Progress!

[jyoutz]

Long Leaf Pines are an interesting topic and have an ecology all their own. For the Long Leafs to do well requires periodic prescribed burns. The burns control the undergrowth and competition from hardwood trees. The timing of the burns is critical and depends on the weather and the "leaf" litter on the ground. If the litter is to thick and collected around the base of the tree, the fire could kill the roots - even though the trees are resistant to fire. Even the seedlings after 1 to 2 years are fire resistant.

Long leaf are slower growing than short leaf pines so the commercial interest is in the short leaf. There is a Long Leaf Alliance that is promoting the long leaf pines and there are some private landowners that want to see the long leaf pines restored, without them I doubt there'd be much interest in the long leaf pines. Note: long leaf pines are much better poles than short leaf and do command a higher price, but it takes a long time to grow them.

All correct. One of the other reasons for the interest in longleaf Pine restoration is that they provide habitat for the threatened red cockaded woodpecker. And yes, they are slower growing than loblolly and short leaf pines, but they are not that slow growing.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Putting any tree next to a house could be ill-advised as roots damage foundations.

However, the odds of a healthy forested tree falling on a house is not that great. Can it happen? Sure. A meteorite can fall on your house, too. Solo trees are less protected and more likely to topple. I would be more concerned with being inside the range of branches falling.

Storm damage. Fire. Self-pruning. I didn't even think of foundation damage.

 

[EddieWalker]

Storm damage. Fire. Self-pruning. I didn't even think of foundation damage.

There is a tree native to Mexico that is very attractive and used a lot in landscaping around homes here in East Texas. It has a very aggressive root system that causes a lot of foundation issues. I've seem them lift footings under a slab, wrap around copper pipes until they break the pipe, and destroy a front porch. I can't think of the name of the tree, but everyone that I've seen in person was the same tree.

 

[TheMan419]

Nothing hippie dippie about wanting a shade tree in the yard. But it should be a sound tree free of root and stem decay and a healthy live crown. It is a good idea not to leave a forest within tree height of the house.

Amen. We have a couple trees in the yard within "striking" distance of the house. They provide great shade and beauty to the home. However we do have them looked after by an arborist every couple years. Got to keep them trimmed, fertilized and in good shape. He estimates they may well be pushing 100 years old.

 

[oosik]

Hmmmm...... that must be why the turkeys that were transplanted are doing so well here. Very little undergrowth and ancient Ponderosa pines. I see "bands" of them every day. Running around and tearing up the ground. They pass thru my yard without any digging/scratching. I think they know - if they do - coyote food.

 

[Torvy]

Hmmmm...... that must be why the turkeys that were transplanted are doing so well here. Very little undergrowth and ancient Ponderosa pines. I see "bands" of them every day. Running around and tearing up the ground. They pass thru my yard without any digging/scratching. I think they know - if they do - coyote food.

Why coyotes? Seems those should be oosik food.

 

[oosik]

Turkeys. The ones the pilgrims had must have been a whole lot more tender than what we have here. Many years ago - I stepped out the front door and bagged one. Put it in the oven just like you would with any other turkey. Would have had to "slice" it with a chainsaw.

After "X" number of hours in the oven it still was tough. The wife gave up, deboned most of it and made a large pot of turkey noodle soup. The soup was good - the turkey finally got tender.

I have one gigantic Ponderosa pine about 50 feet from the house. It's 107 feet tall and 38" in diameter at the base. It get plenty of water. Two of its major tap roots go down to my little lake. One of these days I might have it taken down. The remainder are all far enough away.

 

[jyoutz]

Hmmmm...... that must be why the turkeys that were transplanted are doing so well here. Very little undergrowth and ancient Ponderosa pines. I see "bands" of them every day. Running around and tearing up the ground. They pass thru my yard without any digging/scratching. I think they know - if they do - coyote food.

Wild turkeys are great eating. In my region, they are native to ponderosa pine forests and are plentiful. We have both a spring and fall hunting season.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've only shot one wild turkey. In my opinion, it's night and day different the store bought turkey. I'm not a fan of what they sell in the stores, but I really enjoyed the one I shot. Instead of backing it in the oven, I breasted it and grilled the meat on my BBQ like a steak. It was fantastic!!!!!

I also think wild hogs taste totally different then store bought pork. I enjoy both types, but the wild meat is a lot leaner, but with more flavor. The backstraps grilled on the BBQ are outstanding!!!!

