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Friday at SAFF collecting shagbark hickory

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Shagbark hickory, Carya ovata, found along the south setback line.

We looked for shagbark hickories to harvest some bark to make shagbark hickory syrup.

Shaggy bark pealing off the tree in the older specimen.
Carya ovata found along the southern set back line.

The bark, with exceptionally strong, hard and shock resistant wood can be used for furniture, handles and sporting goods as well as smoking meats. The nuts can be eaten raw or cooked. We watched members of the Cherokee tribe make a traditional kenuchi with Shagbark hickory nuts. The nuts can also be used as a replacement for pecans in recipes as well as made into a milk or syrup. They are nutrient dense with protein, healthy fats (omega 3’s) and carbohydrates.

Shagbark hickory bark we collected.
Shagbark hickory nuts
Honey locust, Gleditsia triacanthos, found at the culvert on the old farm road. Historically, those large thorns have been used as nails in construction. These trees are nitrogen fixers that help to replenish soil making them beneficial for agroforestry and land reclamation. The sweet fleshy pulp from the pods can be eaten by people and animals. We were delighted to find this tree and hope to find more.
American persimmon, Diospyros virginiana, with fruit hanging on up high in the canopy.

We’ve gone out to water the newly planted pawpaws, Asimina triloba. They continue to do well. Chris has worked on the lean to and it’s just about ready for the roof.

The lean-to connected to the shed will ultimately protect our tractor from the rain and snow.
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April 10, 2024 Saint Andrew’s Forest Farm

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We had a big day of mowing and cutting back several overgrown areas along the southern set back line. We used our new roads through the forest we’d cut a few weeks ago to drive the tractor over to the southern border. It was a success. Our old Husqvarna tractor is a workhorse.

Viola hirsutula, Southern wood violet found along the south wet weather gully.
Viburnum prunifolium, Blackhaw, found in the wet weather gully on the south side.
Genus Galium, bedstraws.
Terrapene carolina carolina, Eastern box turtle. South side near mayapple colony.
Carya ovata, shagbark hickory. South end of SAFF.
Our first red Russula of the year. We saw many of these last year. There are over 500 species. This was found on the north side of the clearing up top.

We found a few other plants and are looking into identifying them.

We were happy to cut down a few more black cherry trees which had black knot fungus and bag worms. We are slowly taking diseased trees from the farm and burning them.

It was dry out today with rain expected tomorrow and Friday. We hope after a rain with warmer weather into the 70s, the morels may finally pop up. We are on the lookout and can’t wait to get back out there.

Salvia lyrata, lyreleaf sage. Found along the road while mowing. There was a patch of it.