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Great job brother!! The more trees you have the more water you store and the more shade you produce! All of that increases the amount of under story growth and microbiom it can support. That increases the amount of water you can store in the mycology that will grow in your understory. Add in all of the bugs bacteria and wildlife that call it home. And that’s a healthy forest.
@@FLPhotoCatcher He has not had a "real" rain event this year. Anything over half an inch of rain will activate at least a few of those seeds. Also, he didn't use hot water on all the seeds. He's right to start some shoots at home, he should try to find a local desert nursery with local plants and go talk to these people. We all wanted "Crime Pays Botany Doesn't" to come to Dustups, but he thought Shaun was too basic. Damn. I like them both!
Shaun...it looked like you were pushing those rooted cuttings into dirt...that can break and damage those frail new roots and delay the new growth. It would be best that you either put only some amount of dirt into pot, drop the rooted cutting in and then fill the rest of it around it. OR if you want to fill it all in one go, use thicker stick that you make hole into dirt and then you only need to drop the cutting in and firm the soil around it by watering it in. It is nice to see curious budding gardener in process of learning the tricks of the trade,
Also the top 3 leaves are good to leave on a cutting for its first adjustments to the new spot, they will abort themselves when they are ready but they transport nutrients in the meant time lessening the time it takes to get established. It also allows the plant to focus on a single leader where as chopping the top off initiates a split leader type shape.
Put the potted saplings in a tray together and then fill the tray with a couple inches of water. You’ll be bottom watering the plants and encourage the roots to grow downward seeking water!
Hi Shaun, I commented earlier about using bio degradable plant pots / bags. I have just purchased from Amazon for you 1000 gardtree plant nursery bags and 40 pieces 3.15 inch peat pots. Both purchases are bio degradable so you can just put them straight in the ground. I have sent them to your P.O. Box address in Sierra Blanca and Amazon have indicated they should arrive 26th October. If they do not arrive just let me know and I will follow up or give you the order number. Best wishes from central west Queensland Australia, we are just coming into our summer and it is starting to get hot here, 38c last couple of days, so we may even get up into the 40c area as the year progresses. Probably not as hot as where you are. Take care and I enjoy watching your journey. Helen.
@@jmmypaddy it’s been a crazy cascade- song birds to game birds, raccoons, then a large feral mane coon cat, deer, a bear, then a neighbour just saw a cougar
Is Isrial in same tempent zone as your ranch? If so, and if rain fall the same, you might try olive tree. What about a Joshua tree and desart plants that grow in Uath?
You need to do a couple early oil changes on that thing to get the metal shavings out of the engine. This will prolong its life out there tremendously. dont push it untill you do a couple changes. run for an hour change. run for three hours change. then do it normal rcommended hours. Trust me.
Olive trees have physiological mechanisms that help them tolerate drought stress. Best varieties Wilsoni, Arbequina, Leccino, Frantoio, Chemlali, or Swan Hill.
Great suggestion. I was also thinking the bird and excavator were reminiscent of "Are You My Mother?" Of all the Dr. Seuss books, that one stuck with me the most.
Figs, FIgs , FIgs and MORE FIGS. Easy to start cutting and they do well in Desert. I would love to send you cuttings from my Texas Everbearing Fig tree here in OHIO! I will be pruning before the winter comes and I have TONS of them.
@@dustupstexas Perfect. I will start my PRUNING in NOV. I will send you a crap TON of them. Figs are easy to root and you can refrigerate them for as long as you need before rooting.
Hey Shuan, in regards to your seedlings and propagating, you'll have better success if you premoisten your soil. After a good watering, dig into the pot just to see how well you did. Premoisten the soil.
Dunking is a good method too. After planting, set them in a big tub. Once the tub is full of pots, put something heavy across to stop them from floating. Fill big tub full of water. Let soak for 15 to 20 minutes. Pull pots out, allow to drain. Guaranteed perfectly saturated soil, no dry spots.
Strongly suggest running a magnet in the oil of that mini excavator friend of mine bought one and what we found made us very happy we changed oil before running it.
@@dustupstexas run one hour change oil. run three hours change oil. And when i say run, that means light load. Sometimes you can find magnetic drain plugs. not sure if one is made for this lil guy. Used em on my predator generators from china, the amount of crap we pulled out on the (3) pre use oil changes was crazy! Happy scoopin!
Growing seedlings of varying species and then planting them is better than planting a seed mix! I've watched other channels and this method works! Well done Shaun!
I wholeheartedly agree! The technique always worked in my garden and solarium . I also had success in broadcasting seeds , but I found it chaotic and inefficient in comparison 😊 I'm enjoying this journey with young Mr Overton , I hope I live long enough to see him triumph with his desert garden.
