Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Property Projects & Construction My Middle GA Property Updates

I was recently able to return to GA for a couple of weeks and started work on my retirement property. 45 acres of hardwoods and pines with a 2 acre spring fed pond.

It all began here, plotting a route from the highway to the future home site. This skidsteer with a bush hog on front made quick work of cutting an initial path.



Got the driveway cut and some #3s/4s laid down. Driveway is not quite 1/4 mi. long.



Only one culvert had to be installed in a low spot. Decided to go with PVC instead of galvanized metal.



The driveway front entrance as seen from the highway.



This is near the end of the driveway near the future house site.



We also put up a 480' barbed wire fence along the property line.



We planted 32 Leyland Cypress trees. Some along the fenceline and some here. We want to block out the view of the road from the dam.



There were 3 creeks marked on the plat, and a couple of smaller ones that were not. I see small bridges in my future.

One call to the GA Forestry Service and 20 minutes later I was talking with my local Forrester about the land. Since the timber was harvested 5-6 years ago, he suggested some non-commercial thinning was in order. The GA Forestry Service has a cost-share program to reimburse land owners a percentage of the cost.

How will the thinning be accomplished? Selective basal spray, injection or ??? Looks good!!

The Forrester suggested aerial spraying with arsenic. It will kill everything but the pines. I'm leaning towards manual cutting and injection. It will cost me more but I don't think I can bring myself to kill some of those beautiful hardwoods on the property.

Just curious but why would you want to spray and kill darn near everything? I have never heard of such a thing.

It's cool that you got to enjoy some nice Springtime days, working on your new farm. It's looking good. The creeks are a really nice feature, for sure.

I agree Airborne. The purpose of the program is to minimize impacts of future pine beetle infestations and to suppress current infestations. By doing the thinning, it is supposed to enhance the health of existing pine stands by controlling forest density. I'm all for thinning/eliminating the invasive sweet gums and various other trees to allow the remaining trees to flourish.

I was blessed with some unusually cool weather for mid-May. Low/mid 70s. Great to work outside in.

Basal spray Garlon 4 (or it's generic equavilent) works well when mixed with diesel. Injection - Picloram.

Thanks for the tips esshup. I have a consultant that will oversee the project in my absentia. I will pass this on to him.