Had to cut down an Oak Tree

I feel so sad.  The tree was about 10 years old and it was going to be.a gorgeous big oak tree.  But it would of ended up shading most of my garden for much of the day.   Please tell me something to make me feel better.  So sad seeing it half cut down.  My BF is gonna finish it cutting it down to like 36" tall or so for a bird bath.   Should I just cut it all the way down so I don't see reminder of it, or would it somehow honor the tree making it a bird bath pedestal? lol.  

My garden is going to be much happier now getting more light!   The garden is beautiful itself as well.  

At least All my 5 surrounding neighbors have trees in their yards so I still feel surrounded by trees.

I want to use the oak wood for hugerkulture (sp), can I do it this season right after cutting it down with it still being green?

Jennifer Lowery wrote:Should I just cut it all the way down so I don't see reminder of it, or would it somehow honor the tree making it a bird bath pedestal?

That is very sad. I think it is better to remember than try to avoid the discomfort. Leaving as much of the trunk standing as you can as a snag seems to me the best way to honor it. That way, it can still support an abundance of life. Bees, insects and birds benefit greatly from snags.

Sometimes you have to make the hard choice, especially when others have planted trees in exactly the wrong place. I find it helps to plant a whole bunch of new trees in the right places; and watch the cycle of life continue.

Jennifer,

I am not certain how big your tree was, but if there is another spot for an oak, at least you can get some good growth back soon.  I think it was better to cut it down relatively early than to let it get really big, beautiful and really shade out your garden.  At the very least you have a great idea for the wood left over.

I know how much it hurts to lose a big tree like that—I lost something like 25 oak and hickories due to a huge storm.  Heartbreaking.  At the least, you do have a plan and some good will come of it.

Good that you are leaving the stump.

Eric

Oak logs would be perfect for growing mushrooms if you want to try.
I have mixed feelings for oak trees too. I have two big one on the south side of my house. Although I like the shade in summer, they hold on to the leaves all winter when the sun is low on the horizon, casting shadow in mid day when my indoor plants badly need sunlight. I cut off some lower branches for mushroom logs and smaller twigs for biochar.
I like your idea of a standing stump for birdbath.

Well oak is perfect for hugeling, right? So there's that.

Here's what you do, to turn a negative into a positive. Cut the stump down to the right height and when it starts sending out new shoots clip all but a few on each side. Then wrap them around the birdbath and encapulate it, it will be awesome. I actually cut down a 10 inch oak last weekend too, in my new "food forest". I left a high stump for some reason. Now I know why, to try exactly this!

Use the wood chips; that tree was just storing solar energy for you like a battery. Let it fuel the garden.

Here's the bird bath so far.  A 24" plastic pot tray with a bunch of flat rocks in it on slopes so the birds can walk down to the current water level -- I like to dump the bath and fill it with fresh water each day.

It pleased me today to see lots of birds using it.  I saw three in it this evening, a couple of them flapping their wings happily in the water causing the water to splash everywhere.   I never had a bird bath before, but I can see how this can be great therapy.   My property is surrounded by 6 neighors all with trees in their backyard, so I still feel like I am in a forest, despite not having a single tree in my back yard now.  I hear all the bird activity in the trees now I wasn't hearing before.  Seems like the bird bath is becoming popular.    Yeah great therapy.. made me really happy.  I saw a beautiful blue and white bird fly in alone after the 3 black birds left.. was like 30 seconds later.  Then after the blue and white one left, another black one flew in alone and drank some water.

I suppose I should look into feeders and bird houses etc.  Would love for my property to become a bird haven lol.   Or is this a bad idea? Can too many birds be a bad idea for the garden?  I have ten 4' x 4' raised beds and grow like everything.   I don't grow grains though since I eat a ketogenic diet.    I think it'd be great if the birds ate the pests from the plants and all the mosquito larvae in stagant water on the ground.

Admittedly I haven't grown much outdoors, but I've never had birds be an issue and I have several feeders and baths set up. Someone else might have had a different experience.

If you've ever had birds pecking holes in your tomatoes or other similar fruit before though, a bird bath will normally solve that. They're more interested in the water inside the tomatoes than the tomatoes themselves

Jennifer Lowery wrote:Here's the bird bath so far.  A 24" plastic pot tray with a bunch of flat rocks in it on slopes so the birds can walk down to the current water level -- I like to dump the bath and fill it with fresh water each day.

It pleased me today to see lots of birds using it.  I saw three in it this evening, a couple of them flapping their wings happily in the water causing the water to splash everywhere.   I never had a bird bath before, but I can see how this can be great therapy.   My property is surrounded by 6 neighors all with trees in their backyard, so I still feel like I am in a forest, despite not having a single tree in my back yard now.  I hear all the bird activity in the trees now I wasn't hearing before.  Seems like the bird bath is becoming popular.    Yeah great therapy.. made me really happy.  I saw a beautiful blue and white bird fly in alone after the 3 black birds left.. was like 30 seconds later.  Then after the blue and white one left, another black one flew in alone and drank some water.

I suppose I should look into feeders and bird houses etc.  Would love for my property to become a bird haven lol.   Or is this a bad idea? Can too many birds be a bad idea for the garden?  I have ten 4' x 4' raised beds and grow like everything.   I don't grow grains though since I eat a ketogenic diet.    I think it'd be great if the birds ate the pests from the plants and all the mosquito larvae in stagant water on the ground.

Nice, it’s great to see the birds take a bath. If I may suggest. If you like it I suggest taking the bark off. While it looks pretty it will hold moisture and the thing will rot away pretty quick with bark on it.

Enjoy the birds.
Denny

Looking gorgeous with new oak limbs/leaves growing under bird bath

(Do I really need to strip the bark?)

Dan Fish wrote:Well oak is perfect for hugeling, right? So there's that.

Here's what you do, to turn a negative into a positive. Cut the stump down to the right height and when it starts sending out new shoots clip all but a few on each side. Then wrap them around the birdbath and encapulate it, it will be awesome. I actually cut down a 10 inch oak last weekend too, in my new "food forest". I left a high stump for some reason. Now I know why, to try exactly this!

Howdy,
If you remove the bark, probably kill the tree. Like the above says you can prune and train to grow like you want. I have some "wild" apple trees where I have twisted branchs together, like braiding, and made natural ladders to climb the tree.

randal cranor wrote:

Dan Fish wrote:Well oak is perfect for hugeling, right? So there's that.

Here's what you do, to turn a negative into a positive. Cut the stump down to the right height and when it starts sending out new shoots clip all but a few on each side. Then wrap them around the birdbath and encapulate it, it will be awesome. I actually cut down a 10 inch oak last weekend too, in my new "food forest". I left a high stump for some reason. Now I know why, to try exactly this!

Howdy,
If you remove the bark, probably kill the tree. Like the above says you can prune and train to grow like you want. I have some "wild" apple trees where I have twisted branchs together, like braiding, and made natural ladders to climb the tree.

Wow neat, can ya share some photos would love to see!

Howdy,

randal cranor wrote:Howdy,

That's sweet! love it. :)

I'm going to end up doing similar things to trees I planted.

I leave trees in place until they are harming the system,

but, -and-

You can leave a stump and populate it with shitake or other mushroom spawn...

It's a bit similar to raising hogs or cattle or other livestock when you kill a healthy tree, I grok it.

I have an issue now with ash trees

The ones that were present before I started my food forest. They have bore beetle problems.

It' not killing them yet but I am starting to need the sunlight for the designed space.

I'm waiting and getting used to the idea of removing them.

I'm not wanting to do it, but it will be better when I do.