@@imnamu7047 It was ages ago! Try typing in the method that Shaun uses in the search function in RU-vid! That should bring more channels up. Plus I have a few gardeners in my family. They used to do this!
The cowbird is certainly entertaining and full of personality ! I hope there will not be any problems in having a relationship with a he/she/it critter in a place like Texas. 😜
May I suggest you also try filling some pots with soil that you wetted before adding it to the pot... Just give it a cup or two of water before adding it to the pots will make it easier to keep it wet once the cuttings are in there and makes sure you have wet soil around the roots from the start
I grew dozens of pomegranates from seed. Easy peasy. Buy one in the store. Open it up, take the seeds out and each the flesh but don't swallow the seed. Dry the seeds for about 2 weeks on paper towels. Then take 4 to 6 seeds, in 1/4 sheet of paper towel, rolled, moisten, place in plastic bag, place in dark warm area (pantry works) for about 7 to 14 days. Open the plastic sandwich bag, unroll, seeds should of sprouted. Plant in plastic cup, with holes in the bottom for good drainage, with good rich soil. Takes them about 1 week to show growth. I let mine grow for 3 months before planting outside. 2nd year, they flowered, no fruits though. 3rd year flowered, small fruits but delicious! After the small tree grows to maturity, nice large delicious pomegranates. Enough to give to your friends and neighbors!
this will sound stupid to most westerners,,,,but desert people often keep pidgeons,,,,, they do it primarily for the meat, the manure, and because pidgeons fly a long way, collect all kinds of different seeds and poop them out on the home farm... the desert people make clay houses for them that look like tall skinny iggloos,,,but a very tall log with a pallet or 2 on it will be fine.
Dove doo used to be reserved for royalty because it is so fertile. It was also used as a dowery. Always good to encourage birds. Having a water source for birds is always good. Used to raise pigeons and doves and the European immigrants loved to come get the manure.
It is exciting seeing all the cuttings you’ve got started. If only one of those stingy rain clouds would rain on your property so all your ideas could get a fair test.
Little tip on digging trenches, if you started 180 degrees and dug in the opposite direction you get the same trench but get to work up wind of the dust flow.
Excavator makes a great composting tool as well - you'll see. In seven years or so, when the desert has gone through a couple of it's 3 - year cycles, this part of your property will look remarkably different, you'll be amazed. The additional shade and cooling effect on the immediate soil area will change the soil itself. You might actually see a spring reappear. Stay strong, you are making great progress, although you may be pushing the desert faster than it wants to go...
The name Delores is perfect. John Wayne's real name was Marion 🤷🏻♂️ love what you all are doing! I hope you get some great luck! Love from Wales 🏴
So much to say about propagation from cuttings here, I read another comment pointing out the error of stuffing rooted cuttings into full pots of soil, fill the bottom of the pot then add the soil on top of the established cutting is sound advice. As to when to plant, I always try to wait till the roots are branching at least once, so tap root plus side branches. As to watering cuttings, they grew in just water, they die from lack of moisture, you will want to avoid 'damping off' from over watering but when first planting them out, the soil wants to be very moist, if not actually wetted, plunge watering in a bucket is my 'go to'. My rule of thumb is if there is signs of life there is hope, never give up on a sickly cutting, they often look shabby during the initial stages. Great work in any measure regardless.
Your dirt mix needs far more moisture in it. And if you can try to use a finer mix. Part of the reason why the older cuttings are struggling is because they don't have enough surface area with their root and the large chunks of dirt to grab the moisture. And if you're not keeping that dirt moist all the time they will be set back. You can sift your dirt to get the finer pieces for planting. Or you can purchase it. You might be able to find it on clearance, even though you have a lot of plans you only need two or three bags. Or you can buy one bag to mix into your pre-existing mixture.
I live in Arlington Tx. Were you looking for mesquite trees?. I am starting Some yucca rostrata, Big Bend Yucca from seed. I also collected some mesquite seed that I am going to germinate. I successfully rooted six Arizona Cyprus if you want them I can bring them too you or you can pick them up also have some artichoke agave pups. I also have a lot of thornless prickly pear rooted. You can make a bird bath out of an oil pan just put water in it and set. Rock in the middle so it doesn’t blow away. Make sure you keep it full. Plant some plants around it to catch the water when they bathe. Also I would. Plant stuff around the shower to take advantage of the spilled water.
love the mini exc , when digging a hole, often its good to take the top layer of top soil and place it in a separate pile from the less fertile soil to be used as desired. I was never into plants before but when developing my land i needed to learn about them... fun stuff!
