Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat W.H.I.P. development

I hope you're right, Ewest. If we can contain the deer buffet and get most of the shrubs to take, it might really be a wildlife magnet in 4 or 5 years.
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This pic is a repeat from the previous thread page, but it depicts the exact subject zone.

The shot was taken from near the top of the dam, looking down to the open area near the woods that will be planted with the shrubs. The area will receive sun and shade during the spring/summer, but I selected the shrub species knowing that they were partial-shade tolerant.
To your expectations, Ewest, the balance of the area and the entire dam will remain open and planted with native grasses and forbes.

Now, a question to the wildflower experts....
We planted a heavy dose of both annuals and perennials last spring. The flowers in the above pic are representative of the best, peak results that we got (it was a lousy, dry spring last year). Anyway, most everything that came thru strong was annual. OK, that's normal.
What can I expect this year? Will those same annuals drop seeds and come back? As strong? Weaker?
We have had an exceptionally wet spring this year, so I expect that any vegetation is gonna grow like Jack's beanstalk. Will the Annuals respond...again?

I have an "in general" (as opposed to wildflower expert) guess, Bski, based on 25 years of managing (OK, trying to manage) and observing pastures and hayfields.

The presence and success of (some of) the perennials will lower the overall annual impact from now on. Some of those annuals will do well in the conditions at LNP, and make a strong presence most every year. Some will be a lot scarcer from now on. Some will disappear.

Which flowers (annual or perennial) do the best can be modified by management practices (or incidental occurrences) like mowing schedule, fertilizing, disturbing the soil etc.

my annuals went two good years (after seeding) but petered out this spring due to extremely dry conditions. i have the same question and worries about next year. i am hoping that a certain percentage of seed just decided not to germinate this year, but will remain viable for a (hopefully) good spring next year.

i see in the lupines and CA poppys that seeds can last many years waiting for the optimal conditions, i cant speak to other varieties though.

Alrighty then...it's tree and shrub planting day. This will be no big deal for many of you, but I wanna share the experience for the few of us left over that never did it. You know, guys like me.
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A quick review of the plan (from page 1 of this thread)

• Line each side of the 600 feet of entrance driveway (open, across a meadow) with American Plum and Hazelnut shrubs. Fill in the balance of the open meadow with Norway Spruce.
• Plant a 250 ft long shelterbelt across the other 1.75 ac meadow. The shelterbelt will be 3 rows of Norway Spruce and 1 - 2 rows of Chokeberry. The balance of this meadow will remain in native grasses and wildflowers.
• The area below the back side of the pond dam + 2 pockets around the pond perimeter will be planted with a random mix of Redozier Dogwood, Silky Dogwood, Nannyberry, Ninebark, and Spicebush.

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I ran down all 1200 seedlings this last weekend to the guy we hired to plant them. He likes to prune the roots before he takes them to the job. Today (2 days later) he tows his tractor and planter to the job. I insisted on joining him. He encouraged me to do so; eliminates misunderstandings on what goes where.
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I have never seen a tree/shrub planter. Pretty simple; pretty slick. The planter unit hangs off the back of the tractor. The entire implement is raised and lowered hydraulically by the tractor driver.

One guy drives the tractor and one guy sits in that black bucket seat at the back of he planter. They load up the boxes with the seedling stock. He keeps it moist with gobs of humus and peat packed around the roots.
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This is the business end of the planter.

For ref, the planter bucket seat is upper left corner of pic. This pic shows the planter elevated in the transport position (how they would travel between rows). The round disc spins freely (like a big pizza cutter). When the planter is cutting soil, the implement is lowered so the disc is in the soil about 10" (the skid plates at the center of the disc is about 2-3" off the ground). The disc cuts a slit in the soil. The square'ish metal mass behind the disc is the same width as the disc where it meets the disc. It widens at the other end to open up the slit.
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We slip around the back of the planter and look at the same steel wedge that widens the soil slit.

The guy planting the trees sits in the seat (very upper left corner of pic) and manually reaches down and places the seedling into the furrow created by the split wedge. He's moving deftly and quickly cuz the rubber tires (which spin freely) push both sides of the widened furrow back together and packs the soil back down where it started, around the newly placed seedling. Very cool, very simple, very effective.
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Here it is, ready to rock. The planter is elevated and ready to plunge into the soil and begin a row.

