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11-Apr-2005
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#1 |
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Wild Collecting 101
Although I have already posted a lot of the information here in the Urban Collecting thread, there are some differences That I thought I’d share.
I will start out with mentioning the ethical considerations of collecting as the way in which we collect affects collectors worldwide. Unethical collecting can give a bad name to bonsaists everywhere and can make it very difficult for others to acquire permission to collect in the future. The following are some considerations that I personally abide by. · Always obtain permission from the landowner before you collect. Every single piece of land belongs to someone, be it a roadside, construction lot, field, woods, abandoned house, or farm. · Never take the only tree of it’s kind in the area. · Never collect a tree that you are not sure has a very good chance of survival. Experience can tell if a tree can be successfully collected or not. · Only collect what you will use. · Always fill in your holes and remove any and all signs that you were there. · Don’t leave your garbage behind and always pack out other garbage that you may find. The key here is to leave the site better than you found it. Over the years I have refined the tools I take down to the base minimum and as I sometimes have to walk a ways to where I will be collecting, this helps save my back. The following is a list of tools and supplies I carry in my backpack when collecting. · Short shovel which I keep a good sharp edge on. Folding Shovels break easy, I don’t use them. · Long handled and short handled pruners. · A good sharp knife. · A GPS unit. · A saw I carry a handsaw for small jobs and for serious collecting I pack the battery powered saws-all. · A small hatchet. · A pry bar. · Burlap bags and twine. · A few plastic grocery bags for smaller trees. · A mesh laundry bag for collecting sphagnum moss. · A few nursery pots. · Snacks and water. · A small plastic child’s sled, nothing works better for dragging out a tree. · I also have a lightweight come-a-long I pack for tougher jobs. I do most of my collecting up north on a few acres that I own and on a few more acres that friends own. I also have obtained permission from a few landowners down in southern Michigan. I spend many hours walking these areas and I have examined many trees and collected a few. Depending on the species and age of the tree I use different methods for collecting with quite a bit of success. Three Year Plan Most of the bigger and older Jack Pines and other species that I have marked in my GPS are on what I call a three-year plan. The first spring after I find the tree I dig a two-foot trench just outside of the drip line, half way around the tree. I use my saw to severe any roots that I encounter and also to lightly prune the tree to remove any branches that will not be needed or to start to encourage back budding. I fill the hole in being sure to mix in some gravel and fertilizer. The second spring I repeat the process except I dig my trench on the other half of the circle. By now the roots have recovered on the other side and are now closer to the trunk. I once again mix gravel and fertilizer in when I fill the hole. The third spring I trench all the way round the tree and reach under to severe the taproot. I then tilt the tree on way and slide some burlap under one side. I tilt the tree the other way and pull the burlap through, completely wrapping the root ball. I tie it off here and then lift the whole root ball out of the hole. A word of caution here; do not lift the tree by the trunk. Do so will damage the bark and loosen or tear the roots. Collecting On The Spot For trees that are not as old or for trips where for reasons the tree must be collected when spotted as in the examples today that I have posted pictures of. Variations of the above three year plan can be used. I have collected older trees in two years or less by making both trenches in spring and fall of the same year and collecting the following spring. Collecting on the spot requires that you get as much as the root ball as possible to assure survival. The soil conditions in the spot you collect will dictate if spot collecting can be done. Some places you will find create naturally tight root balls close to the trunk, others the roots may go on for yards with no feeder roots close to the trunk. The latter trees should be left alone; they are not collectable on the spot and would require a longer plan such as the three-year plan outlined above. After Care Once you have collected the trees you wanted be sure to keep the root ball damp, never allow it to dry out. Since I make it a habit to collect sphagnum moss while I am collecting trees, I usually pack the root ball with moss first and then wrap with plastic or burlap. I use my judgment, depending on the overall health of the tree and the root mass to determine if it will go into a training pot, growing box, or straight into the growing bed. I never work on a collected tree until one or two full seasons has passed and the tree shows significant signs of healthy growth. OOPS So you collected that tree you found and to your great dismay, the roots are not quite what you expected. For trees where the root mass is small and there are few feeder roots I treat them almost like an air-layer. I securely tied the tree into a growing box with a soil mixture of 75% sphagnum moss and 25% of free draining soil mix. I have had great success with this method once I realized that I do the same thing to “create” roots from nothing on air-layers. I use this technique only in early spring as it seems to work best then and it allows enough roots to form to allow me to transplant before the seasons end. This technique has also served me well in the past with trees that suffered from rot. Will Last edited by Will_Heath : 11-Apr-2005 at 06:43 PM. |
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11-Apr-2005
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#2 |
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Most of you will remember this Jack Pine from the collecting trips thread. I spooted this while snowmobling this year and decided to pick it up this weekend. It's a Jack Pine and the total height now is 37 inches. Lol, a thought just occured to me....Putting this Jack Pine into a growing box makes it a Jack in the Box.
 Last edited by Will_Heath : 11-Apr-2005 at 06:42 PM. |
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11-Apr-2005
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#3 |
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I also collected 21 larches varing in size from pencil thick trunks up to 2" trunks for a few future forests I have in mind. Besides the Jack Pine Above I collected a few other with nice trunks and movement.
Last edited by Will_Heath : 11-Apr-2005 at 11:52 AM. |
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11-Apr-2005
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#4 |
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Of course, as always, I never miss the chance to collect spagnum moss whenever I can. The first picture is of some growing in the wild and the second pic is one of three mesh bags I filled this trip.
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11-Apr-2005
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#6 |
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Of course, driving out to the property is always enjoyable and occassionally, when you least expect it, a fun find is found. Like this lilac found growing in the center of a trail that cuts through the property.
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11-Apr-2005
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#7 |
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Of course, over the last seven years I have been cheating a bit. I aquired a few hundred Jack Pine seedlings and planted a corner of the property. The first two pictures shows the corner and the Jacks that are ready to be trimmed back again. The third picture is of more jacks we planted four years ago.
Of course, we are not the only ones who visit the Jacks...anyone care to make a guess as to which critter left these tracks? |
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11-Apr-2005
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#9 |
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All in all a successful trip. My blade on my battery operating saws all broke with in minutes of working on one of the larger Jack Pines I am pulling this year, I guess the angle I was cutting the tap root at was too severe and the pressure too great, as prepared as I usually am, I had only one blade on me. I'll have to share those pics at a later date.
Well the new growing bed is a little fuller and the training benches are swelling, a small thing like a broken blade can't keep back my smile. Will Last edited by Will_Heath : 11-Apr-2005 at 12:22 PM. |
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