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Spring berry picking

I got quite a few berries today. Nice spring weather is a great time for picking. Now, the tedious chaff removal. At least that will make the fire hotter!

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Huntcell, this is my facetious way of making fun out of buckthorn. I went into a bedding area shed hunting and found a mother tree. Because I have eliminated mature buckthorn from my area, I reaffirmed the need of constant vigilance looking for the crap. I cut the buckthorn down branch by branch and harvested the remainder of the berries before springtime birds returned and spread the seeds far and wide. I hate buckthorn!

We as landowners need to be good land stewards. Removal of buckthorn makes for longterm habitat for deerby ensuring native trees reproduce and thrive. Bowhunting in the fall takes time, so does proper land management the rest of the year.

Does fire kill the seed?

Ha, I did this last fall. There was one tree on my property that was loaded with them. Right out in the open, can't believe I didn't treat it the year before. I cut the tree down and into small pieces, used a large garbage can and held each branch mostly inside the garbage can while I stripped the seeds off. I got about one cubic foot of berries. Multiply that by about 3 seeds in each berry and that is a lot of seed that never saw the light of day. Wear good gloves or expect to have purple hands. I disposed of it in the trash that the city buries really deep.

I do not know how hot the fire (prescribed burn) must get to destroy seed. I decided to keep these seeds in a Mason far for Shiw and Tell talks I do. I am currently dehydrating them with silica gel.

If you have ever seen the green carpet under a mother tree, you realize how viable the seeds are. I have a great way to destroy small buckthorn by the acre without damaging native trees.

Where did Buckthorn originate from? Is there any purpose?

The purpose of buckthorn it to piss you off, scratch up your face and ruin your clothes.

MF, originally brought in as landscaping and some for wind-erosion shelter belts. It was imported from Eurasia region where it has natural controls. Here, it has no enemy (except man). Once it got loose, it spread, and continues to spread wildly. If you look at urban centers (where landscaping became fashionable), it it spreading outward in a concentric circle. Now, localized infestations are spreading this way. Many areas the circles overlap. The stuff is hideous.

As an avid proponent of sound forestry, I can relate this prediction. Native trees will eventually be non-existent in many areas eventually except in areas with intervention. Areas will eventually be solid buckthorn and that is it. Wildlife will be directly impacted.

So when I warn landowners that have buckthorn starting, I give them my motto, "Make it a 30 minute job today before it becomes a 30 day job tomorrow!" This speaks to procrastination.

Very important to get adjoins landowners to understand too otherwise a constant battle.

I have a 3-step program to beat buckthorn, but it still takes persistence!! It is a very serious matter yet some choose to give up and do nothing. As landowners, we have to be stewards. Removing exotic invasive s should be priority or your quaility of hunt will be very diminished eventually.

I like the brush on method for applying herbicide. What is the best herbicide to use and where do you get it from?

Tomas, I used to exclusively brush as well. I now spray using ultra low volume wand that Jeff in MN turned me on to. I have never looked back.

I source my triclopyr through Alligare.

Triclopyr ester hands down. Generic for Garlon 4. Do not use Tordon RTU. It contains picloram and it is particularly nasty...just don't use it please.

I forgot to add, I do not use diesel as a penetrant, many do. I use a paraffin based oil with added penetrant s. Little to no odor.

This reminds me of a story from last fall. I had finished up the big BT job I was working on and a person from our church asked if I would ID a few trees on their new place. There were 4 large BT that looked like they were planted and maintained as landscape trees on the edge of the yard near the road. I explained what they were and the landowner had me remove them. An older couple that lives down the road stopped and asked why I was taking the trees out. I explained. They thought it was awful that I was needlessly tearing out these beautiful "exotic" trees that the previous owners had nurtured for so long. They thought it was even worse that I wouldn't replant the trees on their land and that I was burning them. They told me it was people like me that are ruining the environment. I still slept well that night though.

...or the old couple that likes those bushes that help the birds. That is, until I tell them it literally stresses birds by dehydrating them, and can succumb to that.

Treefarm, I tried my best to explain to them about invasives and such. I am far from being as well versed in it as you. I had work to do and after a while just ignored them.

When we bought our property in 1992 it was very overgrown (at 500 bucks an acre it was still worth it). It was full of buckthorn, honeysuckle, wild plum and other assorted. Been waging war ever since.

In the end Lame, you created a parcel much better than you found it. You understand land stewardship. Now bowhunting is out the back door in what used to be pass-through habitat. It is an example of the cliche' "build it and they will come. Just imagine how you would kick yourself if you passed on that land purchase. Like most will say, "i didn't have money at the time, but now I have a million dollars". Almost anybody can buy property, many just don't put the effort in. I am living proof of a will there is a way. I will continue to do habitat and Woodland improvements because I see the intrinsic value...Leopold-like. Keep up the good work.

Treefarm, is there a time frame when I should not do the basal bark method? I thought I recalled reading late spring to early summer it's not as effective.

My experience is that you basal bark apply when you have the time. My observation is that triclopyr ester with penetrating oil will kill using basal bark application year-Round. Spring is the time to shy away from due to plant vigor and northbound sap. Late fall and dead of winter are best times overall.

That said, do NOT CUT or abraid in the spring. That is when the sap washes herbicide away.

Buckthorn is the scourge of the earth!!!!!!!!!!!!! Probably responsible for ruining many a good man's back throughout history.

Like Treefarm says, don't turn BT management into a 30 day job. Unfortunately areas around where I hunt in MN and try to help the landowners will never get by without significant treatment every year. Won't take as much spray but every square foot still needs to be walked every year. There is so much of it on neighboring land and those landowners just don't care. Also some of it is wooded pasture and I am convinced that the cattle eat and spread the seed around. They definitely eat the foliage on the low stuff because they look like mangled up bushes. The two areas I treated this year I am fairly sure I could have filled a 55 gallon barrel with the berries at each location. It is going to be an explosion of seedlings in the next couple of years. We might cut down and pile up or even burn some of it this summer because when those trees fall in 3+ years from now it will be a tangled up mess to get through for future inspection and spraying.

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