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And away they go...

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They planted all 1200 seedlings in about 3 hours...and this planting job was a lot of non-productive backing into and turning around in small areas. Watching how simple it is with the right equipment sure beats hand planting...hands down.

That's a new one for me. Cool.

very cool brettski, when it comes to planting stuff, i only know about my back, pick axes, digging bars, rocky soils, and prayer.

I am with DIED. Have not seen that process in person.

Tractor = $35K
Planter = $6K

i dont want to get sentimental or anything, but i think someone needs to express just how cool this entire thread is, and once again just how great is the magnitude of brettski's contribution to pondboss.....

at some point this information should be archived for those seeking avenues to land management as it pertains to their pond properties.



plus i wanted another thread to use some smilies on to bug sunil

Hear, hear! Bski has deposited a rich compost of knowledge into which seedlings like this can be thrust to take root and grow.

Thanks again for the props, guys.
I come to the Pond Boss show equipped with a little bit of street smarts and very little else. Even less when it comes to fish. Dski and I are putting pretty much everything we've got into this project. Having the PB support team is like a team of sherpas. All we have to do is show up with good boots, 100 feet of rope, and a bottle of ibuprofen. God has given all of us great opportunuity; we are obliged to share the triumphs, set-backs, and defeats.
Way back when, Bruce was gracious enough to set up an archival link to all the pertinent threads following our journey. It currently resides on the Archives Pg 3; right here .

Not to mention 2 people to do the job. I'd rather be the driver.....

We have pretty much run the full cycle of the planned W.H.I.P. project. It played out just as it was laid out. The only departure would be the amount of cash that I ultimately invested to hold up my end of the bargain. (why is this a recurring theme?)
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Brief summary of the project:
LNP is a 44 ac. parcel of mostly timber. After completion of the pond, we had about 5 acres of unvegetated, open areas. They were divided amongst 3 zones; 2 fields and the third was a collection of pockets around the pond. We reached out to our local NRCS div of the USDA for help to develop these open areas with vegetation suitable to enhance the wildlife environment. Our focus is the bird environment.
We have not a single conifer at LNP; this bothered me. I love pine trees. This became part of the plan. After a couple of meetings on-site with our NRCS agent, and a visit from our state wildlife biologist, a 2 year plan was hatched. The first year, we would plant all zones with native grasses, both warm and cool season. Most of these same zones would also receive a heavy dose of forbes (wildflowers). The second year, 400 conifers and 800 shrubs would be planted into specific sections of these same zones (we have left substantial areas unpopulated with trees/shrubs). The idea is to have the grasses and forbes fill in while the (slower growing) trees and shrubs claim their space.
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The process came off like clockwork. The budget veered slightly, but I knew that would be the case. (Come on; it's too close to the pond that we just built. Get used to it, right?) Here's how the $ shakes out.
The government calculates the project before we even start and affixes a dollar value to make it happen. The figures they use are numbers based on the necessary minimum amount of seed and labor required. If I was Johnny Appleseed and did all this work with a shovel and hiking boots, I might be able to hit their numbers. Unfortunately, we don't own the necessary equipment to drill the seed or mechanically plant the trees/shrubs, so we are forced to hire it out. The manual approach was off my radar for this project. Also, we took their recommended forbes seed quantity and quadrupled it (flower seed is a BIG $ hit). We also up'd the quality of tree and shrub seedlings, purchasing older stock.
The government uses their base figures, calculates the overal cost, and reimburses 75% of their number. We enter into a contractual agreement to accept this reimbursement. The life of the contract is 5 years. My only commitment is to make sure it happens and to maintain these newly developed areas to aid in their growth success. We cannot do anything else within these areas to significantly alter the environment. After these 5 years, I can do whatever I want with these zones.
The government calc'd a total cost for the entire 2-year project at $2100. 75% of that number is about $1600; that's our cost-share payment (by the way, this $1600 reimbursement is taxable...grrrr!). Doing it the way WE wanted to do it, it wound up costing about $3500. Remove 25% taxes from the $1600 = $1200 net cost-share assistance (did I get that right JHAP?). Bottom line; it cost 3500 - 1200 = $2300 out-of-pocket.
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Any regrets? Nope...not yet, at least. It was a small project, comparatively, but $1200 cash is $1200 cash. We were going to do this to these areas anyway, so why not? 5 years is a small amount of time for commitment. I would surely recommend anyone to consider the W.H.I.P. program (or any of the NRCS sponsored land development programs). W.H.I.P. link

If it cost you more to qualify for their taxable $1600, it seems like your added expenses ought to be tax deductable!

