Have planted a some NWSG in the past, with great success. Brainstorming and thinking about ideas though to add some more. Would love to go around some of our plots in given locations to give more of a buffer coming into the fields. Also would like to add some trees along our fields as well. Some oaks, fruit trees etc, just to have more food source out around the fields not all the way back in the woods. My question comes with how to lay it out the best. With planting the trees and the NWSG I would be worried about maybe shading the grass out a little bit, should that even be a concern? In my mind I'm picturing strips around the fields in places 40-50 feet wide of NWSG, with the given trees growing right behind them or maybe even in the middle. Since the grass gets tall, does it make sense to have the nuts and fruit down the line dropping into the grass? Won't be able to see the deer eating on them maybe? I might just be overthinking this but would love some input and ideas of how to add some NWSG along with some trees around a given field.
NWSG
- Thread starter Mitch123
- Start date
j-bird
Well-Known Member
I don't know how your property is laid out so it's tough to get into specifics, but I would plant the native grasses and then use some sort of perennial to act as your firebreak to protect your trees from burns and aid in the deer accessing the mast that falls from your trees. You can do this along the edge of your field on in a winding path thru the native grasses. Just remember that native grasses can burn hot so you will want to make sure you have enough firebreak to keep the heat from a burn from damaging you trees. I did something similar on my place when I implemented some CRP. My CRP planting left small pockets that I turned to plots and planted perennials with some mast trees in them to essentially turn them into small orchards. I have a couple places where these range from 1/4 acre to an acre or a bit more. Might be able to get a good idea of what I have done if you visit my property tour as well.
DocHolladay
Well-Known Member
Go to the 15 minute mark if you want to see how to burn with trees that you want to keep.
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