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What to grow in an old Cranberry bog?

Hay Guys. Looking for some help on what to plant in old cranberry bogs. I live in southeast Mass and behind my house is a bunch of old cranberry bog. The town bought them a couple of years ago, and have a 100 year land lock on it. I'm trying to make a solid food source to pull the deer out of a sanctuary across the street.

The main problem is the water table. The water level is so unpredictable, it can stay inches below the soil for months, or dry out completely in the summer. I can't really use machinery or make any big changes to quick, due to the fact its town land and people walk there daily.

My front runners are Nuttal oaks or sawtooth oaks. But I'm not locked into certain types of food. Anything I can get growing out there would be great. Just not looking for anything like Samp oaks....I can't wait 35 years to get anything out of it. The soil is sandy and acidic. I can get out there with Lyme, so that's not an issue.

Any ideas would be great, Thanks guys.

Black Spruce, Tamarack, Leatherleaf, Labrador Tea, and sphagnum moss are what grows best in a cranberry bog. I can't even imagine how an oak tree would do, not well I'm guessing. And for the record, you mention it's "town land", so I'm assuming you don't own it...in which case you better think long and hard about messing with public property...and especially so if water or the wetlands are involved. You could get your tit in a ringer, as they say, and the fines are steep!

old cranberries ;)

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