Collins Kids Nut Forest

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Collins Kids Nut Forest

Postby George Collins » Tue Mar 20, 2012 3:34 am

I have four broad Permaculture Goals:
1. Walnut Grove
2. Forest Garden
3. Ruth Stout meets Sepp annual garden
4. Nut forest with the primary goal of topping out hogs and a secondary goal of perhaps providing some good squirrel hunting

I have posted extensively about the forest garden and the walnut grove and a bit about some of the things going on with annuals. However, there has been relatively little information about the nut forest. Since my thoughts have been running that way as of late, I will organize them here and see what happens over time.

In late Winter 2010, my father and I planted ten Dunstan chestnuts that we placed in a double row spaced 50' apart on a perfect north-South axis and 80' apart on a perfect east-west axis. A skunk dug one up and even though it greened up and lived for awhile, it ultimately suffered the same fate as the skunk.

Today, I ordered a replacement along with two more from Chestnut Hill Nursery.

These twelve trees will form the core from which the rest of the nut forest will radiate from.

My intentions are to use the same principles used to layout a food forest for the layout of the nut forest, the differences being that:
- instead of concentrating my efforts on the perennials that have a direct benefit to a human, the goal is to select nut trees that primarily benefit hogs and/or wildlife.
- the scale will be far grander.

The Dunstans represent the core. Those trees on the short list to be included in the canopy layer include:
- shagbark hickory
- hickory
- swamp chestnut oak
- white oak
- red oak
- sawtooth oak
- water oak
- beech

For the low tree layer:
- chinquapins
- filberts perhaps
- maybe some shade tolerant fruit trees
- (Anyone know of any shade tolerant trees that produces something a hog will eat?)

This will be a great opportunity to make extensive use of vines like scuppernongs, muscadines, grapes, kiwis, etc.

I don't see much opportunity for having a shrub layer, herbaceous layer or root layer as hogs would likely annihilate such in short order but I am open to suggestions.

If the new Dunstans and the chinquapins are placed this year, I'll consider it a success and will use the next year to research, gather and germinate the seeds and go all out next winter on bringing this thing to a higher level of fruition.

As I write this, I've had a revelation - I don't know that anyone has ever adapted forest gardening to keeping pigs in the temperate zone. Maybe one day I'll be as famous as Robert Hart. Even if I'm not, if forest gardening for hogs is successful, I'll certainly eat better than he did.
"Solve world hunger, tell no one." "The, the, the . . . The Grinch!"

"If you can't beat them, bite them."
George Collins
 
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Re: Collins Kids Nut Forest

Postby matt walker » Tue Mar 20, 2012 3:56 am

Excellent plan, I love it. My hogs pretty much left the stinging nettles, wild rose hips, and blackberry patches alone. Not sure if I'd introduce any of those if I didn't have them, as they are pretty invasive here, but there's some info for you.

A timely post for me, I planted two filberts today and purchased two grape vines as well.
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Re: Collins Kids Nut Forest

Postby George Collins » Sun Mar 25, 2012 12:57 am

This past week, I ordered three more Dunstan Chestnuts from Chestnut Hills Nusery. The arrived on Thursday and we set them out today. One was obtained to replace the one destroyed by the skunk last year. As we were digging the hole which was in the exact same spot as the one lost, I extracted what appeared to be an extensive, viable looking root system. Had I not gotten another one, and had I not disturbed anything, tis possible that another chestnut would have appeared of its own accord. But since I already had a replacement in hand, I decided to go ahead with the original plan but the extracted root system was placed in the water bucket with the intent to pot it up and see what happened. Shortly thereafter, I had my oldest daughter, who was not present at the moment the old root system was extracted and placed in the water bucket, go to the stream to fetch a bucket of water. That was the last time I saw those roots.

We made the other two sets and in doing so realized that the line I thought I was planting on last year was in fact a curve. To correct such, and since doing so put but offending trees in better positions, I did another first today: dug up a previously planted specimen and moved it. I did so with as large a root ball as I could manage to get out of the ground intact. Didn't seem too hard in retrospect.

Something I did this year differently though is made much greater use of berms and basins in both frequency and scale. Here's a picture of the least grand of the earth works made but the only picture of one that turned out worth anything;
Image

That is a swale in front of the tree and a U-shaped berm behind and on the sides so that all water that falls within the drip line of the tree will be captured by the relatively small berm and the rain that falls upslope will be captured by the swale so the tree will hopefully receive a double shot of the good stuff everytime it rains. We also mulched heavily with hay and protected the tree with concrete reenforcement wire held in place by the two steel posts shown. Lastly, we wrapped the whole enchilada in chicken wire. The hope is to keep cows off and nibblers out.
"Solve world hunger, tell no one." "The, the, the . . . The Grinch!"

