Drought Has Serious Consequences



Dead ferns throughout the woods



This year we have experienced a severe drought all over the state of Georgia.  Several of the fruit trees that we planted this past winter have already died, and we are very concerned about many of the other trees that have survived so far but might not survive the heat of August.  When we can we carry water to the more vulnerable trees, and we have put a heavy covering of mulch on all of the trees to preserve moisture.

Another casualty has been many of the lovely ferns that usually grace our woods.  As this photo shows, all of the ferns on both sides of this trail have died. 

I have even tried a rain dance, but so far it has not been effective.

Native Azaleas Are Harbingers of Spring

We discovered several groups of fragrant pink native azaleas blooming in our woods several years ago.  Now during late March and early April I eagerly await this very special event.  One must venture into the woods to view this lovely sight as they prefer partial shade to full sunlight.  Our soil, though poor, does drain well, and the azaleas have flourished, growing to heights of 6' - 8'.

Pruning is Necessary to Control Growth

There is much material on how and when to prune fruit trees.  We have been experimenting with various techniques and have found this long handled pruner to be very effective.  Although we haven't grasped the fine art of the ideal method for each type of tree, we understand that it is important to prune limbs that are crossing each other and to cut out limbs that are at too extreme an angle to the main stem.  And the best time to prune is in early Spring.

It was a difficult decision to prune fruit from trees early in the season; however, several of our pear trees were so loaded down with pears that we had to pull some off so that the branches wouldn't split.  Unfortunately, with the drought this year, most of the fruit fell to the ground prematurely.  But it disappeared quickly, so we assume that the goal, to feed the wildlife, was accomplished.

This photo was taken on March 25, almost 3 weeks after the burn.  The field is already producing browse for the wildlife.  After the burn we also disked the field to further break up the soil.

Finally we had a good day to burn.  Although it rained several days earlier the wind had dried out the field.  And the wind had slowed down enough for a burn to be safe.  Some wind is needed in order to facilitate the burn, because we use the back burn method, where a small fire is started into the wind, burning back toward the main fire.

If the wind is coming from the SE, the fire is started on the NW edge of the field.  Then a fire is started on the SE edge.  The wind pushes that fire along until it meets the fire from the NW edge, and then, since all of the material has burned at that point, the fire dissipates.

We were fortunate to have 2 Georgia Forestry Commissioner (GFC) rangers help us.  Once Bill lit the match to start the fire one of the rangers used a drip torch

Drip Torch

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walking around the field and literally dripping flaming fuel from the torch to burn the field.  It only took about 30 minutes for the entire 3 acre field to burn.

Around the perimeter of each field and line of trees we have disked a fire trail.  And between the food plot and the field we have disked another fire trail.  This helps to keep vegetation under control and make it easier to access various parts of the acreage.  Right before we plan a burn we disk these trails again so as to provide a break between fields that will help us to control the fire.  We plan to only burn several fields each year and to burn them all on a rotational basis.

The Department of Agriculture offers many programs to help landowners manage their property in a way that will help and support the environment.  The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is responsible for overseeing some of these initiatives.  We applied for the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP) through the NRCS several years ago and were accepted.  As part of this program we planted several small fields with native warm season grasses to improve the habitat for wildlife.  Along one edge of each field we planted a small food plot.  On the outside edge of each field we have planted various fruit and mast trees, many of which we have purchased from the GFC’s Flint Nursery.