Shady shelter belt

[farmgirl]

Shelter belts are very important here in rural Kansas. We have a shelter belt of two rows of mature Cedars and a row of Elms running north-south on the west side of our property and a very mature shelter belt on the north running east west of two rows of Pines and an inside row of cedars.

First, what do I need to do to maintain and keep these very mature trees healthy and keep my shelter belt going for years more?

and Second, I would like to make this a nice place to put a park bench and would like to know what kind of plants can I put here? Is it all possible to put any edible plants any where here as well--like fruit bearing blueberries?

[Fermented]

It sounds like a previous post by opabinia51 might be of great help to you.

https://helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1094&highlight=food+forest

I've applied many of the ideas to an elder apple tree.

You could have a lot of fun with your little forest

[farmgirl]

Thank you for replying and giving me that link. I read through all of that thread and didn't see anything about pine and cedar trees also this is an already established and very mature shelter belt/s. I am not sure if that wonderful information would apply.

Think maybe I ought to submit a picture??
I will go take one with my digital camera and see if I can post it--maybe those suggestions would still work and I am just too dense to picture them...

[opabinia51]

I can't say that I have heard the term "shelter belt" before but, from the sounds of it, I think you mean groves of trees on your property.

Also, from what I have read so far, it sounds to me like these are natural stands (aka: groves) of trees. There isn't really anything that you should do to keep them healthy other than using organic growing techniques without the use of herbicides, pesticides, fungicides and the like. Nature likes to take care of itself and has been doing so (at least in the current status, North America at least) for about 11 000 years.

So, my advice is to leaves things the way they are, maybe build a trail and place a bench in it, if you would like and just be happy

[farmgirl]

I can't say that I have heard the term "shelter belt" before but, from the sounds of it, I think you mean groves of trees on your property.

Also, from what I have read so far, it sounds to me like these are natural stands (aka: groves) of trees. There isn't really anything that you should do to keep them healthy other than using organic growing techniques without the use of herbicides, pesticides, fungicides and the like. Nature likes to take care of itself and has been doing so (at least in the current status, North America at least) for about 11 000 years.

So, my advice is to leaves things the way they are, maybe build a trail and place a bench in it, if you would like and just be happy

Thanx for your reply. I am happy with my shelter belt, just thought I could make it more of a quiet little "retreat". I already was planning on putting a park bench in the trees in the front yard and a gazebo and sky chairs in the back yard. Just wanted to add some "under brush" type plants for enjoyment.

But FYI shelter belts are planted and have been planted since the dust bowl era for soil conservation. They are planted not only to prevent another dust bowl but also to protect farm homesteads from the cold north wind in the winter and the hot south wind in the summer and the storms that blow in from the west. Most all farmsteads have shelter belts and infact the state of Kansas will actually pay and will provide the trees for people to plant shelter belts on land that is highly errodable. Usually a shelter belt will include cedars (which can be a pain because cedars will spread and become noxious and take over entire pastures) or a couple of rows of large evergreen trees of some kind then a smaller scrub type tree like a Russian olive then often will have shrubs. Homesteads will usually not have the scrub trees or shrubs but a couple of rows of evergreens--which is what we have.

These are not groves of trees. In this area of Kansas we don't usually have groves of trees except what was purposesly planted as such or what the birds "planted" down by rivers or in old river bends or oxbow "pond" areas. I guess I just assumed that people knew what it was like on the prairie. Sorry..