Trees purchased from Midland Conservation Dept. The planting of the 44 trees on the west side was delayed a month. These trees were trenched in on my property, then redug and planted at the TU property. The trees that did not make it through the summer were planted on the high river bank (3’ above normal water level) within 20’ of the river. The trees that did survive were planted in areas that were wet, obviously in a spring flow making its way to the river. The delay in planting and plant/digup/replant probably caused additional stress to the plants that didn’t make it. The good news is that the vast majority of the plants were planted in wet areas that are wet all year around, and these seem to be doing well.
The final ten cages and fence posts were used to cage naturals this fall. There are numerous other naturals that should be caged and allowed to mature. Naturals caged this spring showed vigorous growth .
My recommendation for next year is to reduce the number of new purchased trees to be able to get them in the ground in a timely manner after delivery, and to focus on caging and protecting the natural trees growing in the area. The naturals will do far better than imports.
Total costs for trees, fencing materials and planting/caging effort was $1272. Cost per tree approx. ($1272 / (104 new +25 naturals)) is $9.86. Donations amounted to $50 at the banquet and $100 from Cedars for the AuSable for a total of $150.
2009 Cedars For The Cedar Recap
Calender of events:
3/xx/2009 Purchase Materials Bill
4/xx/2009 Purchase Materials Bill
4/04/2009 Assemble Cages (60 Cages) Harley, Dan, Bill
4/17/2009 Pickup trees, supplies Bill
4/18/2009 Planting (Northeast, 30 Trees) Jack, John, Bill
4/23/2009 Planting (Northwest, 10 Trees) Bill
4/25/2009 Planting (West, 10 Trees) + Caging Naturals Bill
4/29/2009 Caging Naturals Bill
(1120 miles and 64 manhours)
Accomplishments:
Of 104 New Cedars Planted, Caged + Netted during 2008:
10 Died Summer 2008 (West side)
5 Died Winter 2008/9 (West side)
9 Shaky, 8OK, 12 Good (West side) as of 4/25/2009
2 Shaky (East side) as of 4/25/2009
(88 alive and well of 104 planted – 85%)
58 Naturals (3 – 8" high) caged in 25 cages in 2008 – all survived
50 New Cedar Transplants planted, caged and netted - 2009
4/25/2009 8 naturals caged in 5 cages
4/29/2009 33 naturals caged in 18 cages
Discussion:
Trees purchased from Midland Conservation Dept.
Total costs for trees, fencing materials and planting/caging effort in 2009 was $560. (50 Trees = $48, 57 Posts = $241, 6 rolls wire = $246, deer netting = $25 = $560 Total). Cost per tree approx. $8.23. ($560 / (50 new +18 naturals) (Vs $9.48 for 2008)
Bill Holler