Tree Farming

I have found myself lately looking towards retirement, well at least planning for it. I am 39. Been looking at my homestead for ways to stay home and make a profit. One idea that hit home was tree farming. At work there is a beautiful huge Magnolia tree, so I stopped by today and picked up a good bag of seed pods. Were' gonna remove the seeds and see if we can get them to sprout. Looking for ideas or experience with tree farming if anyone has any knowledge. I'll post pics of our progress.

Most tree farms are planted for your children...and I have to say I think there is a rule around here, if you buy land, you have to plant trees.

That's what I did and seems so did everyone else....and are still doing it.
Mostly it's not for making money, I really don't think it's possible to make any kind of an income with trees for the length of time it take to grow them.

I planted mine for wildlife habitat, wind breaks, privacy screens and shade.

What was your thoughts on converting them to money....or value added for the land?

You can plant trees for nurserys, and christmas trees, and in OR they have entire crops of trees that mature for milling in about a decade maybe less. The firs and pines usually take 7 years before they are ready to harvest for christmas. You can also start seedlings for forestry replacement in logging areas. I've been out around the Carolinas (my dads in Chesney) and you guys have some real cute trees that you log out there. I guess fence posts have to come from somewhere:p

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hunter63

Most tree farms are planted for your children...and I have to say I think there is a rule around here, if you buy land, you have to plant trees.

That's what I did and seems so did everyone else....and are still doing it.
Mostly it's not for making money, I really don't think it's possible to make any kind of an income with trees for the length of time it take to grow them.

I planted mine for wildlife habitat, wind breaks, privacy screens and shade.

What was your thoughts on converting them to money....or value added for the land?

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I have alot of trees now. What I was thinking was selling 4' to 8' ft. Magnolia's for a fair price. We have about 20 seeds this time around and plenty more pods on the ground. I'll plant somewhere around 15 to go out by the road. We will see what we can get for the rest, if it works. I have been eyeballing the pods on the ground for over a month and most of the seeds have left the pods. Next year I know to get'em sooner.

I can't find the article i'm looking for, It was ether backwoods or mother earth news, I'm not sure. Any way I read about a couple that planted trees for wood veneer. They calculated they could get upwards of $40,000 per tree. I can't remember much except that they pruned the trees to minimize branches after a certain age to reduce knot holes in the veneer. I wish i could remember more. Perhaps something to look into.

I was thinking more along the lines of planting seedlings for landscaping purchases...Maybe even buying seedlings and maturing them into saplings....for sale.

Not sure if it fits in your time line, but Southern Magnolias that are grown from seed take 15 to 20 years to blossom.

The other problem with magnolia started from seed is you never know what you are going to get.
Most tree farms that sell specific flowering trees select the best stock plants to harvest cuttings and graft onto hardy root stock. Especially with named varieties. I did this work for 8 years working under a guy responsible for the whole breeding and selection process for ornamentals on a 200 acre nursery. And we used to buy in all our grafting rootstock in liners. Some we did onsite from rooted cuttings on known hardy cultivars, but this was very limited due to the space and labor involved.

Besides, what is the going price on a seed grown, common southern magnolia?

If you don't have horticultural background, get some if you are going to be going into grafting and intensive growing. You get one wrong bug in there and you lose the crop. Different trees require different pruning and upkeep methods. Not everything is on the internet.

Or maybe think a little bit along different lines. If you are going into native species, look for the hardiest, nicest looking plant species in your area and focus on those for development replantings and land reclamations. Or look into Christmas trees (but watch your area climate as most traditional firs are currently loosing vitality in the southernmost ranges).

There are a lot of 'renewable resource' trees these days that are being used for veneers. We use Pau lope (Ipé) alot for rot resistant applications. Birch is another. Though you probably have to be a massive grower to get any type of profit in growing any kind of lumber variety.

Another currently popular renewable resource is Bamboo. Careful with that stuff. Get the wrong one and you could have an invasive problem that rivals Kudzu.

Best bet is to scope around your local nurseries, see what they are getting for prices and see if you can compete enough to make a little money on the side. Buying liners and growing them on is an option. Just remember, they do that too and on a larger scale. I do it some years and sell the stuff at flea markets. Usually the liners I use are sturdy things you can stick in a pot, sink in a bed for 3 to 5 years and ignore them, then lift em, repot em and sell em.

Thanks for the response Lowkey, I will do my homework, just brainstorming ways to have this place give back a little more. I knew a guy once that raised and sold Bonzai trees, he did pretty good with it.

Bonsai is a whole other can of worms.
Does he just sell the stock or was he able to actually do the work and sell the miniature trees?

There's a place near here that sells the clipped trees as well as small stock. I can't imagine paying that kind of money for anything, but I guess some people do.

I just go there for inspiration. I have a few bonsai I keep out on the patio in summer and winter-over outdoors.

Cowboysurvival, I ain't to far from you and I have a tree farm. Except I have Longleafs planted. I planted them in 2001 and they are already about 20ft. I figured they would add to my retiement......Another thing to look at is Liveoaks. In good soil it don't take long for them to reach the 3 to 4 ft range which is good for selling.

Cowboy
FWIW I recall just before I left home in the 40's, we heard the road by our farm would be widened, which meant we would get X feet expropriated. We spent a couple of weeks going out and cutting branches off trees and sticking them in a pail of water. Then one quick shovel poke into the dirt ~6 ninches and stuff the end of the branch in, water well, and forget it. Worked really well for those trees we poked the shovel in pointed north. (South and the flap of earth over the tree 'root' dried out because of sun heating, and it never caught.) Made nearly a years income from those two weeks of work with planted trees every 12 feet.

Allen

Depends on what trees you are snapping and poking whether that works or not.
You have to wonder at people who buy things that root that easily from a cut branch. Guess they don't know any better. I wouldn't lay out money to buy a willow, a dogwood, or a sassafras. Or shrubs like Eonymous alatus (banned as invasive here now), honeysuckle, Concord grape vines, or Rosa rugosa.

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