The Brushpile

[Nebraskaz71]

I'm surprised that the beetles don't go after the crabapple trees since there really is no difference between an apple and crabapple tree - just the size of the fruit.

I was told by a local nursery to plant crabapples instead of regular apples to avoid japanese beetles. Doesnt make sense to me either but I have read it on a few other forums as well. I'm hesistant to try but Ill probably plant a few crabs in the future and see what happens.

 

[Brushpile]

I'm surprised that the beetles don't go after the crabapple trees since there really is no difference between an apple and crabapple tree - just the size of the fruit.

I've observed that Crabapples are more bitter than apples, and that deer prefer apples over crabapples for browse. While deer will browse some crabapple varieties they tend to leave flowering crabs, like Mongolian, alone. Having said that, I think a Japanese Beetle sees a buffet, and makes the best selection. Then once a breeding pair of beetles land on a tree they emit pheromones that attract more beetles, which in turn attract more, until a tree is swarmed and becomes totally defoliated. Once a tree is swarmed, Japanese beetles predominantly focus on that one tree because of the pheromones.

In past years I've had a half dozen apple trees get swarmed, while dozens more were hardly touched. This year, only certain crabapples escaped the beetles attention, while every apple tree was defoliated. My apples are not centrally located in an orchard, so beetles are selecting them from among many other species.

I have a limited knowledge of entomology but know that many plant eating insects are species specific, for example, White Mulberry was introduced to feed the Silk Moth, while Red Mulberry was naturally occurring, but not suitable. Monarch Butterfly Caterpillars eat milkweed exclusively. Unfortunately Japanese Beetles eat just about everything but have an exquisite taste for apples, chestnut, and Sequin... Grrrr!

 

[Brushpile]

Your Pear trees look great ! What type of soil are your pear trees in ? I have a few I want to plant in the next few weeks. Do you see a problem planting Pear trees now ?

Thanks.....

The only problem is that pears would probably need watering because August is hot and dry. The first trees I planted on The Brushpile were planted in August, and I carried water from the river to keep them watered. Also, watch for closeout sales in the Fall, because many people have lost interest in planting and big box stores are dumping their inventory to setup for Halloween and Thanksgiving.

I've planted trees every month of the year, so long as the ground is not frozen.

 

[Brushpile]

I was told by a local nursery to plant crabapples instead of regular apples to avoid japanese beetles. Doesnt make sense to me either but I have read it on a few other forums as well. I'm hesistant to try but Ill probably plant a few crabs in the future and see what happens.

Thanks for confirming my observation. When you buy crabapples get apples larger than 1/2 inch because Flowering Crabs are not a draw for deer.

 

[Triple C]

I'd put this in Outdoor Cake, except only Mrs. Brushpile knows the recipe. ;-) Chokeberries are high in anti oxidants and considered a "Super food", so I picked a few berries today.
http://www.healwithfood.org/health-benefits/aronia-berries-buy-organic.php
These berries are left over, so I might dry them.

Making jam.

Brush...I'll take a jar of that jam! Enjoy following along on your thread.

 

[shedder]

A flagged tree has a better chance of survival, because it can be located for spraying around, watering, weed whacking around and mowing around. Without a flag a seedling is on it's own plus has a good chance of being mowed sprayed or being weed whacked.

This flagged seedling was sprayed around, and will be watered as needed.

Amen to that!
I saw on the old qdma forum something about making your own flags. Was that you and what was it about?

 

[Brushpile]

Amen to that!
I saw on the old qdma forum something about making your own flags. Was that you and what was it about?

Buy a roll of orange flagging tape from Lowes, and tie it to seedlings as you plant. Only use a half hitch like when you start to tie your shoe. The half hitch will hold, but can be easily removed when the seedling has grown large enough that it doesn't need a flag. If possible I flag limbs rather than the main trunk. You can flag 100's of trees with one roll of flagging tape. I hope that answers your question?

 

[Brushpile]

Bow season is a month away. I've had good luck with making scrape lines. One evening I had three separate does and their fawns converge on my scrape line.

My scrape line is under the cedars on the right.



Hunting over the scrapes I saw lots of does. Hunting trails leading to the scrapes produces bucks.




