Celebrating Arbor Day

by Julie Morris

Julie Morris is a Resource Specialist for the Indiana Department of Agriculture for the Division of Soil Conservation in the Pulaski County USDA Service Center.  Julie received her degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Science from Purdue University.  She loves to garden and is just starting to compost.  Julie is married and has a 3-year old boy plus a new St. Bernard puppy and lives in LaPorte County.

Nothing says Arbor Day more than wrapping over 1900 trees – except maybe planting all those trees. But that is what people in the northwest area of Indiana will be doing this spring. The LaPorte County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) sold almost 2000 trees this year. They held their annual tree wrap at the LaPorte County fairgrounds on Friday, April 26th. Some students and a teacher from Westville High School also came to help out. 

Tony Ekovich and Nate Mrozinski, LaPorte County SWCD board members, start to mix the moss with water to keep the tree roots moist until planting. 

LaPorte SWCD members and Westville High School students and teachers all helped wrapped and label the trees.

Here are two of the best tree planters around (my husband Charlie and son Nathan) planting some hazelnuts in our front yard that were purchased from the 2013 LaPorte County SWCD tree sale. Don’t be afraid to get dirty!

As a general rule, the width of the hole should be at least 3 times the spread of the roots in the case of bare root trees. When purchasing bare-rooted trees, inspect the roots to ensure that they are moist and have numerous lengths of fine root hairs. Care should be taken to ensure that the roots are kept moist in the period between purchasing and planting. Plant the tree seedling and fill loosely with soil. Then, gently firm around the seedling to eliminate air pockets around the roots. Do not stomp!

Our puppy, Spencer, is on lookout and checks on the newly planted hazelnuts.

And maybe, just maybe, you will find a worm or it’s family.

Nathan knows worms are good for gardens and farmland. They improve the structure of the soil. When they burrow, red worms till the soil around the root areas of plants, thus improving soil aeration, porosity, and permeability as well as aiding in water retention (due to increased access to plant roots), and drainage in the soil. All of these enhance mineral and moisture absorption of plants as well as reduce water use and soil erosion.

Don’t forget to give your trees lots of water!

Water trees at least once a week, if there hasn’t been any rainfall.

There are so many benefits to planting trees. Trees can provide shelter to many different types of wildlife, reduce your heating and cooling costs, help clean the air, add beauty and color, provide shelter from the wind and the sun, and add value to your home.

Many SWCDs have annual tree sales. Visit your local SWCD office for more information on available trees and order forms.

Celebrate Earth Day, COME ON, Let's Celebrate!

Thank you Kool & The Gang for inspiration for this title....."Ya Hoo! There's a party going on right here!"
Isn't that introduction to this entry just a clinic in professionalism!  Ha!

Well, it is that time of year to celebrate!  We have Earth Day, Easter, Arbor Day, and Soil and Water Stewardship Week and a bonus....... it's Springtime!  What an awesome time of year.  All of these occasions give us the opportunity to celebrate nature, the planet, life and our precious natural resources which are essential to our quality of life.

Let's don't forget ...... the May Apples are up, Trilliums and Redbuds are blooming, we have plenty of rain, so what am I getting at?????? MUSHROOMS!  Oh yeah!

Now I am an avid hiker and I know my way around a woods, but I am lousy at spotting these little buggers or as I tell my kids, "The mushrooms are too fast and sneaky for us."  The problem is that I love those little fungi and my friends keep sending Facebook pictures of these gi-normous delectables just to rub it in!

A picture of my boys coming to grips with the reality that,
"Dad can't find mushrooms!"

Okay, okay, enough about mushrooms, but more about the woods and in particular trees and tree planting.  Sidenote: It just so happens that this year's theme for Soil and Water Stewardship Week is "Forests".


So why do I bring this up when I usually talk agriculture?  A couple of reasons, but I'll focus more on the 2nd.
#1 - The hardwood industry is huge in Indiana, I won't dig into the details now, but supporting this industry in Indiana is a major component of our Economic Development focus within the Indiana State Department of Agriculture.
#2 - In Indiana, some of the land utilized currently for row crop agriculture is better suited and more sustainable both economically and environmentally as forest or woodland.

Regarding the second point, especially the floodplain fields where in certain seasons farmers are forced to replant repeatedly due to flooding, perform continual clearing of floodwater debris, and regularly repair fields due to the erosive nature of floodwaters.  All of these factors can lead to economic losses and plainly they can can be more headaches than they are worth to some folks.  An option to row crop farming is planting trees.

A new planting just this spring in Western Indiana.

Commonly referred to as a Bottomland Hardwood Tree Planting, this practice can be cost-shared and the landowner can receive incentives through various programs such as the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP).  Someday these areas become forests and are extremely valuable habitats along rivers and streams serving as homes to many wildlife species such as: Bald Eagles, Herons, River Otters, Leopard Frogs, and various salamanders.

Young bald cypress in a recently planted floodplain shortly after a flood event.

So, this year let's celebrate forests and trees and the value that they can bring to agriculture and the environment.  Enough of these ramblings, you should stop reading now and get yourself outside and soak up a little Springtime and have a very happy EARTH DAY, April 22, 2011.

A young Bottomland Tree Planting in North-central Indiana.

Mature Floodplain Forest