As we were fore-warned, some of the shaded or partial-shaded areas of native grass/wildflower seeding did not grow very strong. The flip side: the sunny zones are beau-coup. This is the second year for the forbes (flowers). Some of the annuals have re-seeded and came back strong; others, not so strong. We are still working thru the growing season. I expect hope to continue to see new growth.
I took the new digital cam this past weekend and spent some quality time walking (wading in some areas) thru this, the second year's, growth. I wanted to share some of the triumphs with ya's.
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When we were just beginning to see the first blooms, the Indian Blanket flowers are first to show.
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The Purple Coneflowers (perennial) are very spotty, but classic beauties
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Upright Prairie Coneflower (perennial to biennial; the bloom is about 2" - 3" tall)

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The Plains Coreopsis, an annual, continues to thrive even tho we did not seed for them this year. This is a very pleasant surprise.

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I think it's fair to say that the Black Eyed Susans came back pretty strong
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Mexican Red Hats, described as biennial to perennial, have returned in small clusters. They are smaller plants; the bloom is about 2" tall.

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The Butterfly milkweed was the most expensive seed by far. We were told to forget about them for the first year; the second year will yield blooms. Right on the money. They are very short plants, tho, and can get hidden. I doubt that they are much more than 2 feet tall, but they add a great dab of orange to the palette.
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The Cosmos are another annual that re-seeded itself from last year. The blooms are 3 - 4" across; nice. Last year, they were the main player. This year, they are very spotty, but very welcome.
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Purple Prairie Clover (perennial). These are also small blooms on short stems. They are very few and spotty, but have only entered their season to begin blooming.

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Our inspiration...
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Nothing like a plan that works well to stoke the passion. Congrats on the plant pallet of color. What about the butterflies , bees and hummers ? The area should be din of activity.

Gallus Tax Service notes:

...the receipts are in the cigar box. My live-in bookeeper rarely misses a trick.
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Ewest queries:

No hummers yet...at least that I have seen. The butterfly count is just starting to become notable. The bees?...the entire area is buzzing. In fact, there is a nest inside a big 'ol Black Locust tree where the flowers meet the tree line. The tree is buzzin' like a power station transformer.

Bski, I tried researching your reimbursement check through my tax research system and can't find an appropriate citing. If you can you send me a link that describes what the program is I would be happy to do some research for you.

Generally if a check is a reimbursement check then you can offset any expenses against the reimbursement check up to the extent of the income and accordingly wipe out any taxable income. If you do not have a business related to the income (think farm schedule) then you cannot take a tax deductable loss but you may be able to offset the income with expenses. I do not know if that is the case here. I am not an expert in farm taxation and it has a large and unique section of Internal Revenue Code that I don't have a lot of interaction with.

If you can give me more info then I would be more than happy to help out your cause with some tax research.

I'm too groggy this morning to attach a disclaimer so please consider this post properly disclaimed.

Absolutely beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nice.

Awesome!

BEAUTIFUL

A few new players have come off the bench in the flower arena.
The Partridge Pea has been growing like crazy all over the place for the past 2 weeks, but no blooms until this last weekend. They are short, maybe 24" tall, the smaller plants with yellow blooms.

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a close up of the Partridge Pea

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I was uncertain if I was gonna be able to pick out the Bluestem native grasses. Clumps of this stuff have been popping up all over...I think I found it...? cool

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The Black eyed Susans are dying off, but the Grey headed Coneflowers are stepping up and filling in. They stand 3 - 4 ft tall.

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Cool shot of the flowers overlooking the pond!