pharmvet
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2008
- Messages
- 533
- Location
- North East TX
- Tractor
- Ford 7710 II FWA, NH TB110 FWA w/ NH 46LB loader, JD 5303 2wd w/ loader
Last April my wife, kids and I planted 32 White Oak trees along the driveway of our planned future home. We spent countless hours last summer watering them with a trailer and 2- 300 gallon water tanks. I placed 2-5 gallon buckets beside each tree. The buckets had a small hole in the bottom to allow slow application. Trees miraculously made it through the summer. About a month ago, I noticed that deer began to nibble on the terminal buds. I immediately built 2x4 wire rings for each tree and secured them with 2 T-posts each. Last week we mulched them all in very good in preparation for summer. I plan to have a watering system for them this summer.
We have spent so much time, money and energy on these little trees. My kids are as proud of them as my wife and I. I wanted to use the trees as a project for the kids to teach them to approach things in a scientific manner. I placed a small order from Forestry Supply. I bought a "rite in the rain" tablet and pen along with a cordura case. I also purchased some aluminum ID tags (1-100) and a set of plastic calipers. I spent lots of time explaining to the kids about "Objective" and "Subjective" measurements and the importance of using tools to accurately measure certain parameters. We put an ID tag on the cage of each tree so that each tree now can be identified individually. We spent the afternoon measuring:
Height and diameter (both objective measures)
Straightness and overall health on a scale of 1-10 (subjective measures)
We also made note of deer damage.
I plan to use this exercise to keep the kids interested and also to demonstrate to them how trees grow from year to year and how the straightness and overall health can improve or decline. Anyway, had a great afternoon spending time with my family. Hope to keep this up for years to come. Here are some pics.
We have spent so much time, money and energy on these little trees. My kids are as proud of them as my wife and I. I wanted to use the trees as a project for the kids to teach them to approach things in a scientific manner. I placed a small order from Forestry Supply. I bought a "rite in the rain" tablet and pen along with a cordura case. I also purchased some aluminum ID tags (1-100) and a set of plastic calipers. I spent lots of time explaining to the kids about "Objective" and "Subjective" measurements and the importance of using tools to accurately measure certain parameters. We put an ID tag on the cage of each tree so that each tree now can be identified individually. We spent the afternoon measuring:
Height and diameter (both objective measures)
Straightness and overall health on a scale of 1-10 (subjective measures)
We also made note of deer damage.
I plan to use this exercise to keep the kids interested and also to demonstrate to them how trees grow from year to year and how the straightness and overall health can improve or decline. Anyway, had a great afternoon spending time with my family. Hope to keep this up for years to come. Here are some pics.
Last edited:
