Hello everyone, I have a few questions about a property I currently hunt. This property has about a 10 acre ag field with a forest that butts right up to it. The interior of the forest is fairly open and dominated my very large, mature oaks. The part of the timber that borders the field is dominated by tons of small, gangly, pencil looking trees without hardly any canopy. They are tons of them and they all grow right next to each other, I think they are ash trees. Since they are so straight and have little canopy, they have very little screening effects. I would like to create what I have heard to be called a "soft adge". I think what I want to do is cut the forest back about 20 feet. The first 10 feet that borders the field I want to plant Cave-in-Rock switchgrass. The second 10 feet, in between the original timber and the switch, I want to plant a variation of thick shrubs. I was thinking to do that I would hinge-cut all of the little trees in that area and plant the shrubs in the canopy of them. I was thinking about shrubs like chokecherry, dogwood, elderberry, nannyberry, etc... I would like to create a thick edge all along the timber adge around the border of the whole field and leave a few strategically placed openings going by some good stand trees. Part of my problem now is that they enter and exit the field in very random places because it is so open and there arent't any large trees near the field edge to hinge-cut for edge feathering. Also, if I do plant some of these shrubs, how do I keep the deer and rabbits from eating them? Do you all use fencing or tubes on everything you plant, and if so how expensive does that get? Any input on this would be appreciated. Thanks!
Sounds like you've set some goals and are on the right track. As for protecting your planted shrubs, everyone thinks you need a fence a deer can't jump, when actually a 4' plastic fence will do the trick. Put two fences 5 to 10 feet apart, deer don't feel safe enclosed in a small place like this and will leave your plantings alone. This can also be used to funnel deer until you develop your habitat. Your plans seem feasible as long as you're able to give the area enough sun light and should be a blast incorporating. Best of luck.
Sounds like you have a good plan to start out with! One of my old professors who was a private lands habitat biologist for 30 years said the key to field management is going out there and making a "mess." You could feather the edge by cutting down the small ash trees at about a 45 degree angle to the field and just drop them right on top of the next one. You could plant hawthorn, dogwood, white pines, etc. Definitely go with the switchgrass!