it's great to see you trying cuttings, I'm sure it well help a lot. I'm propagating goji here at my place, and have had better luck skipping the water stage all together, and this might be a good thing to try for your pomegranates, too. I strip off all but 1-2 leaves on each cutting, and dip in rooting hormone. I use a sterile starter mix (50% coconut coir or peat, 25% vermiculite, 25% perlite) and put it in 10x20 flat trays. I can easily get 40+ cuttings in each tray an inch or two apart. Cover with a humidity dome. and keep them inside with soft lighting. Give them a very light tug after a few weeks and see if you can feel rooting. When most of them have resistance, you can pot them all up unto your normal pots with standard potting soil you will have less chance of rot on the stem, and since you're using a sterile starter mix you have less fungal / disease issues while they try to root. Might be worth trying!
Hi Shaun! Since this is an expermimental, community orientated project (although you're the one doing all the work, with your two fellas ;-), all we can do is suggest improvements. My two cents for today : #1 when watering your young plants, I see you spraying water all over : that has very little watering effect, much better is to place a container/plate under the pots, fill it and let the plants absorb water from below, which also will stimumlate them to grow roots downwards instead of stagnating at planted level and expecting water to come from above. #2 When using your new toy, make sure you know where the wind comes from before you start eating all that dirt 😀
I have a few suggestions: grow your seedlings and cuttings in tubes, long skinny tubes, the object being to get the roots long, so they can access the deeper moist soil. Btw Pomegranate strike really easily. Next point, we have found success in planting cuttings that are 4 metres/12 feet long, the method is to take the long cutting, on the bottom half, trim at the nodes and hit them with rooting hormone, then, use a water Lance to blast a hole down 4 to 6 feet and plant the cutting. As always, it helps if you water and, as always, it helps if you fertilise after they have struck. Low strike rate BUT mature trees in under 12 months for the successful ones.
Good idea but counter productive if you cant dig a hole deep enough to not have to cut or fold the roots. Better to get them healthy with roots already trained to reach down by bottom watering, for enough water and transplant them before they ever reach the bottom of their container and turn. Let that first down reaching root encounter as little downward resistance as possible. Loosen the soil below as deep as possible before setting the transplant. Not quite so important most places but for a plant that will have to make it through a 4.5" of rain season, they are gonna have to reach 30'+ deep eventually. To get them to reach deep, there must be water deep for them to reach for. Might be worthwhile to play with a small pressure washer with a 10 foot long pipe for a nozzle to punch a vertical hole for the tap root to follow quick and to put some water down there for them to reach for. Could try disconnecting the pipe then jamming peat moss down it as the pipe is retracted to pack the hole with peat moss to hold moisture and keep the rocks from blocking it up too.
Good going Shaun. I read the comments and they gave suggestions on the "mistakes" you are making so i wont repeat them. You are making progress so far. In some soils, the seeds would have germinated. No matter, there is an option that will work for you. Working with the land is like living in a lab; you try, observe, learn, assess, adopt, discard, try alternatives. Its great for the mind and soul though. The new machine can be used to dig more holes to hold rainwater. and some swales when the time comes.
Shaun, we recently got about 3/4 inch of rain here in semi-arid North Central Victoria, Australia, and I noticed that the soil underneath the opuntias, agaves and tree aeoniums was still moist quite a while after the surrounding soil was bone dry! Grass also tends to grow extra well under these cacti and succulents, so I'm thinking at this might be a good place to plant tree seeds. Just a heads up, this stuff actually does work! I have begun planting cacti and succulents under my deciduous trees such as oaks and elms (Chinese and European), and they are doing well!
Another great video, Finally mini excavator to help with the ground work, should help speed things up and nursery. Pleased you also started with quite a few different trees cutting. Although you where a bit harsh with the cuttings. Leave a few branches or leaves on. Helps it to heal and start to regrow . Plus before putting in the cutting in the pots when the roots have started to grow use a peg or something to make a hole to lower it into. Already looking forward to the next one.
