SDHunt24/7
New Member
Greg, I too just joined the forum and am establishing a piece of land near mills,NE. I grew up in Gregory and get back often to hunt with my dad. Maybe we can compare notes and learn together. We just started overhauling this piece of land last year with planting 600 trees and putting in around 10 acres of food plots. So far the food plots have been amazing for deer and turkey. Bryan
Bryan good to hear from another local guy. We are working on my Grandpa's(Sundquist) ranch north of Dallas. What kind of trees did you all put in last year? Did they survive and grow well? Have you started any oaks yet? We are planning on planting some shelterbelts through the NRCS office and then filling in other areas with some oaks. Any help would be great.
Greg
Greg
SDHunt24/7
New Member
I planted red a nd white oaks, red cedar, blue spruce, ponderosa pine, crabapple, plum, and caragana for the shrub row in our shelter belt. The red crafts didn't fare too well, may have got some bad seedlings as this is a hardy tree usually. I would definitely tube the hardwood trees and maybe wire cage or use a repellent on the evergreens. We had a lot of deer problems. Also bury the tubes in the dirt or leave them up an inch or two to prevent mice from buy.ding nests in them and girdling the trees. The nrcs was a nice help too. This forum is great and will help you with any questions you may have. These guys have encountered just about everything. Good luck!
dbltree
Super Moderator
I prefer herbicide...mice will burrow under weed mats and girdle seedlings. Check back on the front page of this thread for more details but I use Oust XP and simazine on oaks and conifers and Surflan and simazine on shrubs. Use prowl h20 if you have pigweed problems...:way:
letemgrow
PMA Member
Along with what Paul stated, I would plant some pin oaks and shingle oaks for the wet areas to compliment the white/hybrid oaks. The red oaks drop acorns more regularly than white oaks and they will also add diversity to your planting.
Also, I would only get the hybrids from those nurseries such as Oikos, Morse etc. Go to the state nurseries for the pin/shingle oaks if you do decide to plant them. The dwarf chinkapin oaks should do well with the well drained soils...may need to provide some type of moisture barrier the first year tho depending on how dry your soils actually get. Rodents will get in tree tubes and girdle stems, or whenever a bunch of thatch is left around seedlings so keep the area cleaned in a 4 foot circle around the seedlings and you should be good to go with tubes or fencing. I like to spray the areas 2-3 times the year before with gly so I am working with bare soil to start with and then spray gly with a residual the following year after planting to keep it that way.
Hardwood11
It is going to be a good fall!
Greg: I live near the SD border in MN. I have tried nearly every oak, here is what I think will work in your area...
Bur Gambel Oak hybrid plugs from Univ of Idaho Nursery
Northern Pin Oak plugs from Itasca Greenhouse in MN
Bur Oak or Swamp White Oak from __________ nursery in Bismarck, ND I cannot think of the name right now, but they have good product.
I have ordered from all of these and the results have been above average. You will find that it is a struggle to plant oaks in that area, that is why you do not see many natives.
Personally I do not think red oaks will do well out there, but not sure, doesn't hurt to try.
Hardwood11
It is going to be a good fall!
Lincoln Oakes
Sorry, that nursery in North Dakota is Lincoln-Oakes. Very good trees.
Sorry, that nursery in North Dakota is Lincoln-Oakes. Very good trees.
letemgrow
PMA Member
They do have good quality stock and swamp white oak would be another good option for that wetter area.
Hardwood11
It is going to be a good fall!
Oaks
Greg: Are you from the Gregory area? I hunt pheasants around Gregory once in awhile, tons of pheasants, good deer in your area as well.
I would recommend, some taller Bur Oaks, they will do well in your area. Lincoln-Oakes has 3-4 footers. Otherwise, you can order the Bur Gambel from Idaho this fall, I think they are sold out right now, you will be impressed with that tree and it is very drought tolerant.
Greg: Are you from the Gregory area? I hunt pheasants around Gregory once in awhile, tons of pheasants, good deer in your area as well.
I would recommend, some taller Bur Oaks, they will do well in your area. Lincoln-Oakes has 3-4 footers. Otherwise, you can order the Bur Gambel from Idaho this fall, I think they are sold out right now, you will be impressed with that tree and it is very drought tolerant.
SDHunt24/7
New Member
Moisture in rootmaker cells
How wet does the soil need to be in the rootmaker cells with my acorns? Also how long should it roughly take to see something happening?
How wet does the soil need to be in the rootmaker cells with my acorns? Also how long should it roughly take to see something happening?
dbltree
Super Moderator
letemgrow
PMA Member
I forgot to spray around a few of my DCO seedlings this past summer/fall and the rodents ate them to the dirt in quick fashion. Here is what the seedling looked like last summer and just another reminder to keep the weeds/thatch away from the seedlings. 
They will be getting some fertilizer this year and a roundup/oust mixture to keep the ground clear around them.
They will be getting some fertilizer this year and a roundup/oust mixture to keep the ground clear around them.
LoessHillsArcher
PMA Member
Phil you had trouble with rodents even with the tubes on the seedlings?
letemgrow
PMA Member
I do if there is thatch around the seedlings sometimes, if it is clean dirt in a 4 foot circle I never have a problem with rodents in the tubes. I literally had to feel for the nub at the base of where that DCO was cause there was nothing left in the tube!!!
So I have an increasing number of sprouts showing up which is a relief, but now I need to get ready for next step. At most I may have 2 dozen trees to plant. I was planning to buy the Protex tubes as they seem to be favored by many of you, but do they sell them in such small numbers? Looks like everyone buys them by the 100's. I figured I would get electric fence posts from farm store to stake them.
letemgrow
PMA Member
Yeah they sell the protex tubes in small quantities, they just cost more that way and if you have the dough and plan on multiple plantings, might as well buy them all at once to get the savings.
By all means try some of the others out there if you are feeling frisky and report back to us on the results. :way:
SDHunt24/7
New Member
Next step for my acorn seedlings
I am starting to see some sprouts above the soil and out the bootom of the palnter cells. The 18 count cells I used are about 2 inches deep. Do I need to move the sprouted acorns into bigger cells now or can they stay in these small ones for a while yet? It has taken between two and three weeks of being in the soil mix for this growth to occur. Is that normal. The acorns were red oak.
I am starting to see some sprouts above the soil and out the bootom of the palnter cells. The 18 count cells I used are about 2 inches deep. Do I need to move the sprouted acorns into bigger cells now or can they stay in these small ones for a while yet? It has taken between two and three weeks of being in the soil mix for this growth to occur. Is that normal. The acorns were red oak.