ttystikk
Well-Known Member
It's a lil weird; I've never seen a forest full of trees in rows.well thats a pine forest if Ive ever seen one
Good Morning/Weather Report Suite
- Thread starter Larry {the} Gardener
- Start date
Vnsmkr
Well-Known Member
Looks just like a rubber plantation only pine trees
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
It's a tree farm for paper or lumber. All the same tree, bears no more resemblance to a forest than a cornfield.
Vnsmkr
Well-Known Member
Lmao I didn't mean literally a forest.... Pine tree farm...yes probably for both
sandhill larry
Well-Known Member
well thats a pine forest if Ive ever seen one
It's Longleaf pines, which I planted almost 17 years ago. I sell the straw. The contractor gives me $100 an acre, or $2K a year. It goes a long way toward paying the land taxes. They usually get it in January or February. He has a big patch just up the road from me that he does every year, and he just squeezes my 20 acres in when he's doing that.
sandhill larry
Well-Known Member
Down here it is just called planted pines. Lots of land taken out of row crops to plant pines because of low commodity prices and government conservation, cost sharing and other programs. Our trees were on a conservation program where we took about 30 acres out of row crops and planted the longleaf. We got just over $1500 a year for 15 years, plus cost sharing on the seedlings and the planting. Of course too many people did it, and the price of pulpwood and lumber went down. You won't get rich growing trees {unless you own thousands of acres, in which case you are already rich}, but it keeps your land listed as green belt for taxing purposes. We pay very little in taxes on our woodland.
WV: Jetson
Well-Known Member
Are they going to be thinned or is that the final spacing? How tall/old will they get?
sandhill larry
Well-Known Member
Out here in the sandhills, where I'm at, planted pines goes on forever. Driving US20 in NW Florida you will see millions of them
thumper60
Well-Known Member
whats the harvest window on those larry 25-30 yr ? is it lumber or pulp nice an straight
slow drawl
Well-Known Member
Kinda like Doug Fir here in Oregon.
Larry what is the optimal age for harvest of the long leafs?
slow drawl
Well-Known Member
Ha...beat me to it.
sandhill larry
Well-Known Member
They have not been thinned yet. You can't sell the straw after they have been thinned, so I'm in no hurry to do it. Most of the time when thinning you take 75% of the trees. That is every other row, and half the trees in the row you leave. That is why growing in thinned pines works so well. Lots of sunshine getting through.
Slash pines are thinned in the 15-20 year range. Most people do the chip and saw option for thinning. Anything over 12" is sold as saw logs, and bring more. Everything else is chipped for paper. Then they are sold as saw logs at 25-30 years.
With Longleaf you have more options about how long to take them. It really is decided by the interest rate. You have to decide if you will make more by selling now and investing the money, or waiting longer and making more money. You can chip and saw when thinning, then keep them for saw logs or posts. Posts bring the most money, but takes the longest to grow. It is common to thin Lonleaf at 19, 29 and 39 years, with the final cut at 49 or 50 years.
sandhill larry
Well-Known Member
I was answering that question even before you ask it. lol.
sandhill larry
Well-Known Member
She had a remarkable turnaround, and is now back home. Like my Sister and I have been saying for years, she could outlive all the rest of us. She does have some lingering confusion, but it seems to be getting less by the day.
Hospice has been a huge help in getting us set up to take care of her. They are going to send someone out 3 days a week to hep with baths and some light housework Plus we have lots of family nearby and they have been chipping in to help. But I'm sure the day to day grind of it will be a bitch. I've been going over to fix her breakfast for a while now, and that seemed confining to me. But I have set up a nicely filled stash bag outside where the caregivers can medicate too.
sandhill larry
Well-Known Member
Didn't see this one until I had already replied above.
sandhill larry
Well-Known Member
Good morning. I'm back at work after too much time off. It's sunny and cool this morning. It's 56F with 73% humidity at 0950. Forecast high of 70F with no chance of rain today, and a low of 38F tonight. This should be our coldest night of the season. I do have 2 days of chance of rain on my 10 day forecast. We are over two months without rain. Our pond is just about dry. It went from 5-7 acres a few months ago to about an acre now. The fish have got to be crowded.
sandhill larry
Well-Known Member
It's been a windy, hot, muggy day here. The high was 81F earlier in the afternoon. It's overcast, 76F with 76% humidity at 1645. Forecast low of 65F tonight with 20% chance of a rain tonight. Supposed to be thunderstorms tomorrow.