Concern regarding reforestation program

[HemlockKing]

There is a whole lot more to colony collapse than the media has reported on. A lot has to do with the USDA insurance payment and the commodity use of bees in Almond plantations and such.  Basically it pays more to abuse your hive and let it die than to actually take care of it for the big guys.

We have a small quantity of hives and it doesn't scare me at all.

Yup thats how it goes with the news part truth or out of context, baitclicking, trendy sounding headlines etc. They’ll try to tell you what to think or feel but won’t just go “here’s the facts, here’s what’s happening, do what you will with this information”

[EWilson99]

Interesting that my initial post on a small reforestation project, has led to such fascinating discussion !

An update on the reforestation project: not going as well as planned, but it's been improving since the month of May. There wasn't any rainfall at all in May, so that meant that a lot of the newly planted seedlings died. I would say that out of the 800 white pines, more than 60% have died, only 3-4 of the white cedars have survived, 4-5 bitternut hickories are shooting out leaves, and there's only about 5 bur oak seedlings with leaves. None of the black cherry seedlings grew any leaves. The good news, however, is that the red maples have been doing extremely well, and other than deers eating some of the leaves, 95 of the 100 red maple seedlings are healthy and doing well. The American Elms, located at the boundary of the old hayfield and which were planted around 20 years ago, seem to be shooting up some new seedlings as well!

Thankfully, due to the rain in June and July, the rest of the seedlings are doing quite well. I'm excited to see how the rest of the trees will grow in 4-5 years time, and we'll consider planting more drought resistant trees such as red pines and red cedars within the next year or two.

[mike_belben]

Consider setting up water collection nearby.  Rope a tarp at the corners into nearby trees loosely, with a rock in the center and a pinhole to make a funnel.  Walmart kiddie pool under it.  Old pot and a bucket makes it a piece of cake.


Thick Strawbail mulch around seedlings will dramatically help them retain soil moisture in the beating sun.  

[EWilson99]

Consider setting up water collection nearby.  Rope a tarp at the corners into nearby trees loosely, with a rock in the center and a pinhole to make a funnel.  Walmart kiddie pool under it.  Old pot and a bucket makes it a piece of cake.


Thick Strawbail mulch around seedlings will dramatically help them retain soil moisture in the beating sun.  

Since June we've had very good rainfall, so I'm not sure that would be necessary this year- we might take it into account for next year, if spring ends up being the same hot dry season as it was this year.

Can strawbail be bought in bulk for a cheap price?

[mike_belben]

If you find a winter wheat patch stop and ask. I buy 2 square bales to dial in the bow in fall then the next spring mulch the garden with it.  Think 4 bucks a bale at the co-op who obviously has to mark up.  

You could just as easily use leaves or pine needles.. Any organic degradeable fluff to act as a sunscreen will slow evaporation and retain moisture. Thats why the earthworms are always under a leaf pile.  Even sawdust if you have to.  Coarse chips or planer noodles would be better than fine dust imo.

[Southside]

Cardboard works great too, holds moisture, the earthworms will be under it, and it does break down.  

[mike_belben]

Completely true.  But then im cursing amazon tape the next season hoe-ing it all up.  

[Ianab]

Old wool carpet is also used as a "mulch / weed mat" locally. Keeps the water in and the weeds out, and still breaks down after a year or 3. Seedling is big enough to look after itself by then. 

Don't use synthetic of course. 

[ppine]

I have never worked in Ontario, just paddled the southern part of it. 
But I have planted plenty of trees in the West.  One of  the advantages of planting instead of natural regen is we can control the spacing and species composition.

Your plan has plenty of diversity.   In a climate like Ontario you are likely to have minimal mortality.  Your planned density seems high by modern standards.  700-800 seedlings per acre.  It would be more typical now around 600 or less.  Less work and less thinning, less competition.

[EWilson99]

I have never worked in Ontario, just paddled the southern part of it.
But I have planted plenty of trees in the West.  One of  the advantages of planting instead of natural regen is we can control the spacing and species composition.

Your plan has plenty of diversity.   In a climate like Ontario you are likely to have minimal mortality.  Your planned density seems high by modern standards.  700-800 seedlings per acre.  It would be more typical now around 600 or less.  Less work and less thinning, less competition.

I think though that drought is the bigger problem here: in previous years I didn't care, but now that we're trying to grow some seedlings then it means that many of these are dying or have already died. It wasn't a problem in previous years, because older trees located at the perimeter, such as Bur Oak and American Elm, are quite drought tolerant.
Considering how many seedlings have already died, I don't think that thinning will be a necessity on some parts of the field. Nevertheless, considering that the land around us have been clearcut for agricultural purposes, I think that you're right in saying that the trees won't be susceptible to disease; hopefully in 20-30, once the trees make a dense canopy, we can start noticing the benefits.

[mike_belben]

If youve got the dedication, you can get through drought with rainwater totes and an air pump.  Garden hose on the bottom and air coupler to a C02 tank or air source on top.  Put a few psi in the tote and itll spray like a garden hose.  Put it high on a trailer and the gravity alone will get it some psi. Its how i water the garden. 


 i guarantee you can save a lot of seedlings per tote.  I fill mine off the gutter during wet season.

