We have a large wooded area that I do not normally go. They are mainly tall trees and some invasives to fill in. I only go there to clean up the invasives. But I’ve been wondering what I can get from the land. There is no restrictions at all from local government.
Growing mushrooms is something I can explore. Any fruit trees like mulberry that can fruit in partially shade and filtered sun? That area has heavy deer traffic. I have no interest to heavily alter that area with ground cover etc. The ground flower is rich humus.
I just do no want to thin any good trees. I can use another area of my property that has open understory (I already thinned out) and has southern exposure to some sun.
Just wonder what I can do with that large shaded area. It is all tall deciduous trees, some invasive wild pear and red cedars. I’ve already cut down some of the invasive, like tree honeysuckle, multiflora and vine honeysuckles.
Yes, I do see a lot of brambles growing in the wood. I should have some Navaho blackberry and they are thornless. So I can tell them from the thorny wild ones.
Our woodland is dominated by red oaks, wild hickory, wild black walnut trees, and some red cedars. I still need to ID those seedlings next season before I decide what to do with them. I intend to cut down about a dozen evergreen red cedars to open up the sun exposure on the East/South side. The red cedars on the West side will be retained as windbreaker.
At this point, ground cover is the least I’ll get to. The first I need to control the invasive, then to protect the seedlings and young trees from deer. Then plant some small fruit and/or nut trees. Also bring in some berry plants at the edge of the woods.
So I think this is more like woodland preservation than woodland gardening. I do not intend to build a woodland garden. That is too much work and no one even goes there to look at. Whatever trees or plants I bring in would require minimal maintenance. So those nut trees probably work the best.
I saw in the honeyberry cuttings thread that you might be able to graft them onto the invasive honeysuckle as a rootstock. Additionally wild ginseng prefers shaded rich forest floor areas and the roots can be sold for a premium price ($100s/lb). I’ve heard it is very hard to grow. Pawpaw and northern wild raisin naturally live in shaded areas (if looking for fruit). Spice bush also shouldn’t mind the shade.
Those bush honeysuckles are really strong. I’ll look into that. Ginseng is good, but deer is a big problem. That area is too large to fence in. Yes, I do plan to grow some of the Sichuan pepper or other spice bush at the edge.
We also have another wooded area that has some huge trees. I know at least one is a 50’ wild black walnut. Maybe wild hickory too. I’ll see if I can collect some of the wild nuts and see if there is any value. Squirrel get all of them now. I also see some edible brambles. I can dig up some of my raspberry plants and plant them in the wild.
I just wonder if anyone grows wild garlic Allium vineale. It grows wild here and is considered weedy plant. Have not compared with the flavors yet vs Allium tricoccum and Allium ursinum. So many wild garlic/onions.
if you have any shady wet areas you could plant ostrich fern ( fiddleheads). they grow wild here near streams and rivers. they will spread by rhizomes. excellent sauteed with garlic and butter.
