Turning A Field into A Forest

In this video I am converting a field into a forest. My goal is to grow a high quality veneer black walnut crop with western red cedar trees as spacing and trainer trees. If the black walnuts don't work or die off then I have the western red cedar as a valuable cash crop. If the black walnuts make it and produce high quality veneer stems then the cedar will be thinned and slowly removed while the black walnuts grow and in 40-100 years the black walnuts can be harvested for lots of money (hopefully!)
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[@WatchDogxx]

"Now we've just got to wait 10 years to see if it works", man I was really hoping for a 10 year jump cut lol.

[@terryeason4319]

I love the idea I just don't think I have another ten years to see myself. BUT I am still wanting to do it so my grandson can benefit from them. Thanks for the education.😊

[@emilyjayne77]

Maybe it would’ve been a benefit to put the cone on roots first, then plant the little fella’s ❤ 🌲 great to watch you replenishing and being kind to trees

[@SJForestProducts]

That is a great idea! I never thought of that, but I bet it would work well!

[@emilyjayne77]

Maybe next time 😄

[@rockman531]

Hi Jason, Lots of hard work & investment! Hopefully the cones will prevent the little critters from getting a seat at your gourmet feast! Have you talked to any forest service people about traps that might slow them down a bit?? Take Care, Best of Luck! Jim

[@BrianJensen-ym5gk]

8 feet between the trees in each row might be a bit much, especially since you are planting directly into grass, and have to establish weedcontrol with the cedars (4-5 feet might be a safer bet). Now, admittedly, I don't know if they grow like stink in Washington, but they are rather slow growing here in Denmark. It might be worth considering planting a fast growing "nursing-tree" species (like alder, pine or larch in my neighbourhood. Larch is epic, as it doesn't shade heavily) to shade out the grass, prune the nursing trees heavily, and then remove them completely before they damage the main tree species (after 8-10 years).

[@markroper9269]

Love the video! Interesting process to getting veneer quality black walnut!! Have a great weekend!!

[@UtmostOutdoors]

Very cool!

[@trevorwhat]

That was particularly useful info, Jason. As always, thanks for taking the time to put these together.

[@SJForestProducts]

Thanks Trevor! I appreciate your support! Lots more cool content on the way, stay tuned!

[@TheBossKelso]

hope it works well gj

[@quagmier3]

Good idea Jason but what about planting Douglas fir trees instead and cut the trees for Christmas trees?

[@SJForestProducts]

Good idea!

[@quagmier3]

@@SJForestProducts I used to own a plant nursery in so Cal and would buy around a thousand cut Doug firs a year from smaller growers in Oregon.

[@DawsonGore-gr4dj]

Spruce trees too animals won’t eat them

[@thekevorlando]

We raised a lot of orange trees here in Florida we had possums rats raccoons that would know it away not to mention deer my grandfather always told me if you keep the grass short the smaller things are less likely to go in there because they're scared of owls and other predator birds

[@netfun8]

Decades ago we used to scalp a square foot of grass when planting trees in grass areas. We planted cow pastures a couple years back with doug fir and cedar. Mowing the field first (brush hog) would help with tall grass. Then we sprayed the field to kill the grass. We ripped the field with dozer to help the roots. Would suggest spraying around the blue tubes to deter mice and voles. Those seedlings have long roots, make sure to not j root while planting.

[@fhbbi]

Jason Appleseed!

[@jasonhilliker492]

Goodnature A24 CO2 rat/mouse trap. Mount the trap on a pole. Then the mouse will fall out onto the ground. Then the predators will stick around for the mouse snacks.

[@Christian-jz3xt]

Ever tried Tulip poplar? They grow quickly and force the neighbor trees to keep up. Might shave a year or two off the wait for cedar

[@tomdabomb3457]

Tulip poplar grow like weeds!! I thinned out part of my woods and left the poplars, and then the maples grew faster and straight up. Then I went back and cut down all the poplars. Now I have all beautiful maples. Hope that makes sense

[@Christian-jz3xt]

@@tomdabomb3457 makes perfect sense. That's pretty well how I've used them. Use them as the fast wood and they encourage straight growth in others. Can sell the wood after to (of all things) chop stick companies. Apparently it is the best wood for use is disposables.

[@tomdabomb3457]

I never knew mice ate cedar trees.

[@joshuahosang6690]

Well you will be set by the time you retire

[@haha-hy8oo]

You should put up some posts for birds of pray so they can keep your rodents down. Mowing might also help but i kind of impractical. As a german forester we have a saying" Gras Maus aus " gras mice over

[@haha-hy8oo]

By the way love what you are doing. Many except some of your chainsaw work might have room for improvemt when safety is of concern.

[@gigiscrafts1259]

I agree!

[@sovereignlivingsoul]

great job, you might want to try coning the trees before planting, you may get some buried cones to help protect the trees

[@SJForestProducts]

That's a good idea!

[@reverendtfg6802]

*What stops the mice from chewing through the cone?* 🤨🤨🤨

[@BillMulholland1]

👍

[@randyrife4199]

Really good video. I didn't see a link for the grow tubes. Can you let me know where you purchased them? I like this style and can't find them anywhere. Thanks.

[@conservativerealist]

Get a gas power auger for the digging .4-6" diameter.

[@SJForestProducts]

Great idea! Thanks

[@SteveandSusiesHomestead]

2nd

[@martyrouland1681]

Try a moth ball by each tree.

[@dvssayer5621]

Hi Jason, its been awhile, can you tell us if these cedars survived? Voles go under ground to eat roots. Im curious how its going with your trees. Im having 35 western redcedars planted ( by a reforestry guy!) 4th generation here in pnw in gig harbor ... of course i want them all to do well. It seems everthing we plant has several predators to attack our stuff. I just love trees so much, and forests!

[@reverendtfg6802]

*Why they call it a cone when it's clearly a cylinder?* 🤔🤔🤔

[@contrarianthinker]

How many acres

[@TimErickson-oc6sd]

Stray cats clear rodents

[@knotweedkninja8539]

Uh, you should have killed the grass in each planting site first or they'll never make it. Plus the deer here eat cedar like candy so you'll need to make protective covers for each tree or you'll end up with cedar bushes. Buy rolls of stiff plastic fencing and make your own tree protectors. Last year was so dry and hot there's no way your trees could have survived. Those blue cones heat up in the summer heat as well. If you would have killed the grass first you wouldn't have such an issue with the mice. Mice use the grass to hide from predators.I

[@DawsonGore-gr4dj]

I agree with the weed control . I also think spruce trees would be a better alternative animals don’t eat spruces .