Hack n Squirt

[Magicman]

In the Spring I "Hack n Squirted" three acres of Sweetgum.  This will remove the "closed canopy" and allow me to plant 1K Cherry Bark oak trees in January.  If all is successful, I'll move to another Sweetgun thicket and do another 3 acres next year.



This is a picture of the freshly hacked Sweetgums in March from a distance.





Showing what they look like now





A close up view taken in March





A close up view now.  You can see that the trees are already rotting.

[fishpharmer]

MM, looks you did good.  What chemical/strength did you use?

I have a bit of that to do myself, except a lot of the sweetgums are 10-12 DBH.  I noticed in your other post you sawed some sweetgum, how did that turn out?

[woodtroll]

Looks good. Like the before and after shots.

[beenthere]

We can use our imagination as to the progression of the pics. The titles don't seem to fit the pics tho. 
                      (  Edit: Now they do    thanks )
Apparently you were successful in accomplishing good "kill".  8)

[Magicman]

The titles don't seem to fit the pics tho. 

??  I'm not following you regarding the pics titles. ??  The titles are above the pictures.

What chemical/strength did you use?

James,  I used Pathway, which is a Dow product and is used full strength.  A little goes a looooong way.  It is a 2-4-D product and is cheap.

I noticed in your other post you sawed some sweetgum, how did that turn out?

The sawing went very well.  I just hope that he does a good job of stickering it.

[WDH]

MM,

Very nice job!  You will be planting soon.  I am very interested in how this works out, so keep us (me  ;D) posted.

Pathway is a mix of Tordon and 2,4 D.  I typically use Tordon for hack-n-squirt.  You have to be very careful with it, but it does a dynamite job.  I have never tried Pathway, but if it is cheaper than Tordon, then I want to give it a try once I use up the Tordon that I have.

[woodtroll]

The tordon and pathway (picloram and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) can travel in the soil, especially moist soil were sweetgum and cherrybark grow.
But it is great for what you are doing. Just don't use it next to good crop trees or tulip poplar.

[Magicman]

but if it is cheaper than Tordon

I went back and pulled the invoice.  It was $99.50 for a 2.5 gallon jug.  I doubt if I used over 1/2 of it on that 3 acres.

I'm already lined up to plant this Jan-Feb with Cherrybark oaks.  I'm going to go ahead and "hack n squirt" another 3 acres in Mar-Apr.  I have 4 different plots about the same size, so I'll just do 3-4 acres each year.

If all of this works, then I have done good, and reclaimed some valuable timberland.  If it doesn't....well what can I say.

[WDH]

Oh yes, it will work!

[woodsteach]

A greenhouse owner just told me last week that tordon can last 20 years in the soil!!

woodsteach

[WDH]

In a hack-n-squirt application, the herbicide is confined to the plant and the roots, so you are OK as long as the subject plant has not root grafted with a desirable plant.  I have done many acres, and I have not had any issues with soil activity from injection applications.  However, if you spray Tordon and it can get in the soil, all bets are off, and there can be residual impact.  Injection wise, it is powerful.  If you apply as a spray, it is non-selective.

[ronwood]

If the trees are large enough can you cut them down and use the wood for firewood.

Thanks
Ron

[Magicman]

The "Forester" would have to answer that question.  But in my case, it isn't an issue because I didn't treat any firewood suitable trees.  They were all Sweetgums.  I hate them.....and they're gone.

[WDH]

In the South, with all the oaks, hickories, etc., sweetgum is a poor candidate for firewood.  There are so many better options.  The lumber is beautiful, but very difficult to dry and keep straight without warp and bow.  Accordingly, the only commercial application is railroad ties and palletwood.  The really big ones with good developed heart figure can produce fine "red gum" lumber, but only for specialty uses for those with patience and a capacity for forgiveness.  The run-of-the-mill sweetgum tree is a weed.  It is one of the last-resort-options for firewood.