Hi, came across your channel today, watched most. Love it. Grasshopper is my choice of names. Have you looked into free tree seedlings ? Sometimes the forest service, government agencies or local agencies will give out tree seedlings or sell in bulk for low prices. I would definitely check it out. You have a lot of acres. Maybe even see if there are grants for your project. Check with the Universities. You never know. Planting on a hill side, put 3 seedlings in a space then cut out a half moon swell to hold the water. Works well. You can even ask at nurseries for donations. Plus, when your expecting rain. throw out prairie grass seeds and even native flower seeds. The more the plants and grass start growing, the ground will start holding the water better. Plus there is stuff you can buy to break up clay soil and put nutrients back into the soil. At home, start raising rabbits, I know, your thinking what ??? Rabbit poo is "cool", meaning you can throw it out onto the ground and it won't burn plants and is a good fertilizer. Just a thought...lol Have a wonderful day, jules
Plants evaporate water, tenting them in warm weather will cause them to mold/rot easier. It is great to see you planting trees. Ideally, rows of trees and bushes will create a micro climate with lower temps, less wind, and therefore more humidity and reduced evaporation. If you can get the ground temp low enough, it will start creating dew at night and pulling moisture from the air. Even desert climates have some moisture in the air, so the goal is to get the temp low enough to get water without rain. Desert islands like Tenerife get almost all their water from dew collected on the volcanic rocks.
@@DavidKnowles0 a lot is not a measure - what i might think is a lot varies to what you think is a lot - science is a measurement - if you cant measure it - it is not science - so in reality you cant get any effective water in a desert without rain - because if you go 7 years without rain everything without a tap root accessing water is dead
With all the cuttings you're doing, if you really want to send the roots into overcharge before planting in soil, put a small airstone in the water, OR lower the water and put in a little mister inside. Also, fabric grow bags are absolutely great for root health and are very reusable.
Shaun I'm excited about your propagating cuttings project! I wonder if you had considered pre-moistening the soil in the pots? I always do this when "potting up" seedlings to give them a head start, avoid the soil being hydrophobic, and making the soil much easier to work with.
I was really looking forward to a video like this. I wasn't sure if you were already growing trees or if you were going to start in the future. I'm also addicted to tree cuttings. I always cut branches off trees everywhere and try to grow cuttings.😂
Uhh... happy to hear. I used to put some dirt, then the smpling and hold it in place, then fill up rest of the dirt from the sides. And plenty of water.
Shaun, I love your channel, one can see a dream slowly becoming a reality. This channel is a slice of life with a multitude of lessons graphically being demonstrated along the way. Any big dream upon hindsight is a multifaceted jewel of learning and experience that defies description and can only genuinely be communicated by either experiencing what you are presently experiencing (heartache, failure, hard work, progress, growth, laughing, making new unexpected friends (Dolores) or being in the presence of the person who "wasn't afraid to live and has lived life". A dream is great because as you shape the dream, you find it is slowly shaping you; such that you and the dream are indistinguishable.
Man I am LOVING THIS SHIT!! Same comment as always. Marsha, Marsha, Marsha! WATER WATER WATER! We're baby stepping our way across the Great Plains of the great state of TEXAS!! Heyell yeah!! 💯❤️
You should be digging those trenches everywhere: 1. They catch all the water when it rains. 2. They catch any wind blowing debris and folage and once it's fallen in the trench hole it doesn't get out, you got your own wind-blown mulch and compost started. 3. If you then plant plants in those trenches, the trench protects from the plants from the scorching sun and the desiccating wind and if you cut the trenches right _(narrow)_ , they also protect the young plants from grazing cows as they can't get their heads down inside the trenches, make the trenches deep and narrow.
ok i was just attempting to quantify the economics of your proposal + its logic SO IT is TRUE you could dig little trenches everywhere SO WHAT without full control of grazing animals the end result will still be futile. there is a formula that should be determined first - namely how many little trenches + are they really needed if all you can grow here is browse for grazing animals + too many trenches will actually eliminate runoff which may be part of objective ?? if not you need to adjust your formula
also: using a trencher cost of making trenches might be $500 acre x 320 acres = $160,000 or use the right machinery (as in big) you can get the price down to say $100 acre = $32,000 dollars OR you invest in adequate fencing to allow biology to flourish = maybe $50,000 + you also need water for management add another $50,000 might work might not ALL of this adds up to WHY BOTHER ??? WHY do things the HARD WAY ???
I would agree with you on trenches but...What water? The annually rainfall is enough to qualify as a dessert. Also the water from the tributaries is negligible. No water = No ecological succession.
Get a vermiculture setup for home for the fam to help you grow soil. Its not super expensive, you can add worm water or castings/soil to your potting mix, and even get to carrying out buckets of worm dirt to improve your process. Add the worm system to your wishlist if you need.
Hi Dolores 🐦 I had to hold my breath when she/he was under the excavator. The nursery 🌱🌱🌱at home 🏡 and at dustups will make a difference. The plants get used to the climate. They're close enough to the camp that they can get watered without too many difficulties.
The same! But wenn I saw her/him running around, I could observe she/he was always heading direction the shadows... also the bird has problems with the heat. Take care for it! 👍
