the farm and winter and spring at the beach isn't a bad way to live out the remainder of our years. But who knows what the good Lord has in store for us.

 

[j-bird]

Thanks Tom.



Good luck j-bird. We live in what used to be a pretty rural suburb of Pittsburgh but most of the family farms have been turned into housing developments in the 18 years we've been here. Fortunately this part of SW PA is pretty rugged and they'll never be able to develop most of our township. Close to work, a great school and all the conveniences of suburb living. My wife has no interest in ever living out in the boonies. Me, my dad and my brother built her dream house on 1/4 acre lot. There were plenty of 5-20 acre pieces available back then but she didn't want to live out in the country while I worked shift work. On the flip side, the house will be worth 5X or more what it cost us to build when we retire and sell it. I see a condo near the beach in our future plans but you know what? That's her dream and she's let me live mine all these years. I figured summer and fall at the farm and winter and spring at the beach isn't a bad way to live out the remainder of our years. But who knows what the good Lord has in store for us.

I have been to Pittsburgh before, via Wheeling WV, talk about pretty country......Them folks must walk funny on flat ground because I swear the land is so steep they gotta have one leg longer than the other! We went to Wheeling on business but stayed in Pittsburgh. Very interesting to see how quickly the lay of the land can change. Only time I lived in a town of any size was when I went to college......otherwise I have always lived in or near small town where everyone knows everyone else. My wife claims if she moves she wants a paved road, decent internet and pizza delivery......I tell her she may be moving by herself! I will share some of the cabin builds and the like on forums and she just gives me the - "Uh, NO" look.....if your married you know the look!

 

[Weasel]

That's pretty cool j-bird. And yep, I know the look.

Now that we're semi-caught up, here's what's happening this week. I planted two hidden plots last weekend. They were nuked with gly a few weeks before.

Stump plot:

Old stand plot:

I tilled them both just after a short rain. Each got a bag of lime & fertilizer tilled in as well.

They both got a strip of my usual brassica mix, purple top turnip, dwarf essex rape and groundhog radish down the center. Seed dealer had canola on hand too so I thought I'd try that in the mix this year. The outside edge got a rye, oat & leftover soybean and sunflower mix.

FYI for newer folks, the rye/oat/bean/sunflower mix around the edge went down after fert & lime were tilled in. I tilled again with the tines just touching the ground to bury the seeds. Seeded the brassica mix down the middle next. Leaving those on top are fine. If I had a cultipacker, I would have used that next. But I don't so time for NASCAR impression with the tractor tires pushing the small seed into good contact with the soil.

The rye & oats are a little early but I still have an acre or so more of rye and oats going down around the farm at the end of the month. I'm thinking the deer will keep these little plots clipped low enough that it won't matter. Plus I'll have staggered growth of cereal grains.

 

[Weasel]

I planted Stump Plot on Sunday and Old Stand Plot on Monday. Here is what they looked like on Friday. Yep 4 & 5 day germination & growth. And this is $1 to $3 a pound stuff in blank white seed sacks from Ernst Seeds.