Plantra's Message Board

Deer Damage

Chris Siems — Thur, 29 May 2008 02:16:15 GMT

Next time you see a beautiful, mature oak tree think about these three facts:
1) Where that one tree succeeded, millions of acorns and thousands of seedlings failed
2) That tree was probably aided by fire, which reduced vegetative competition
3) In 1900 it is estimated that there were 300,000 to 500,000 white-tailed deer in the entire USA.
In the year 2007, 518,000 deer were harvested (from a population of nearly 1.5 million) in Wisconsin alone - and even that number is not enough to prevent continued growth in the state's deer population.

There are positive and negative aspects to today's record deer populations. But one thing is certain - we're not going to successfully establish the generation of beautiful, mature oaks (and black walnuts, and black cherries, and white cedars, etc. etc.) without protecting them from browse... because it's a very different world from the world in which today's giant oaks got their starts.

Forum: Forestry

Tips & Hints

Chris Siems — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:48:29 GMT

A common question from customers: What are the small purple nets that come with my treeshelters used for? These nets go over the top of 4 and 5 foot Jump Start Treeshelters to prevent entry by bluebirds & other cavity nesting birds. These birds enter the tubes in search of a potential nesting site, to feed on insects, or simply by accident in an attempt to perch on the rim. Once inside the tubes they can't get out. Our bird nets have proven to be a simple and effective way to prevent this.

For proper application of bird nets please see our PDF instruction sheet.

Bird nets should only be used when the treeshelters will be monitored regularly, and should be removed when the trees reach the top of the treeshelters.

Bird nets are not generally not needed for 3 foot & shorter tubes (since bluebirds prefer to perch on the highest point in the field) or in vineyards (where trellis posts provide better & higher perches than the grow tubes).

Forum: Forestry

Great Publications

Chris Siems — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 19:23:43 GMT

No woodland manager should be without a copy of the US Forest Service book "Crop Tree Management In Eastern Hardwoods," written by Arlyn W. Perkey and Brenda L. Wilkins.
It is written as a guide to professional foresters who give guidance to private landowners, but it is so clearly written that private landowners can put some of the concepts to use themselves (although we DEFINITELY recommend working with professional foresters to get the most out of your forest!).
The book takes you through the process of defining your management objectives (timber, wildlife habitat, aesthetics, water quality - or a combination thereof) and then describes a system of "Crop Tree Release" that optimizes the productivity of your woods relative to your objectives.
To learn more, visit http://www.fs.fed.us/na/morgantown/frm/perkey/ctm/ctm_index.html
My favorite part of the book is a poem written by Arlyn:
Kilmer wrote "Only God can make a tree"
And with that I do agree,
But I don't believe He would refuse
A little help from you and me.

Forum: Forestry

Exciting Customer Projects

Chris Siems — Thur, 24 Apr 2008 10:52:51 GMT

Our customers are the coolest people in the world. From ecological restoration to wildlife habitat, from regenerating our high value hardwood timber resource to efforts to preserve and restore the American chestnut... our customers are amazing people doing amazing things.

We'll use this thread to chronicle some of the great projects our customers are working on. Stay tuned! Hopefully it would be a source of information and inspiration for your own projects.

Forum: Forestry

Favorite Tree Quotations

Chris Siems — Thur, 24 Apr 2008 10:37:32 GMT

I thought it would be fun to start a thread of quotations from famous people about the joys & rewards of tree planting. (Of course my idea of "fun" equals most peoples' idea of "dorky.") Whether inspirational, humorous or informative please feel free to add your favorite quotations about trees and tree planting.

Forum: Forestry

Events

Joe Lais — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:14:26 GMT

Forum: Vineyards

Bird Netting

Joe Lais — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:13:52 GMT

Forum: Vineyards

Tie Tape

Joe Lais — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:04:15 GMT

Forum: Vineyards

Bird Scare Tape

Joe Lais — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:57:47 GMT

These bird-scaring devices just annoy your neighbors

Wine Business Monthly article
Bird Netting: Is It the Best Defense?:

Kites, canons, predatory birds and Mylar tape all have one thing in common: they are used by growers in an often futile attempt to scare away birds. However, the birds only get used to them in time. Experts agree the only sure and humane method is exclusion. This is where bird netting comes in.
"As far as I'm concerned bird netting is the only thing that works," said Glen McGourty, University of California winegrowing advisor in Mendocino and Lake counties. "These bird-scaring devices just annoy your neighbors."

