Improve Your Bedding Areas - How to Take a Soil Sample | Dream Farm w/ Bill Winke

[@alexpinnow6509]

Jordan learning some useful life skills! Love running a saw and dropping trees for people

[@bill-winke]

Yes, it is good to learn that most limitations people feel are put on them by culture they live in. Anything that doesn't require a lot of strength, should be doable for just about anyone. Good input.

[@ajkelley20]

I use a sthil clearing saw. It cuts through saplings super fast and you don't have to bend over.

[@bill-winke]

Yep, that's what I need especially when I start to attack the prickly ash. Some of that is an inch in diameter or bigger and fire won't kill that. I will have to cut the bigger stuff, treat the stump and then burn to remove the smaller stuff. It will take a long time to get rid of it, but fortunately, I don't have a ton.

[@brianoestreich1319]

Always enjoy your show Bill.

[@bill-winke]

Thanks Brian. Much appreciated.

[@johnschreier8150]

When taking soil samples you should have a clean shovel & container for each site otherwise you can 'contaminate' the sample(s).

[@royguidry1311]

I know you are tough, but an electric chainsaw is money on those small trees, no obnoxious noise, less weight and no pull starting. I carry a small backpack with a small hatchet, several light plastic wedges and two spare batteries and I can cut all day long. This includes dropping the occasional 20plus inch tree. Great episode. Great question by Jordan about depth of soil for the test. All the best.

[@bill-winke]

Thanks Roy. I appreciate it. I have never tried one of the electrics. I will have to give that a look, but now that I have $700 invested in these gas saws, it may be a while before I spring for another saw. Thanks for the comment. Have a great day.

[@RS-ms1bz]

Having used a chainsaw extensively the last three off seasons on my property, there are still some trees that will trick you as to how they'll fall. It's like they defy all laws of physics, lol. Jordan did great. Number one rule is to respect the tool you're using.

[@bill-winke]

Amen, dropping trees is serious stuff. Never take it lightly! Good words.

[@keithdewitt3561]

The new farm looks good.

[@bill-winke]

Thanks Keith. We really enjoy it. Not great deer hunting yet, but hopefully that will come. I hope you and your family are doing well. Happy Easter.

[@homeinthewhiteoaks]

Buying my seed tonight after work spring came quickly... Can't wait to see what you do with your farm plots. Can you do an episode on Chop and Squirt as its the easiest way I have found to get sunlight quickly, but would love to get your take on it. I'm just getting to old to spend a full day with a chainsaw and be pain free the next day LOL. (Hoping my new electric chainsaw helps with that) But a machete and a bottle of spray makes for a nice walk and covers a lot of ground, leaving a lot of dead trees behind.

[@bill-winke]

That is a good practice that I have not employed much, but it is much easier than cutting them down. The main reason I want them on the ground is to provide sanctuary cover for new hardwood regeneration. In areas with moderate to high density, the deer will eat the young oak trees as they try to fill in the areas that were opened up.

[@dannylamb9041]

Appreciate the focus on safety Bill, one other Item I suggest is to have your daughter pull her hair back when operating the saw. Great episode, looking forward to the future episode on cedars as I have an abundance.

[@bill-winke]

Danny, thanks for the comment. Yes, she definitely needs to tuck that in. She only cut down one tree with my direct supervision so it wasn't a big deal this time around, but you are right. My cedar cutting will continue on the big areas. The project I talked about in this episode is called a "Goat Prairie". It is the act of creating native prairie on steep slopes. Historically, in my area, these were open prairie and the cedars started to encroach about 20 to 30 years ago. We are just getting rid of them and trying to return these areas to prairie again. I will do a future episode about the "Goat Prairie" when they are all done. I think they are done cutting now and should be ready to burn yet this spring - at least that is my hope.

[@artbrennhofer8283]

Thanks for the video Bill. My land is more lowland, holds water in the spring and when there is a heavy rain, so if I were to do some cutting will I get the regrowth like you get in the high ground? I do have a lot of buckthorn to deal with too.

[@bill-winke]

You should get regrowth regardless, it may not be oaks but it will likely be something young and tasty that will that area you opened up. Before you get too ambitious with the TSI you do need to kill the invasives first otherwise they will completely take over. That can be a tough project that likely will include cutting, spraying and ultimately fire during the right time of year. Good luck.

[@edwardclark5211]

Dream Big brother 🙏

[@BlueWidow2010]

Bill, I have scouted and hunted the bluffs in that area for a few years now and have notched that the deer will bed on a flat next to a tree. Most of the time the tree is on the down hill side like the bed in this video (2:51). Some of the trees are large enough to block the view down hill. My question is which way is the deer facing when laying next to the tree? Thanks Mark from Michigan.

