dvmcmrhp52 Hatfield

Haven't seen it but I'm going to check it out.


By the way, I like the new forum. I'm a bit of a tree nut from way back, and it's been good to read through a bunch of stuff here again. Winter is coming and hopefully I'll get more time to jog the brain some more again.

Eastern white pines used to be a very valuable lumber tree, until they overcut them and now they don't ever reach decent lumber size. Leader borers and rust get them most times.

Being in Pennsylvania, one of the largest producers of hardwood lumber for centuries, we've had our share of disease and species issues.

American chestnut was the number one hardwood tree in the state at one time, and our house is full of chestnut woodwork, but the species is all but dead and gone, save a few small pockets scattered around the state.

I've forgotten how much this forum jogs my brain.

Brenda Groth wrote:

not sure how much you have studied..but it is best to cut your wood in the winter when the sap is out of the wood..so it is already drier..and then dry it out in the sun ..or under a tarp or cover to keep it from getting rained on.

then store it in a fairly open stack..with a few inches between cords when you put it up..this also helps the drying..mold can cause some serious health issues storing up wet wood.

best time to get your wood is in the winter..look for dead trees or cut them and leave them lie for a while if you have to..but get them off their roots in the winter before the sap rises.

Very good advice.

Ash that is cut in winter is one wood that is almost dry enough to burn immediately.
Always cut when the sap is at it's least. Winter.

It depends greatly on your ong term goals for the area. Willows certainly do mean there is a good bit of moisture, but something to think about is erosion and the fact that those willows do stabilize the soil where they are at. We've got a small creek bed that gets clogged up from the willows, and restricts flow to the point of overflow if not cleaned out regularly. I hesitate to eradicate them completely due to their erosion control and habitat for small critters.

Just another thought.......

paul wheaton wrote:
If you already have a lot of sugar maples, then I think you have nothing to worry about.  I think they will do their own propagation. 

And there is one interesting tidbit:  check out St. Lawrence Nursery for the "sweet sap silver maple":  ready to tap in 1/3 the time and the sap has 2.5 times more sugar per gallon!

Paul pretty much has it here, and the sweet silver maples are on the list for us as well. I've seen them and have St Lawrence nursery in my favorites to plant a bunch of them, even though we've got plenty of sugar maples around.

Good catch Paul, how'd you come across the nursery?

The wood chips will in fact use a large quantity of nitrogen in the soil to break down and will in return keep that nitrogen from the grass.

Mulched beds create this issue all the time and is a very common problem for plant health in landscaped beds.

Then I will add that those wood chips will not allow proper root growth for the sod to establish which is the most important aspect of laying sod......good soil contact for root growth. That is one of the reasons why sodded lawns are rolled after it is layed.

If you continue to add an inch a year, it will build up the height of your existing lawn.

"Topsoil" as they call it, from most garden centers or any of the box stores is usually crap, particularly from the box stores because that has been "sterilized" in one form or another to kill off weed seeds and "undesireable" organic compounds.

Cutting low, or scalping to get at the weeds seldom has a positive effect, in fact once the grass starts to grow if it is done then it will actually stunt the grass growth and give the weeds a better chance to establish.

Spring cleaning amounts to whatever you want to do to make it look good out thetre. There is no formula for it.

Dethatching a lawn is seldom really needed and come mainly from over fertilization.

I would have a soil test done and see what nutrients the soil REALLY needs rather than guessing, and go from their.

Proper PH and a fert application a couple of times a year can keep a lawn looking reasonably well and reasonably weed free with proper mowing heights.(above 3 inches for cool season grasses)

It all depends on what kind of lawn you are looking for.

We've got a walnut tree in our back yard, and it doesn't effect the lawn to any extent that is visible, the shade is probably more of an issue, but you should clean up the walnuts when they fall.

Well, for the rose alone, cut it after it's got some good spring growth, allowing it to use up stored energy on that new flush of growth.

Whack them again in the summer heat when it is dry and hot, then again
3-4 weeks before frost. The following year you can cut twice, after spring growth, and during late summer heat.

The pasture that was pictured was only cut once, during 2008, in July.

Other species need more specific timing due to seeding times and that sort of thing, but the basic plan is to weaken the root system on the rose until death do us part.

For the grasses you will want to find out what type of grasses you have, their seeding times, etc. which you can usually get from the extension service online. Many times you will find that kind of info under hay production, or forage production, since timing of hay cutting for a sustainable, and low maintenance pasture is important, and seeding of weed species can determine cutting schedule as well depending on what you are trying to achieve.

It's a learning process, but simple mechanical cutting can do wonders to achieve goals.