What to do with a lot of bottom land?

[TxMex]

I recently inherited several hundred acres of mostly bottom land, ie. flood plain in north east Texas. There are several creeks, a small river, swamp, springs and a pond. It is about 65% open meadow with trees following the water ways. It is currently leased out for cattle, but I'd like to do something with it myself. It is really a unique piece of property as most of it is native vegetation. It's a foragers dream property.

I am planning a semi commercial apiary and will be planting some bee forage, but that can be done in odd little corners. As I am a single woman and I don't foresee that changing....raising cattle is probably not going to work. Though I grew up here and I've been around cattle all my life, it is just too much for one person to do....especially since I didn't inherit any of the working pens. Any type of large scale animal rearing is pretty much out of the question due to lack of help.

I've thought about raising wildflowers for the seed, but haven't been able to do much research on it. I've also been considering maybe growing blackberries on a large scale if they will take the damp conditions....possibly if they are planted up on berms? I am planting pecan trees in corners here and there as I know they will tolerate flooding. I've thought about pruning some of the willow for producing withes for basket weaving. Not sure if there is much of a market for that sort of thing. I have a LOT of natural basket making materials.

Though it is being hunted and trapped for wild pigs they are still a problem. Over the last 2 years the average has been a pig a day either trapped or shot.

Will anything of a marketable nature grow on land that floods every few years? I'm not sure if there are any types of crops that like to grow where it stays wet all the time. Some years, like this year, it can flood several times...though it usually drains quickly, unless the blasted beavers have gotten a dam built again. It's always something.

Any suggestions would be welcome. I'd really like to not lease it, but at the moment I can't think of anything else to do with most of it. I'm hoping some of y'all will have experience at working with this sort of land.

[Maura]

Rice comes to mind I saw a documentary where families in Asia (can't remember which country) had small plots, like 1/4 acre. They started the rice plants, then when the time was right, set these little sprouts on the acre. You could try American wild rice, which isn't really a rice, but is similar. The Am Indians would take their canoes to the edge of the pond/waterway, bend the stems over and into the canoe. They made sure they didn't harvest all the seeds so there would be more the following year.

You could offer classes in basket making and bring people across your property, helping them harvest some willow and other basket making plants. Bring them back and show them how to make a basket.

As to selling basket making stuff, talk to your local craft stores. Think about selling baskets as a kit. I made one basket in a class, and another from a kit. I think you could make more money and work less if you sold kits rather than willow or grass or bark by itself.

Flowers? Read up on what flowers have the longest vase life, and which of these would be native to your area. Are there flowering plants that you could pot and sell?

[Buffy in Dallas]

What type soil? sand or clay?
What is the Ph? acid or alkaline?
Is it flat or slightly sloped?
How old are you and are you in good physical condition?

If it was me I would plant a good chunk to trees. Pecans. Also pine trees if its sandy & acidic soil. The only work involved other than planting and watering the first summer would be pruning every few years and if needed you could hire someone to help you with that.

It sounds like the perfect spot for an apiary! Plant clover and research what trees are good bee forage, have a good commercial value and work in your climate/soil.

[TxMex]

I had not considered growing some kind of rice. I'll definitely check into that. I have some areas that might be perfect.

The basket weaving class is a good idea. I've considered doing foraging classes too. I'd love to start doing spinning and weaving classes again and basket weaving would fit in well with that theme.

Originally Posted by Buffy in Dallas

What type soil? sand or clay?
What is the Ph? acid or alkaline?
Is it flat or slightly sloped?
How old are you and are you in good physical condition?

If it was me I would plant a good chunk to trees. Pecans. Also pine trees if its sandy & acidic soil. The only work involved other than planting and watering the first summer would be pruning every few years and if needed you could hire someone to help you with that.

It sounds like the perfect spot for an apiary! Plant clover and research what trees are good bee forage, have a good commercial value and work in your climate/soil.

It's in east Texas, so I'm going to assume it needs lime. Acidic soil is the norm around here.

With over 300 acres I have a bit of everything. Some parts are level, and some is slightly sloped...and a wee bit is steeply sloped. Same thing with soil types. My garden and orchard are going to be located on a lovely sandy loam hill. I do believe that this is going to be the first garden I've ever had that won't be either solid clay or mostly rock!! On one part I have a hill that is solid iron ore clay and gravel. There is everything in between somewhere on this property.

I am 42 and pretty robust. Lately I've been doing lots of fence building, brush clearing, wood cutting, and tractor work. I do have a bad ankle with pretty severe ligament damage that I have to be careful with. I'd say that I'm as strong as an average man...which generally surprises the socks off of most folks. I don't work as quickly as I did when I was young, but generally I work smarter now than I used to.

