William (permaculture consultant) shares how the trees are trying to feed the grazing animals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onjccrbsays
I tried this at the end of 2022:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lchn2qkdzu
But our main issue with this method was the deer!
Instead of regrowing the stumps, they graze one from them, repeatedly destroying new shoots, reducing their vitality. The shot was an overall obstacle as he never returned even a few feet tall. There was no improvement in blueberry production either, but it may be seasonal. Berries have better years than other years.
As I commented on William’s video:
“I tried this in the forest, and the deer destroyed the regeneration. I wanted fire and biomass, but they really bite. A year later, they were all for the grazing of the deer. It was barely growing. Next time I’ll be pollarding about head height. My cows can’t raise themselves, but the deer won’t get it first!”
If the deer is low in pressure, or if you are running animals through the area from time to time, cutting the tree low may make sense. But when I cut the trees low and in the cow pasture, the cows destroy them without the help of deer. So that’s head height for us.
Overall, I don’t think we can recognize how potential the land is. I urge people not to clear indiscriminately. Forests take a long time to grow and when you clear them you may lose more than you think. First of all, you lose wood and fire. You will also lose all the vacation and nuts that can fall. Acorns Fatten Pigs, Hickory, is a good thing to eat. They can also lose wild fruits, such as mulberry and per. And edible mushrooms that grow around the roots of trees, like Chanterelle. As William explains, you lose all the hay of the trees.
Run everything to make pasture and don’t clean it all up unless you really think about it.
