Three hours of physical work seems to be a sweet spot for me.
I wrapped the trunks of 10 small persimmon trees with paper to armor them against rabbits. That took 30 minutes.
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| In my humble opinion, this apple trees is reasonably well pruned. I THINK it is Liberty/M26. The lowest branches are 5'-6" above ground...necessary to avoid getting browsed by deer. |
Then I broke-down the limbs I had pruned from apple trees in the Upper Orchard and dragged them out of the orchard. I got about 10% of the orchard floor cleared in 2.5 hours. That pencils out to 25 hours to clear the orchard and I expect that estimate to drift considerably. On one-hand I will find more efficient ways to do things. On the other hand, I will have to drag the brush farther.
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| This tree is NOT well pruned. The fork is an honest 8' above ground. It has way too much wood, too high. The reason it looks like this is that 80% of the "wood" on this tree was of a very early summer apple which is of no value. The two branches that you see are of Melrose. A fellow has to work with what he has. |
One efficiency will be to pile and burn some of the brush in the orchard. That will keep the nutrients where they will do the most good. I am going to ask my good buddy Shotgun if he is willing to watch the fire(s) while I drag brush. The brush is still green, so it will take TLC to keep it burning, but Shotgun is just the man for the job.
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| Looking down the row of stacked brush. |
For now, I am dragging the brush out into a field overgrown with goldenrod. I am dragging it down a deer trail and stacking it on the west (upwind) side of the trail. Rabbits like to eat apple brush and like to hide in brush-piles. I wouldn't be surprised to find a few rabbits there in a week or two.
I am going to sleep well tonight!
small fruitwood is good for smoking meat on a small scale. maybe chip the small brush to retain more nutrients. When I drag brush, I use a small loop sling to bundle the butts of several pieces with a girth hitch. Makes a nifty handle.
ReplyDeleteErik you are working too hard.
ReplyDeleteCould you pull something like this?
https://www.northerntool.com/products/field-tuff-3-point-60in-pine-straw-rake-working-width-60-in-model-ftf-60psr3pt-5250551
Make a burn barrel from an old 55-gal steel drum. Contains the heat well, is 'safer' for areas that require burn pemits, and you can stuff whole branches in butt-end first, let gravity do some of the work for you. A few seasoned logs and some tinder (or diesel) in the bottom, you're good to go!
ReplyDeleteYou can use the brush piles to funnel the deer to certain paths and points for your hunters.
ReplyDelete