That's Steve Tillmann spreading net in the first picture. I hear he is available anytime and almost free.

Forum: Vineyards

Grow Tube Color

Joe Lais — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:31:29 GMT

Growtubes: Big, round and peach beats small, triangular and green

Halloween morning we received a nice call from an eastern grape grower. He bought several thousand 750mm (~2.5ft) Jump Start with the side slit. His planter told him he didn't believe in grow tubes because they grew spindly stems with long internodes. He said the plants just don't look good when grown in grow tubes.

It was dry in the east this year and as is common in the east there was no irrigation in this vineyard. The vines without Jump Start grow tubes in other vineyards did very poorly this summer. The vines grown with Jump Start? Two and half feet out the top of the Jump Start. Thick single stems. When the planter came back he was very impressed and surprised.

I asked the grower what sort of grow tubes the planter was experienced with and he said the green triangular ones. Of all the grow tube designs in the world a green triangular tube is probably the worst for plant growth and survival.

Let's start with making a tube green. From high school biology, we all know chlorophyll pigment absorbs red and blue light to make carbohydrate. Since the red and blue light is absorbed the leaves are green. So chlorophyll pigment makes leaves green because it reflects green light and absorb red and blue.

How do you make a grow tube green? You use a green pigment to absorb red and blue light and reflect green light. The plant needs red and blue light to make sugar, so what sane growtube or treeshelter designer would add green pigment to his tube that reduces the amount of red and blue light hitting the plant? If you don't care about growing a great plant and you do care about blending into a green landscape it makes some sense to use a green tube. The problem with that thinking is that tubes are almost always used where growth and survival are the sole reasons to spend all the extra money and time on a grow tube.

If you are establishing oaks in a forest you need to get a big root system as fast as possible. You need the tree shoot to out grow the weeds so it isn't shaded. You need the tree to get the terminal bud past the deer. Robbing the plant of red and blue light substantially reduces the likelihood of success.

It is much the same in a vineyard. You need to get the root system established. It is ideal to train the vine out the first year. That requires maximizing growth. You need a plant that is adapted to full sunlight conditions found in a vineyard. Green light works against all of these goals.

There is a lot more detail about light, but I still haven't gotten to the problem with a triangular tube. Triangular tubes are made that way because a triangular profile cannot collapse on itself at the corners. It is the easiest way to make a tube from sheet stock. While strong, a triangular tube is the least efficient way to create growing space. The same amount of material in a round profile will create a much greater cross-sectional area or tube volume that the same material shaped as a triangle. So, to stay competitive triangular tubes have much less growing area than a round profile tube. Why is that important?

A small tube confines the foliage and the plant gets light signals that say it is in a protected canopy shade situation. The plant responds with a growth habit described as shade avoidance. The plant allocates growth away from the root system and away from stem caliper. The stem is thin with long internodes. The leaves are larger to gather more light. This causes more crowding and the plant senses intensifying shade. The leaves have many more photoreceptors per square inch to make maximum use of the light that is available. The leaf is thinner without a thick waxy cuticle to protect it from excess sunlight. The plant is shade adapted and highly sensitized to full sunlight. Bright sunshine causes stress and damages the plant. In some cases this leads to morality.

Another feature of a triangular tube are the flat sides. A round tube presents a curved surface to the sun and tends to reflect and scatter most light. When the sun lines up perpendicular to the face of a triangular tube a tremendous amount of light pours through the sidewalls. This can lead to stress in a shade adapted plant. Stress cause slow growth and even mortality.

...and that is why so many people with experience with green and triangular growtubes are convinced they don't work. Go round. Go big - at least 3.5 inch diameter. Go peach color.

Forum: Vineyards