silvopasture

Black Locust Silvopasture in SEPA-

I'm looking for specific recommendations on spacing and planting for the purpose of firewood production and eventually goat pasture (as part of a rotation, not full time and with only a handful of goats). The field was previously used to grow corn until last summer when it developed a nice crop of weeds.

Has anyone tried double rows? Offset? What spacing did you use? Is the 8x8 spacing (700 trees/acre) recommended for coppicing or pollarding (if there's even a difference)? If I'm only planting 300 seedlings this spring- should I put them all down one end of the field, or space them throughout?

I read there may be some benefit to avoiding a monoculture- any thoughts on black walnut standards planted throughout the black locust? Spacing?

Also, I have heavy deer pressure on my 14 acres of old corn fields (only 1 acre would be black locust for now), what do you think about 4' chicken wire zip tied to create a tube 4" in diameter with the bottom 2' wrapped in contractor's plastic? Would that provide the same microclimate benefits as a tree tube (extended growing season, mouse, rabbit and deer protection, etc.)?

Thanks!

Abby

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Permalink Reply by Brett Chedzoy on March 6, 2015 at 1:09pm

Hi Abby,

Just noticed that no one replied to this. I think you can find some relevant info in related posts on black locust. I feel that the number of trees per acre and design depends on several important factors:

Estimated survival. This will be influenced by existing vegetation, site prep, site quality, weather, and short-term maintenance.
Maintenance plans. For example, if the plantation will be mowed the first few years, you need to plan accordingly with the spacing
Economic calculations. More trees generally = more cost, but sometimes planting more trees up front can help outcompete other vegetation more quickly, reduce the need to replant, etc. So it's a balance of several considerations. Presumably we all want the benefits to outweigh the costs in our tree planting projects, so I would suggest comparing two or three of the most attractive scenarios to see which is the most "profitable" by using a Net Present Value calculation, or some other sort of financial analysis.