Creating a walnut savannah without planting a tree!

[michaelsallee]

Greg, you may remember the disagreement Jim Gerrish and I had on trees in a pasture. I was taught that my great-great-grandfather saw that every lot must have a tree for cattle shade, I do see his reasoning that a tree might concentrate manure, but not at the boost of the animal's health. in most oh Missouri, there is a love-hate relationship with Kentucky-31 fescue. the fate at times it will grow an ergot causing blood restrictions to all that eat. effectively raising their apparent body temp 15 degrees. well, Jim wanted to shut me up as he knew the studies proved him right, so he went to get. what he found...there were NO studies. he did generate interest so that at Mt, Vernon MO they did a study: their finding, shade trees are a MUST with livestock

[leelindsay]

Those trees were planted...you just used free squirrel labor! 😉

[HighFarndale]

Thanks Greg, like that take on tree protection.

[joetheagent]

First time viewer here... not sure what I watched to cause YT to suggest your vids... but I'm glad it did. Good information here. I really like the idea of trees in pastures. Especially if there is a food benefit for the livestock. Are there trees that have a food potential for cattle? I assume goats or sheep would quickly prune any available branches to just beyond their reach in a matter of minutes...

On a side note... I did not see any plant in this video that I was certain was Teasel. I have a 50+ ft. row of Teasel growing on my western fence line that I planted there on purpose from seed purchased from a reputable vendor so I'm sure it is Teasel. I grew it specifically for the spiky flowers/seed heads that form on it's second season of life (biennial). The plant you showed looks very similar to a annual thistle that also grows on my land. Around here it is considered a beneficial insect habitat plant and usually left alone on the margins of the growing zones and in our "wild" areas. We don't graze livestock though so I imagine that might be different for those who do.

Semi-related question: Do you suppose that method of protecting trees might work for protecting them from Elk? I have 2 family members who live in northern WA and ID respectively and both have problems establishing new trees on their land from the intense Elk pressure. WA has strict laws about Elk harvest and I imagine ID does as well... not sure you could actually shoot enough of them to make a difference though... at least not right away. They ignore/destroy fencing better than pigs... they are as strong as or stronger than cattle and trample stuff just as bad... and they browse like deer but are able to reach up to 8 feet... and they roam around in groups of 10 or 20... beautiful but hard on young plant life. Just curious if you had a thought on that...

[donbrutcher]

Teasel was a crop plant around here about 150 years ago.

[wildedibles]

I love chippys planting stuff i have sunflowers all over lol

[danbusse]

We have some Teasel here in Tennessee as well. My sheep will not eat it, so I cut it down every time I see it.

[raincoast]

How many acres of land do you run per cow? You seem to move them from one farm to another to another.

[shephusted]

you need to double up and go for some more diversity - chestnuts, apples etc - great forage

[davemi]

Squirrels 🐿 — Natures Perfect Nut planter.
And they know how deep to bury each nut. 🤔

[danmiller]

Greg you might want to have a goat or two to take care of that take care of that one.

[georgeheller]

At the hotel getting ready to go to the sheep corral. Thank you greg. I hate spray too. The neighbor gave me permission to graze there 40, while I was walking around I found that there deer hunter had sprayed round up on the trails. Guess he likes venison full of chemicals. Gross!

[swamp-yankee]

One of my neighbors said back when he grazed cattle somebody died and he ended up with an old jenny who loved to eat thistle flowers.

[chadnelson]

I think that's an artichoke thistle, not teasel. I fight teasel in a pasture, that's not teasel.

[johnthomas]

Would the lumber quality potential of your young, caged, walnut trees be enhanced if you begin now to prune off a few of the lower few branches (to minimize the future knots in boards) to begin "tree forming" the tree?

[nikkolettguyer]

Teasel was brought from Europe when the country’s settled. It was used to comb wool before it was spun

[michiganhay]

Yeah I got that damn Tiesel all over one of my pastors I didn’t realize where it came from it’s a problem

[jkugler]

"I like how these trees are going, they are just NUTS!"

Ha!

[papaal]

squirrels be like where the heck I bury that nut.

[fieldhunt]

Greg, I’m going to have to disagree with you on the plants you called teasel. The video can make it tough to tell, but I believe that was one of our native thistles. If you look at the underside of the leaf it will be silver or white. Good for pollinators.