Orchard location

[SEOHBB]

Hey all, I hunt hill country is SE Ohio. I have a 1 acre plot sitting in the center of my property that does well unless I get too much pressure and intrusion. I ordered some crab apple, hybrid pear, and chesnutt and I'm trying to figure out where to plant them. My property is a large finger that narrows at the far east end where I have some buck bedding.

Would u guys reccomend planting fruit at the mouth of the 1 acre plot and extend toward the bedding point?

[SEOHBB]

http://www.hillmap.com/m/ag1zfmhpbGxtYX ... IC22Km5Cgw

Not sure if this will work but the field is the wide strip in the center of the screen below the 800. I am thinking about clearing trees east leading out the point on the same elevation.

[SEOHBB]

I have access to this whole block on this hill system so if anyone sees anything that sticks out for set up locations please feel free to share, I dont get much time to scout, I usually hunt on the fly

[SEOHBB]

I have access to this whole block on this hill system so if anyone sees anything that sticks out for set up locations please feel free to share, I dont get much time to scout, I usually hunt on the fly

[wolverinebuckman]

Jeff Sturgis has some great land management tips, I enjoy watching his Whitetail Habitat Solutions on YouTube. You might benefit from checking his stuff out.

I'm no expert, but if I were in a situation like this, I would probably try to set up the food / orchard a short travel distance from the buck bedding, on the south facing side of your clearing for optimal sun exposure.
I'd be concerned that if I got too close to the bedding with food, they wouldn't have to travel out where I could shoot them in daylight. Just my thoughts, good luck!

[Haus86]

At what time of year are your apples and pears going to ripen?

[SEOHBB]

Apples were box store so not sure. The crabs and hybrid pear I'm planting in couple weeks are varied drop from September to december.

[Haus86]

I'd be more concerned with what apple trees you are planting first. There is a lot to consider in regards to sun exposure, ripening dates, cross pollinators, rootstock, disease resistance, and protection. I'd hate for you to do a bunch of planting and then not have the trees be ideal since you will be waiting some time for fruit.

[Oldnotdead]

To be honest I'm not sure if I'm looking at the correct spot. If so it looks like you have some steep drop off on the south and east side? You never mentioned how many trees and the type, not species, as in standards or semi dwarf. Chinese, Dunstan or American chest nuts are very different types in growth.

Then there is access to the plot and stand locations. All huge factors in where to plant what.
With crab apples you have the shorter but vary wide growing ones and the taller narrower. Standards years to production, semi's a few years. the same with the pear trees. Chestnuts are the same, chinese being the widest in growth, Americans tall. Dunstan earliest to production.
Do you run equipment on the plot? Because you have to factor in turning radius and equipment size when going around the trees. Height consideration isn't just for sun, as in shading out the other trees but the plot and your view obstruction down the road as well. one acre looks big ,until you start planting trees in it. Spreading dropping dates out in the planting, having the earlier toward bedding and drawing the deer closer to your best locations as the season develops. Also what will produce well yearly and what is an every other year good production. This I see in my apples and pears. The chestnuts just produce better each year in the ground.

All this said, the buck bedding is not written in Stone. The more food and cover,the trees, the more doe. The more doe during the summer the fewer buck. The doe push buck out of the area as far as bedding goes. Bring them in for the rut. So if your bow hunting early season you may be seeing fewer mature buck all said and done.
One final consideration because I think long term, wind, you already have a disadvantage being in what looks like very hilly country as those trees grow they will have further effect on the wind flow. I'm at 1900 ft straight up on a N/w facing slope above two lakes in the valley I know wind problems.

[SEOHBB]

I picked up the trees from morse nursery. The chestnut are Chinese. The pear is called a hybrid and the apple is a whitney crabapple. Looking at pics non are semi dwarf.

I am wondering would u plant at each end of the field. I bring bucks from the eastern points and from the northwest on the parallel ridge to north. Is it better to put all of them on one end? Run them down the middle of field? Or cut some trees and run them out the lane that I know bucks use coming from bedding?

[dan]

I really don't think it matters where you plant them as long as its not in a bedding or hunting area and as long as its centrally located, or scattered. The idea is to have a food source the4 deer want to keep them on the property... If you plant them all in one spot to close to a bedding area you will have that bedding area be the spot for bucks feeding on what you plant and if you hunt it a bunch o0f times you will ruin the bedding area from pressure, but centered the bucks can come from differing bedding areas and on differing winds. Sometimes small food spots near each bedding are good, but there is also the draw factor of larger feeding areas using other wise dead zones of your property.

[Oldnotdead]

I can only give you advice in general terms without a visual.
So again you have to know the future size, which means get to reading before you get to digging. Then figure just how much tree trimming you'll be doing. Also remember sun to shade.

Heres something most guys don't consider, the suns orientation throughout the year. What you're seeing now will drastically change by fall. There are actual sun mapping apps you can find on line for your specific area. Google sun angles for--- or go to sun path Wikipedia. One final thing. Pollination, you have to have those trees within a certain area of each other for proper pollination.

Because they are Chinese chestnuts they will take longer. My Dunstan in 3gal. Pots had a few nuts the fall I planted. Three years later they are loaded every year and the trees are growing like mad. BTW, now I'm growing my own trees from their nuts. I have chinese that have been in the ground for years and have yet to produce. The standard apples can take as long as 5-7 years, the hybrid pear probably 4 depending on tree size now.

[SEOHBB]

I saw Walmart is carrying dunstan but I'm sure they will sell out b4 I get there for my vacation. I'll take a look at the sun patterns for sure

[tuff4x4]

Rural King is an ag store around here and they carry the dunstan trees. I always watch around late September or Octoberish when there is a few of them left and I try to buy the remaining stock at discount. Also try to do this with apple trees but not much luck with those (they always seem to sell out).

Did it 2 years ago bought 8 of them for $75, took them home and replanted them right away in 5 gal pots from a nursery. Put them in my unheated shop for the winter brought them out for spring, then back in the unheated shop again for another winter, then finally planted them this spring...They are really taking off....Side note I did loose a couple the first spring after the repotting.

I have a 5' high exclosuer fencing around them now, and I use seven dust to help with the bugs. One thing I have found is that just digging a hole and planting a tree doesn't always work. If you are going to spend the money on the trees make sure you can do everything possible to help them along and keep an eye out for pests.