Well, it’s mid-summer and time for site preparation activities to begin. Cut-over tracts will require some form of site preparation in order to properly establish a new crop of trees, and depending on time since harvest, degree of undesirable competitive vegetation, soil types, geographic locations, and species to establish needed activities can range from a simple burn to a combination of intensive chemical and mechanical treatments.
The earlier operations begin the sooner seedlings can go in the ground growing your future financial and environmental returns. We offer a complete host of site preparation operations including burning, ground and aerial herbicide applications, mechanical shearing, raking, and bedding. Contact us an inspection of your tracts and a custom prescription to meet your specific needs. We can provide estimated costs as well as provide information regarding possible USDA cost-share assistance.
Herbicide applications can be made thru the end of October, however, the earlier the better as it will take 6-10 weeks for an adequate brown-out and control of the competition to allow a prescribed burn to reduce/remove residual surface debris to facilitate planting. Depending on species to be established, some herbicides require up to 12 weeks after application to prevent damage to the seedlings being planted.
Mechanical operations can also be site and weather sensitive, so begin early to mid-summer while soils are dry, and temperatures warm enough to dry sheared, raked , or piled debris enough to facilitate an adequate burn