Planting Trees
May
Through a Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) with our USDA office in Plattsburgh, we planted trees and shrubs in a 1.5 acre area of the farm this spring.
Both through the Essex County Soil and Water Tree Sale and Vermont Willow Nursery, we’ve purchased enough young plants to get us started.
The area where we planted is partially along a creek and can sometimes be a bit wet. So it is not well-suited for livestock or crops, but perfect for trees and shrubs like:
- Black Elderberry
- American Cranberry
- Black Willow
- Allegheny Serviceberry
- Redosier Dogwood
- Chokeberry
- Black Cherry
- American Hazelnut
A special thanks to Suzanne, Tim, Stefanie, Mathew, Megan, Sophia, and Allie for coming out to help us plant over 140+ trees and shrubs this past weekend in two half-acre plots which will benefit wildlife, pollinators and help to mitigate stream bank erosion.
Each plant got a tree tube, a weed mat, a bamboo stake, a fertilizer tablet and a little love. Plus Mother Nature is providing plenty of rain water for our thirsty young saplings to take root.
I’ve personally never planted a tree before so the experience was enriching and makes me feel like we’re making a real positive impact to the overall farmscape with these types of practices.
And we’re going take it a step further as well in introducing silvopasture practices to our main grazing fields. Tree fodder, with certain varieties of Willow, Hybrid Poplar, and Black Locust can provide not only shade but excellent supplemental nutrition in times when drought and the summer’s sun are harsh on pasture grasses.
So I’ll be planting a strip or two of about 50 trees directly in our pastures to start these fast-growing dicots for our sheep, pigs and chickens to benefit from.
The recent Tree Fodder Planting Workshop at Barred Owl Brook Farm was extremely informative and well-timed to keep the knowledge flowing as well!