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Wild turkeys are great eating. In my region, they are native to ponderosa pine forests and are plentiful. We have both a spring and fall hunting season.

Like all game, they need to be taken care of. Store bought turkeys are needled with a broth brine to 15% of their body weight, more than 20% of their muscle mass. It keeps them moist in the oven and seasons the meat with salt. Wild turkey needs to be brined and cooked mostly covered.

 

[newbury]

Like all game, they need to be taken care of. Store bought turkeys are needled with a broth brine to 15% of their body weight, more than 20% of their muscle mass. It keeps them moist in the oven and seasons the meat with salt. Wild turkey needs to be brined and cooked mostly covered.

It also adds to the weight and you usually pay per lb. So one ends up paying a $1 or 2 per lb for salted water.

 

[JethroB]

It also adds to the weight and you usually pay per lb. So one ends up paying a $1 or 2 per lb for salted water.

Not necessarily. The price per pound is discounted for the water injected into the birds, at least from the processor to wholesale level. It’s called green vs. injected weight.

 

[Torvy]

UPDATE: We finally signed a contract and paid the first installment on our garage/shop. Should have a pad in the next 2-8 weeks and a building by the time school starts in the fall. 40x60x16.

Once it is complete, I can get the tractor!

 

[Torvy]

Update: signed for the house. 2000 Sq ft, should be done sometime between Feb and Apr. I'll work until the end of the year to mitigate the inflation factor.

 

[Raul-02]

A lot less trees, more space between the trees, and less brush. This is the main reason turkeys don't do well here.

In NJ we have lots and lots of turkeys I have an albino one on the property somewhere. they Live in the bush and trees. Maybe your Texas turkeys are different. Come on up here and trap a few.

 

[EddieWalker]

The State Biologist have been trying to reestablish wild turkeys for decades with poor to fair results. The last time I talked to one of them, they where hopeful that they are on the right track with blocking in at least 10 square miles of land, then doing massive releases at a time. The challenge has been getting that many landowners to allow them access to their land to monitor the birds. Over the last decade, this has worked to establish a stable population that is slowly growing.

 

[EddieWalker]

Update: signed for the house. 2000 Sq ft, should be done sometime between Feb and Apr. I'll work until the end of the year to mitigate the inflation factor.

Congrats on your progress.

If you haven't built a house before, one of the biggest red flags for me that might indicate things are not going well is in how they prepare your slab. Best practice is to have rebar on a 24 inch grid, sitting on chairs so the rebar is not touching the ground. If they tell you that they will pick up the rebar as they are pouring it, they are lying to you. While they might do this for photo's when the pour starts, they will abandon pretending once the real work starts and spreading it becomes more important then posing for photo's. Rebar will end up in the dirt if they do not use chairs. It's cheap and easy, but it trips them when working, so they don't like to deal with it if they can avoid it. I personally space my rebar on an 18 inch grid, which they hate even more, but they deal with it.

The other thing that happens almost all of the time is they will add extra water to the mix. More water makes it easier to spread out. More water is also why concrete cracks within a week of the pour. Once all the excess water evaporates, the concrete cracks because the volume the water took has left the slab. Good rebar will help hold it together, but if they really go crazy and max out the water, the cracks can be significant. Slump is in how much the concrete will stand up on it's own. For a residential slab, all you really need is enough slump for it to not spread on it's own, and pile up on top of itself. If it flows freely, you are in trouble!!!! Reading up on slump will help you deal with a contractor that tries to add water to the mix. Every one of them will do this, but if you stop them, then they will do it the way it's supposed to be done.

Since there isn't any Code outside of city limits, and very little inside city limits, the Contractor that you hire to build the house will ensure that the rebar is done right, or let it slide. After that, it's harder to catch whatever else he cuts corners on. Taking tons of pictures will help catch something. I know a few local Contractors in Tyler that have been sued successfully because of the pictures that where taken during construction.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

The contractor for my shop did a good job on the concrete, but knocked the UFER ground over and buried it in the concrete. I had to establish ground rod grounding for the electrical service.

 

[etpm]

I have had two slabs and two foundations with walls poured. The first set went badly and I git ripped off. The second set, for my house, went very well. Maybe part of the reason was the contract stating they would not get paid if the concrete work was not done as I required and was promised. Please be watchful of the folks building your house, it could save you tons of head and heart aches.
Eric