May 2023 Spam From Pam
Spam From Pam
Great Plains Society of American Foresters Newsletter
May 2023
What is Spam from Pam? It is an email update to inform GPSAF Members and Friends about activities, events, meetings, and odds and ends happening in and around Kansas and Nebraska regarding forestry or conservation. If you know of any event coming up, contact Pam at pbergstrom2@unl.edu.
I will also try to include short news releases to talk about what projects are going on amongst our members and our agencies. If you have an article you want to see published email them to me (Pam)!
Also, for those aspiring photographers, send in your pictures and I will put them in the publication. Share your talent with your fellow foresters.
Tree and Shrub Chores Spring 2023
Pam Bergstrom
The weather is starting to get warmer, and the days are getting longer. The pollinators are busy doing their jobs. And Mother’s Day is right around the corner. It must be May in Nebraska! Time to start in on the spring tree chores you need to do for the trees and shrubs in your landscape.
So, the first thing you need to do for your trees is to go outside and get to know your trees! Look them over and see if you can find any wounds, broken branches, or stubs that should be removed. The wounds should be examined to see how much of the tree is affected and remember to NEVER put any wound care product on an open wound. Why? Because if you put a foreign material on the tree, the tree will attack the live tissue that has encountered the foreign material. Think of it as an auto-immune disease where the tree is attacking itself.
For any broken or damaged limbs, prune those off. When you prune, don’t make a flush cut but rather cut alongside the bulge of the bark collar so the collar remains intact. Within the bark collar are the cells that will cause the scar tissue to form where the wound is and heal it up so no foreign matter gets into the tree. If there is a stub from a broken branch, go ahead and prune that off as well. If you need help on pruning, check out the website that is at the end of this article.
Continue to look at the trunk and remember to look up into the crown of the tree. Again, you will be looking for broken branches, but you will also be looking for branches that rub each other and you will need to take one of those branches out. You need to also look for a leader or the main stem of the tree that is going straight up in the air. If you see multiple stems going up in the air, you will need to prune some of those co-leaders off – not all at once. If you cut off all the co-leaders, you will find that the tree will just regrow them this year and then the following year you are back to square one. It is a good idea to take 1/3 of the co-leaders off each year. You will find with pruning that everything doesn’t get done or accomplished in one year, it takes multiple years and some patience to get to where you need to be.
Finally, you need to look to the ground and around the base of the trees. Look at your mulch, is it at least an inch away from the base of the tree? Is the mulch 2 – 4 inches thick all the way around the tree? Does the mulch reach out to the drip line which is basically the tips of the branches? It is a good idea to get some new mulch put on and don’t worry about raking up the old mulch, that will disintegrate into fertilizer for the tree to take up for nutrients.
Also, look at the trunk of the tree and see if you notice any new scars, insect activity, or woodpecker damage. If you see something out of the ordinary, contact your local forester, arborist, or extension agent immediately.
Now, comes the age ole question: Should I Fertilize? The simple answer is no! If the right tree is planted in the right place, it will never need fertilizer. If you feel that your tree is lacking something, the best thing to do is to get a soil sample done, send the sample into a laboratory, and then wait for the results to see what nutrients are lacking in the soil. Again, it will take time for the nutrients to get into the tree and for the tree to show signs of improvement. If you have any questions regarding your trees’ health, get ahold of your local forester, arborist, or extension agent. For more information about tree care and tree health, check out https://plantnebraska.org/resources-events/tips-help-how-to/trees-help-howto.html.
2022 Fall – Winter Fire Science Webinar Series
If you miss these webinars, you can catch up on the tapings at https://oakfirescience.com/videos_categories/webinars/
Events Calendar
May 2023:
May 20 – World Bee Day
May 28 – National Hamburger Day
May 29 – Memorial Day
May 31 – National Smile Day
June 2023:
June 1 – 2 – Kentucky Prescribed Fire Council Annual Meeting. Blue Licks Battlefield State Park and Nature Preserve. https://www.kyfire.org/annual-meeting
June 2 – National Agroforestry Center Webinar: USDA FSA Loans. https://www.fs.usda.gov/nac/resources/agroforestry-webinars.shtml
June 3 – National Fishing and Boating Day
June 6 – D-Day Remembrance
June 7 – 9 – Workshop on Wildland/Prescribed Fire Extension and Outreach. Raleigh, North Carolina. https://southernfireexchange.org/calendar/workshop-on-wildland-prescribed-fire-extension-and-outreach/
June 9 – Donald Duck Day
June 12 – National Superman Day
June 14 – Flag Day
June 15 – 16: The 2023 Comprehensive Elderberry Workshop & Orchard Tour. https://www.riverhillsharvest.com/2022-elderberry-workshop-orchard-tour
June 18 – Father’s Day
June 19 – Juneteenth Day
June 20 – Ugly Dog Appreciation Day
June 21 – Summer Solstice
June 29 – Fisherman Appreciation Day
June 30 – Drive your Corvette to Work Day
July 2023:
July 1 – Visit the Zoo Day
July 4 – Independence Day
July 7 – National Father Daughter Take a Walk Together Day
July 11 – 13 – Southwest Agroforestry Action Network Annual Meeting. Littleton, CO. https://aztrees.org/event-5115830
July 14 – Mac and Cheese Day
July 19 – American Football Appreciation Day
July 20 – National Pickup Truck Day
July 23 – 26 – National Nut Growers, Walnut Council, and Chestnut Growers of America Joint Meetings. Columbia, Missouri. http://www.chestnutgrowers.org/ or https://nutgrowing.org/annual-conference-2023/
July 25 – 27 – 2023 Interior Highlands Shortleaf Pine Initiative Summit. West Plains, Missouri. For more information, contact Jeff Powelson at JPowelson@abcbirds.org
July 25 – 28 – Pine Forest Management and Windbreak Training. Chadron, Nebraska.
August 2023:
August 1 – 3 – Northern Hardwood Conference. Canada. https://www.cif-ifc.org/events/2023nhc/
August 4 – International Beer Day
August 10 – Spoil Your Dog Day
August 13 – National Left Handers Appreciation Day
August 16 – National Tell a Joke Day
August 22 – National Never Been Better Day
August 26 – National Dog Appreciation Day
August 29 – 31 – 2023 Northeast – Midwest Regional Prescribed Fire Workshop. Madison, Wisconsin. https://www.northeasternwildfire.net/resilient-landscapes/2023-ne-mw-regional-prescribed-fire-workshop/
August 31 – National Eat Outside Day
Save the Dates!
October 25 – 28 – SAF National Convention. Sacramento, California. https://eforester.org/Safconvention2023/Default.aspx
October 30 – November 10 – Southern Blue Ridge TREX. https://www.sbrtrex.com/
November 6 – 10 – National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy Workshop. Santa Fe, NM. https://southernfireexchange.org/calendar/6th-national-cohesive-wildland-fire-management-strategy-workshop/
December 4 – 8 – The 10th International Fire and Ecology Management Congress. Monterey, California. https://fireecology.org/calendar-entries/firecongress23
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