[@bill-winke]

I think they do that because the only flat ground on some of those slopes is on the uphill side of a good sized tree. I am guessing about 20 to 25% of the beds I find are in those kinds of spots, the rest are right at the point where the ridge starts to drop off, so they do have a bit of flat ground there - or at least mostly flat. When bedding in the bluffs, they will be facing downhill, almost all the time. I have seen them sleeping in those spots, very funny to see. The bucks will stretch out like a dog with their chins on the ground!

[@BlueWidow2010]

@@bill-winke Thanks Bill, for your time. I hope to be back this fall for a couple of weeks. Looking forward to climbing the hills and trying to tag a nice buck.

[@stevedenoyer5956]

Safety first , most important, I don’t start my saw without the chaps and helmet on. Especially if you’re by yourself. You could bleed out in minutes. I always recommend cutting with a buddy.

[@bill-winke]

Very good points Steve. Sort of like climbing trees when placing and hunting stands - if you don't take all the precautions, it is not a matter of "if" you will fall, but only "when" and how badly you will be hurt. Without very strict attention to details, cutting down trees can go very, very bad. Have a great day.

[@specag31]

Bring some Blood Clot. You want a participation trophy too? Gee, I can remember riding in the families 1957 Chevy with no seatbelts, laying up on the back shelf, and generally just doing stupid shit in the car. We used to shoot without earmuffs or safety glasses,no problems, everything‘s working fine. Wait one, I think I hear something ringing. What? What? Hang on Ma, I’ll be upstairs in a second, see, everything‘ s fine. Aawwwwww that hurts. I just ran into the wall. Maaaaaaa! What? No I’m not calling 911 again.

[@stevedenoyer5956]

@@specag31 congratulations

[@jasonmcrae2675]

How many sheds have you found this year?

[@bill-winke]

We found maybe 6 or 8 ourselves but I let a neighbor look and he found 12 so a total of 18 to 20 is pretty good for the first year. It should keep getting better for a few more years as the buck numbers increase.

[@JayN4GO]

Curious what your ph tested at in that bottom. I’m sure it was decent with crop’s being in there last year. Are you going to take Jordan turkey hunting

[@bill-winke]

Should know the answer to that very soon. Yes, we plan to give it a try tomorrow and Thursday morning. Thanks for the comment.

[@upatree10]

Turkey hunting videos to follow?

[@robertduguay689]

Bill are you just letting the trees lay where they fall or making piles?

[@bill-winke]

Leaving them lay. I like the tops to be there to protect new growth from immediately getting eaten by deer.

[@nicschaalma3508]

Can’t find the app. Can you share the link or name of what to search?

[@bill-winke]

Nic, it is called Plot Perfection. I think you can find it on Google Play Store or Apple Tunes also. You can also find their website at: plotperfection.com/home Have a great day.

[@briankehrli6991]

Bill how do I get you to come walk my new property?

[@bill-winke]

Brian, I do offer a consulting service. If interested in details, please e-mail me at [e-mail]. Have a great day.

[@jordanhudson5075]

Golden retrievers are the best, I miss my Murphy every day

[@bill-winke]

They are awesome dogs. Bentley is a sure-thing people dog from the word go.

[@jordanhudson5075]

Ours used to ride the jet ski and follow us all through the woods or sit in the cabin and bark non stop so we had to let him follow behind even hunting we made him a ramp to walk up into the blind

[@RGrizzzz]

A soil sampling probe would be better than a shovel, so you get even amounts of soil throughout the depth of the plot.

[@bill-winke]

Good point Ron. Thanks for the comment and the support. Have a great day.

[@meyerske1]

Another great video, Bill. Here's another vote for an electric chainsaw. They are shockingly capable nowadays. No hearing protection is required, which is a huge safety advantage. You can hear the tree as it gives you cues/signals during the cut, and you can hear your partner while cutting (which can be critical).

[@bill-winke]

Kurt, that is good information. I will have to try them out. Thanks for the comment and the support.

[@POLSKIMOTOR102]

What are your thoughts on treating the stumps with herbicide after cutting? I understand you want the tender new browse for deer but ultimately plan to manage invasives with fire? Cheers

[@bill-winke]

I don't kill the stumps on most trees. I do kill the ironwood stumps (a species in our area that the deer don't seem to browse), the locust stumps, the hedge (osage orange stumps) and I do kill the stumps on any invasives. (In my area that is mostly bush honeysuckle and prickly ash). Otherwise, I let the stump sprout and let the deer eat the fresh growth. Maybe there are other species I should be killing but those are the only ones I have learned the hard way that I need to deal with sooner rather than later.

[@usernamehere6061]

@@bill-winke Poplar can be one you want to treat depending on your part of the country. They grow fast and can takeover your openings.

[@stevedenoyer5956]

@@usernamehere6061 Poplar in my area of Michigan are deer candy in their young stage, I'd love to have a stand on my property. I have just a few scattered here and there. I'd clear cut every ten years and let them root sprout, it's like another food plot. maybe different in other areas of the country.

[@kurtpearson2793]

First

[@bill-winke]

Thanks for the support Kurt.