[EWilson99]

So the local conservation authority came to do a "check-up" back in October, and we seem to be at a 60% survival rate in total, which is still better than I had expected. Deer browsing has unfortunately hurt a couple of the red maple seedlings, as they didn't put in any tree protectors until late in the summer, but otherwise not much has changed since July.

They've offered a re-fill for the trees that have died, and while I was hoping for some more drought resistant trees to be planted, the arborist on contract is still insisting on re-planting white pine and white cedar- this would just be repeating the cycle all over again and quite frankly, a waste of money. We're thinking of just ordering trees in bulk by choosing them ourselves, and later just planting them on our own.

[wisconsitom]

Not sure you will find it a waste to work with recommended species once again.  A one-time rough start is no indication of where things might end up.  I'm also not sure I'd welcome lots of eastern red cedar onto any land I owned here in the mixed-wood region.  Weed and invasive in many places.  It won't do any better than anything else if it has to start with no rain.  Drought tolerance is a non-issue in a seedling with essentially no root system.  And FWIW, white-cedar is actually highly drought-tolerant once established.

Planting seedlings take a bit of faith.  Man, when we did the 6000 back on a 2013 weekend, and then when all the ragweed came up and completely hid every single tree from view-I literally could not find a seedling!-things seemed bleak.  Those trees are now 20 feet tall for pine and spruce, and 35 feet tall for hybrid larch!  I call it painting the land with vegetation.

Do you happen to know if white pine weevil is active in your area?  I can recommend an excellent treatment regimen if you're interested, and which would be feasible on your small acreage.

[EWilson99]

Not sure you will find it a waste to work with recommended species once again.  A one-time rough start is no indication of where things might end up.  I'm also not sure I'd welcome lots of eastern red cedar onto any land I owned here in the mixed-wood region.  Weed and invasive in many places.  It won't do any better than anything else if it has to start with no rain.  Drought tolerance is a non-issue in a seedling with essentially no root system.  And FWIW, white-cedar is actually highly drought-tolerant once established.

Planting seedlings take a bit of faith.  Man, when we did the 6000 back on a 2013 weekend, and then when all the ragweed came up and completely hid every single tree from view-I literally could not find a seedling!-things seemed bleak.  Those trees are now 20 feet tall for pine and spruce, and 35 feet tall for hybrid larch!  I call it painting the land with vegetation.

Do you happen to know if white pine weevil is active in your area?  I can recommend an excellent treatment regimen if you're interested, and which would be feasible on your small acreage.

Not sure about white pine weevil, but there are a minimal amount of gooseberry plants along the property, so we're keeping an eye on those. 
Yes, white cedar can be drought tolerant, but it has to be established first and foremost. Seedlings that are planted during an extremely dry spring don't even stand a chance, I think we're quite frankly lucky that we have any plants at all, after having had no rain in May. I just don't want to plant trees that are more susceptible to drought stress.

[wisconsitom]

I'm just saying no seedling, regardless of species, is drought tolerant, so I would not personally make my species selections based on a characteristic that actually pertains to an established tree.  Other Mays will be wet.

[xkiwi]

A rather extensive look at Reforestation Practices (asof 2020 from a West Coast perspective )- methods and practices (chapter 3 on-wards) maybe useful for reference. A FVMC publication

https://f3839a3d-9851-4def-b527-fb0ceab9a570.filesusr.com/ugd/80da86_0c050def8968415189aa2dbb19fe5222.pdf


“Planted forests simply are our best hope for meeting societal demands for wood while preserving the
condition of natural forests” (Powers, 2000).

[beenthere]

Yup, lock up the "natural forests" so they are non-productive and become uncontrollable fire hazards. Been doing that for the last 40-50 years. Results are evident. 

[EWilson99]

I'm just saying no seedling, regardless of species, is drought tolerant, so I would not personally make my species selections based on a characteristic that actually pertains to an established tree.  Other Mays will be wet.

I've lived in Eastern Ontario for the last 15 years, and I don't think that we've had a wet spring in the last 5. Unfortunately, I think that this will be the norm from now on, we'll just have to adapt to it 
You are correct, no seedling is inherently drought tolerant, but the red maples and bitternut hickory seedlings did much better than their pine and cedar counterparts. I don't see the harm in planting more of these red maples. 

[Kodiakmac]

As temperatures rise and drought intensifies, fires grow larger and burn more severely. What happens to the landscape next is unknown.  It's about Arizona and the millions of homeless and deceased animals who have lost their Trees of Life and their Forests of Life.  That's todays headline.   I realize most people on this forum are selling equipment to turn trees into something else. but with the thousands of members who log on.  couldn't the moderators lead a team of volunteers to help accelerate the reforesting. Not for plantations.  But for life.  Arizona and California, could really use the help. It's heart breaking and deviating here.  Hello Ontario?!  And please indict the people who  have decimated the monarch butterfly habitats!

Holy Mackerel!  Best calm down ... relax.
And as for the monarch butterfly decimators, you can point a finger at the silly corn-sourced ethanol industry.  More than anything else it is responsible for converting hundreds of thousands of acres of milkweed land (old pastures) into cornfields.   And every greenie I ever met assured me that the world needed more ethanol.

[ppine]

Too many trees per acre.  Your woodlot will need a lot of thinning.