Scrapes are maintained by removing debris, making visual marks and by leaving a hoof print. The interdigital gland on a deer hoof is a scent calling card. Human urine works! Once deer find the scrape line your work is done!

 

[Brushpile]

These pics were taken through the kitchen window down to the river 150 yards away. My wife wanted a space cleared so she can see the river, so I call this spot "Debby's Beach". Momma was not to be seen, but I enjoyed seeing her two fawns play on Debby's Beach.

 

[Flyfixer]

Bow season is a month away. I've had good luck with making scrape lines. One evening I had three separate does and their fawns converge on my scrape line.

My scrape line is under the cedars on the right.



Hunting over the scrapes I saw lots of does. Hunting trails leading to the scrapes produces bucks.




Scrapes are maintained by removing debris, making visual marks and by leaving a hoof print. The interdigital gland on a deer hoof is a scent calling card. Human urine works! Once deer find the scrape line your work is done!

I have been peeing in scrapes since the 70's. People used to think that human pee would scare deer away. I have had scrapes torn up by deer the day after I freshened them up!

 

[Brushpile]

Why pay for deer urine when you can pee on the scrap yourself? To a deer, urine is urine, but a doe in estrus might be worth the money however... If you urinate on a scrap a doe will step in the scrape and urinate in the scrap, and what could be fresher than a local doe in estrus and fresh interdigital gland scent?

 

[shedder]

Buy a roll of orange flagging tape from Lowes, and tie it to seedlings as you plant. Only use a half hitch like when you start to tie your shoe. The half hitch will hold, but can be easily removed when the seedling has grown large enough that it doesn't need a flag. If possible I flag limbs rather than the main trunk. You can flag 100's of trees with one roll of flagging tape. I hope that answers your question?

I meant the wire survey flag like you pictured but thanks anyway.

 

[Brushpile]

I also have used wire survey flags to mark trees, particularly when direct seeding. For example I'm mark where an acorn is planted so I know where an oak will sprout.

 

[Brushpile]

This is Serviceberry, which is commonly sold by wildlife nurseries. In pioneer days people that died in the Winter were buried when the ground thawed, and there was a bush that was first to bloom that was used at burials which is how Serviceberry got it's name. Serviceberry produces a berry that looks and tastes nearly identical to blueberry, and are rapidly consumed by birds. Serviceberry is a shrub, small tree that can grow to 20 feet.

Serviceberry has several subspecies and common names, and they all have wildlife value, but not as preferred browse. Birds eat the berries, so Serviceberry is for the birds. ;-) However, Serviceberry tolerates shade, and though not a deer attractant, it is a component found in deer woods that contributes to brushy cover and or stem count. These are young Serviceberry from Lincoln Oakes Nursery.

 

[Brushpile]

This is the native range of Serviceberry.
http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=AMAR3

 

[lakngolf]

Those fawns are quite healthy! Looking good, as always. Do you send Debby on an errand when the big buck shows up?

 

[Brushpile]

While on vacation I visited a friend from Iowa, who now lives in Wisconsin. This is his view, from high atop a Wisconsin bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. The bluffs on the other side of the river are in Iowa. I was born in Black River Falls, WI, whose claim to fame was being the deer capital of Wisconsin. I moved to Iowa in grade school, where my friend and I played football together. In the those days Iowa had very few deer, and we used to go to WI to hunt deer. Now my friend has several trophy mounts from bucks that he hunts on the Iowa side.

This view represents not only a divide between Iowa and Wisconsin, it's the divide between Trophy Iowa deer and a declining/failed Wisconsin deer management program that has WI hunters traveling out of state to hunt deer.

 

[Brushpile]

Those fawns are quite healthy! Looking good, as always. Do you send Debby on an errand when the big buck shows up?

Debby's only rule is that I can't butcher deer and other animals in her kitchen. I noticed that one of those fawns looks fat!

I was amazed at the quality of the pics. I shot those pics free handed through the window at over 150 yards, and you can see the veins in one fawn's nose. I never saw momma, and hope she's alive. Several deer have died in fences this Summer, which is why I took my fences down.

 

[Brushpile]

Allegheny Chinkapin will open it's burs and drop it's little chestnuts during bow season.

 

[Brushpile]

Persimmon.

Persimmon is easy to ID by the bark.