Two hours of work is better than zero hours of work

Yesterday was supposed to be a marathon planting session at The Property. Events conspired against me and we are down to a single vehicle so I coordinated with Mrs ERJ.

I dropped her off at her Saturday volunteering commitment and proceeded onward to The Property. I had four hours before I had to pick her up with 90 minutes of that being travel time.

I planted pecan seed-nuts.

The burnt cans with the "X" cut in the bottoms did not work. The devil was in the details.

I am planting in sod with goldenrod, wild bergamot (Monardia) and blackberries. I cut downward in four places with my shovel to make a square and then pop the block of sod out of the ground. I flip it 90-to-180 degrees to bury the grass and then slice-n-dice the exposed soil.

The roots of the sod defeated my being able to effectively push the can into the ground. The problem was exacerbated by the fact that most of the cans I brought were "pull-top" style cans. The tops of those cans have a lip of steel inside the rim which blunts it. They just do not want to cut into soil with any kinds of roots.

Plan T (for Torreya)

Torreya is a very rare, evergreen, nut tree that was almost expatriated extirpated from North America. There is a group of enthusiasts who have been trying to expand its range. One of their findings was that very deep planting of the nuts helped them elude predation by squirrels and rodents.

I planted the nuts 6" deep, which seems like a long, long way*. I planted two nuts per hole with about 6" between the two nuts.

This is a promising development. An inch of rain will help "seal" the soil and reduce the smell of the newly dug soil and of the nuts.

Unfortunately, some animals, like raccoons, cannot resist digging in newly exposed dirt. Trappers use this to their advantage. But barring raccoons, perhaps the deeply buried nuts will not release enough scent to attract the local squirrel population.

I got about sixty of them planted when I saw a stranger walking on The Property. I approached him. 

No, he did not have permission.

I suggested that walking on private property during turkey season is foolhardy. While hunters are responsible for their targets and what is downrange of them, accidents can still happen. 1-7/8 ounce of #5 shot is about 320 pellets and they can bounce off of tree trunks and rocks.

He agreed to leave and not come back. 

I looked at my watch and saw that I had been working for two hours. After watching the man drive away, I decided it was a good time to leave to pick up Mrs ERJ.

I had accomplish half of my original goal for the day. 

*Native Americans in the American Southwest typically planted corn (maize) 12" deep. Modern farmers plant it 1" to 1.5" deep. The Native Americans planted it that deep because the moisture didn't come directly from rain. It was sub-surface moisture that flowed in the direction of the alluvial fan at the base of the mesa.