About Forestry

It's Fig Season! Prepare Your Surplus Fruit

2009-07-03T05:49:17Z

The common fig (Ficus carica) is a small tree, native to southwest Asia. This edible fig is widely admired for its fruit and commercially grown in the United States in California, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. It also makes a great tree for the Southern landscape and fruits in southern climes in mid-July.

In the U.S., figs typically ripen from July through frost in the South, August and later as you travel north. In my personal case, I have way too many figs for my family to use and have to work at preventing waste. My advice to fig growers with an abundant fig crop is to be creative. Here are some suggestions:

Eat as many fresh ripe figs as you can. They are delicious, nutritious and great as a breakfast fruit or morning snack.
Can or preserve the fig fruit or prepare as a jam. Use these preserving tips from About Gardening Guide Marie Iannotti.
Freeze the fig fruit and enjoy at anytime, in any recipe.
Dry the fruit and package for future consumption.
Share with friends and birds.

Ficus carica also has a very important history. It was one of the first plants ever to be cultivated by humans. Fossilized figs dating to 9400-9200 BC were found in an early Neolithic village in the Jordan Valley. About's Archaeology Guide, Kris Hirst says figs were domesticated "five thousand years earlier" than millet or wheat. This common fig has been very kind to us throughout human history.

The History of the Domestication of Fig Trees

My Fig Tree in Montgomery, Alabama - Photo by Steve Nix, Licensed to About.com

American Elm: Making of a MicroMovie

2009-07-02T11:01:28Z

American elm is the most popular of urban shade trees in the United States. Ulmus americana has long been planted along downtown city streets in North America. The tree is now a bit out of favor when considered for urban tree planting because of its susceptibility to Dutch elm disease.

Clif Brown, a poster on my forestry forum, has produced an excellent video on the American elm. His fine pictures, taken on a walk around the block, bring back some of the former glory of the elm and assures us that the American elm can still be admired. Please enjoy Clif's Micromovies: Noticing the Elm.

American Elm - Photo by Clif Brown

What is a Wildland Urban Interface?

2009-07-01T03:31:24Z

The United States Forest Service and The Department of Interior are concerned about the fire risk to human communities next to properties they manage. This Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) is where people intermix with wildland fuels. In some cases humans and their property are in harms way as wildfire occurrence is a probability at some point in time.

There are now projects that involve state and federal agencies to help reduce these hazards to property and people. Read this discussion on how the USFS Leadville Ranger District in Colorado is involved in this process. Some interesting photographs are included.

Fire Prevention Work in a Wildland Urban Interface - Jim Zornes, USFS

Discussion: What To Do With An Armadillo?

2009-06-29T09:55:33Z

"I've been trying to chase an armadillo back to his home for 7 or 8 days. We've had a 23 day drought and critters are coming out of the woods. We did get about 1/2 inchs or rain Wednesday and about 1 inch yesterday but he's still here. The lawn is getting messier and messier AND NOW he has dug a tunnel under a big (the biggest) tree in my back yard. What do I do?" - The Forestry Forum

Michigan State University has a great armadillo site and pretty much describes the animal in its entirety. They do a great job describing armadillo problems to include control methods and options at accommodating the animal if control measures fail.

The site suggests that "armadillos in your yard are not always a bad thing. They tend to leave larger, established plants alone, and they keep insect and other pest levels down by eating them � a much more environmentally friendly way of pest control than using chemicals in your garden." In their final tongue-in-cheek analysis, "if you really can�t handle having an armadillo in your yard, you could always move to a state that does not have armadillos."

Photo Credit: Michigan State University

A Photo Index of the Most Common Harmful Tree Insects

2009-06-27T05:18:33Z

I have created a photo index page for major North American tree insects that infest both conifers and hardwoods. The index is not exhaustive but covers the more important and common insects in North America. Many of these bugs will have gained a foothold on your tree through this summer and should be identified and controlled.

The Leaf - A Tree's Most Important Organ

2009-06-25T03:04:54Z

Leaves manufacture a tree's food. Powered by sunlight, the green substance in leaves, called chlorophyll, uses carbon dioxide and water to produce life-sustaining carbohydrates. This is that wonderful and life-sustaining process called photosynthesis.

For a dendrologist or forester or tree buff, a tree's leaf is the one major marker (if not the most important marker) that helps in keying out and identifying any species of tree. Most trees can be identified by examining the leaf alone.

Parts of a Tree

Leaf Image, US Forest Service

National Forests in the United States - The State by State Headquarters

2009-06-23T09:08:10Z

There are 155 United States national forests in 41 states and under the supervision of the USDA - Forest Service. Each forest is composed of and managed by resource professionals in several ranger districts. The person in charge of a national forest is called the forest supervisor. The district rangers from the districts within a forest work for the forest supervisor. The headquarters of a national forest is called the supervisor's office. This level coordinates activities between districts, allocates the budget, and provides technical support to each district.

Hackberry, The Unknown Tree

2009-06-21T02:39:54Z

"Like happiness, the common hackberry is what you find when looking for something else. It is a here-and-there tree, rarely seen in large stands. It thrives in hundreds of U.S. towns and cities, but lives up to its historic name as "the unknown tree." - Art Plotnik, The Urban Tree Book - An Uncommon Field Guide For City And Town

The Urban Tree Book

"The hackberry was called bois inconnu (unknown wood) by early French settlers, who deemed it a nondescript tree without much to recommend it." - Edward S. Barnard, New York City Trees - A Field Guide for the Metropolitan Area

New York City Trees

Photo by Steve Nix, About.com: Forestry

Mulberry: The Fruity Shade Tree

2009-06-18T08:44:55Z

Red mulberry (Morus rubra), called moral in Spanish, is common throughout the Eastern United States. It is a fast growing tree of valleys, flood plains, and low moist hillsides. "Mulberry Streets" all over the United States attest to mulberry being a common urban tree but it is mostly out of favor as a landscape tree because of the messy fruit.

Mulberry wood is of little commercial importance. The tree's value is derived from its abundant fruits, which are eaten by people, birds, and small mammals. Note the different leaf forms that mulberry leaves express (a great identification marker).

Red Mulberry, Photo by Steve Nix

Ten Essential Tree Care Tips - Methods Used to Care for Trees

2009-06-17T05:18:00Z

Think of tree care as an investment. A healthy tree increases in value with age�paying big dividends, increasing property values, beautifying your surroundings, purifying your air, and saving energy by providing cooling shade from summer�s heat and protection from winter�s wind. But you need to grow the tree into adulthood.

There are certain things a tree owner must know to keep trees healthy and in the very best condition for a long life. Start by taking my Tree Wellness Quiz and don't worry about your score. Learn from the quiz. Next, read the other tree care essentials for a basic overview of keeping a tree healthy and beautiful over its natural and predicted biological life span.

Oldest Tree in the Eastern United States - Charleston, South Carolina's Angel Oak - Photo by Steve Nix, Licensed by About.com