"If you can't beat them, bite them."
George Collins
 
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Joined: Mon Jan 16, 2012 10:57 pm
Location: South Central Mississippi, Zone 8a

Re: Collins Kids Nut Forest

Postby matt walker » Sun Mar 25, 2012 2:18 am

I'm just so stoked to see you pushing so hard George. This is great. I'm just going to respond to your whole endeavor here, since I can't keep track of which project is more awesome. I loved the comment about the synchronicity of your knowledge, schedule, and finances. I'm gaining a lot of knowledge right now and figuring out a plan for my land overall, I just hope the finances and time are there when I get to the big tree push. I'm really loving your updates and seeing the progress day to day, keep it coming!

I did the same, dug up a couple plum trees and bare rooted 'em, as well as moved a hazelnut I planted a couple days ago. I'm very curious to see how they fare.
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Re: Collins Kids Nut Forest

Postby George Collins » Sun Mar 25, 2012 3:01 pm

Matt, when you transplant, do you remove any limbs? I read after making the most recent transplants that "heading off" (I think I remember it being called) is recommended to bring the number of leaves the tree is required to support in proper relation to the amount of roots still viable subsequent to a transplanting. If so, what principles do you follow to determine the amount to cut back?

The bare root stuff recently obtained from Willis Orchards had pretty much all of their limbs cut back to a point even with the trunk so that all was left was a "stick" with a few roots attached to the bottom.

I'm just wondering if I shouldn't whip out the loppers and snips, run outside and make the figs and plums transplanted yesterday look like like the rest of the trees when they were first planted out.
"Solve world hunger, tell no one." "The, the, the . . . The Grinch!"

"If you can't beat them, bite them."
George Collins
 
Posts: 535
Joined: Mon Jan 16, 2012 10:57 pm
Location: South Central Mississippi, Zone 8a

Re: Collins Kids Nut Forest

Postby matt walker » Sun Mar 25, 2012 5:04 pm

No George, I didn't prune any branches. Both trees were pretty sad looking, having come up underneath the mama plum and were pretty much growing in flowing water of a seasonal ditch. Neither really had many branches to speak of, although the sucker has multiple "whips" for a trunk. I figured I would wait and see if they make it, and then prune back to the most vigorous whip.
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Re: Collins Kids Nut Forest

Postby George Collins » Fri Mar 30, 2012 1:54 am

Today we made our initial expansion upon the double row of Dunstan chestnuts. To the east of the eastern row, we planted three newly sprouted sawtooth oaks that my oldest daughter dug out of the ground around our porce a couple days ago as she was playing in the dirt.

Next, five chinquapins were planted halfway between each of the oaks and the nearest chestnut.

Everything was caged with concrete reenforcement wire but as the rain was bearing down upon us, we had to forego the mulch and beat a hasty retreat to shelter as the rain storm (which turned out to be a pitiful excuse for a rain storm) also brought lightning.
"Solve world hunger, tell no one." "The, the, the . . . The Grinch!"

"If you can't beat them, bite them."
George Collins
 
Posts: 535
Joined: Mon Jan 16, 2012 10:57 pm
Location: South Central Mississippi, Zone 8a

Re: Collins Kids Nut Forest

Postby George Collins » Sat Mar 31, 2012 10:58 am

Yesterday, the kids and I went into the swamp to visit a large stand of shagbark hickories. We extracted several of the hundreds of saplings, brought them home but had only enough daylight to set one out. The rest were banked and will be set out today after the sun comes up.

While watering the chestnuts yesterday, I realized we had left one exposed from our work the day previous. During its 24-hour exposure, it was mauled by something. Complete defoliation but for like 2-3 leaves. Heart breaking.
"Solve world hunger, tell no one." "The, the, the . . . The Grinch!"

"If you can't beat them, bite them."
George Collins
 
Posts: 535
Joined: Mon Jan 16, 2012 10:57 pm
Location: South Central Mississippi, Zone 8a

Re: Collins Kids Nut Forest

Postby Lollykoko » Sat Mar 31, 2012 1:26 pm

You did / are planting the mauled chestnut anyway, aren't you George? So long as the roots aren't chewed off I'd give it a shot, and might even try then.
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Re: Collins Kids Nut Forest

Postby George Collins » Sat Mar 31, 2012 7:40 pm

Lolly,
It was one of the ones I planted last year and arguably the best formed tree of the lot. We took the cage off to work around it when a lightning storm blew in. We beat a hasty retreat leaving much undone intending to return to it as quickly as possible. It was during that 24 hour lapse in protection that the damage occured. I recaged it today. We'll see what happens.

Two of the little sawtooth oaks had desiccated overnight so they were replaced with shagbark hickories. We also planted two additional shagbarks on the western side. That gives a total of five. If transplanting them doesn't work, this fall the same play used to germinate walnuts will be used in an attempt to get some free shagbarks.

The chinquapins all look ok.

While we were in the swamp, we visited yet another paw paw patch, brought two little ones home and they now reside in spots in the northern shadow of he house.
"Solve world hunger, tell no one." "The, the, the . . . The Grinch!"

"If you can't beat them, bite them."
George Collins
 
Posts: 535
Joined: Mon Jan 16, 2012 10:57 pm
Location: South Central Mississippi, Zone 8a

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