I've considered planting some pine trees in part of it. Some of it is lovely meadow that I wouldn't want to destroy. There are parts that never get dry enough to permit equipment in it to harvest trees. In late July or August there is generally about a week of time that the wet areas are dry enough to mow with a 4 wheel drive tractor, but the rest of the year it is too wet.

Yes it should make a perfect apiary! There is a part that is long and narrow so that from one end of the property to the other it is about 3 miles. I plan on having a bee yard at each end.

Alas, hiring help is probably not going to be an option. The oil field is booming here and there just aren't many folks looking for work, or at least very few of the ones looking for work would I want on my place.

[dkhern]

sounds like your best would be to improve and cut hay or for pasture for cattle. pines are a long term deal. bees are fine if you can keep them alive but at best a small scale operation black berries are also ok but small scale and local only many have a row or two in their gardens and wont be in the market. i know something of the area and think your assessment o the area is a little off i dont think you will find it that wet during late spring and summer. checkk with neighboring landowners what are they doing grazing or growing?

[geo in mi]

I would think that the lay of the land and the river have already determined the purpose of the property, just as a plains soil would be best for dryland wheat, for example. If you go outside the parameters already discovered, you might be setting yourself up for disaster during the flood times. It's unfortunate that you didn't inherit the pen setups. If you could build some new ones and hire a caretaker/manager, you could continue the operation. Otherwise, maybe you could develop a BBQ Boar recipe....

geo

[TxMex]

Originally Posted by dkhern

sounds like your best would be to improve and cut hay or for pasture for cattle. pines are a long term deal. bees are fine if you can keep them alive but at best a small scale operation black berries are also ok but small scale and local only many have a row or two in their gardens and wont be in the market. i know something of the area and think your assessment o the area is a little off i dont think you will find it that wet during late spring and summer. checkk with neighboring landowners what are they doing grazing or growing?

I have about 22 years of experience with bees, so I'm pretty sure I can keep them alive. I have my lifetime of experience with this particular piece of property....far more than any of the neighboring land owners. I'm pretty sure that my assessment is not 'off'.

[whiterock]

If you don't want cattle, grow hay. If you want cattle, get them, one person can care for them, but you may need to hire help to work them or borrow labor from neighbors. I'd do a combination, plant some pecans, orchard, hay and cattle. Bees don't take much space and odd corners can supply a lot of extra bee food. 300 acres of East Texas in a "normal" year will grow an abundance of hay and beef.

Keep the hog traps workin though. That type of country is prime for feral hogs, of course, most of Texas is.

Ed

[ronbre]

If it was Michigan I would say blueberries or cranberries..don't know how they do in texas..

you could maybe do Jerusalem artichokes, and probably some other plants that prefer swampy conditions..you might do an online search for plants that like those conditions..

Are you living on or near the property? I would find the best place..high and dry..on the property to live on..and then really enjoy it..I'd be putting fish in the ponds for some proteins..and I'd be keeping only enough meat animals for myself and for selling a few to pay things like taxes on the property..etc..

Diversify..

[K.B.]

Sounds like a wonderful piece of property - great that it will stay in the family.

From the description, it seems you have a lot of different niches with different slopes, drainage, soil types and vegetation. The many years of observation from having the land in the family is great to keep the natural leaning of the land in mind as you make long-term plans.

You probably already know the conservation restrictions (if any) that are applicable on the land type for your region. Are there any grants or opportunities that state or federal agencies will offer (sapling trees, water feature development, etc..)?

The presence of the feral hogs adds a lot of potential downside to some opportunities, but I would suggest looking at it as a resource. Are there ways you can get them to do some "work" for you? If you have a routine way of trapping/harvesting the meat, can you process it in a way that provides feedstock for other animals? Waterfowl may be already using the land year-round or seasonally... can you improve the habitat or develop areas for domesticated birds?

If the soil stays wet a lot of the year, access with heavy machinery may be difficult. If that is the case, I would recommend the main plantings of fruit/nut/berries be along the sections that are easily accessed from roads or edges. Other plantings can be worked into less accessible areas and designed for forage/habitat improvement.

Many trees and bushes will do ok with occasional flooding, so long as the water table does not remain high for extended periods. Pecans have already been mentioned and are good options. English/Carpathian walnuts grafted onto black walnut rootstock can handle wet conditions. Dense black locust plantings can provide a lot of green forage initially and then be thinned for poles. Leave some to fully mature and flower each year for the bees. Black locust flowers are very attractive to bees and rates among the highest in terms honey production per acre.

If you can get some basic living facilities in place for summer-time use, interns or other temporary help may be available for little to no money through advertising on some of the more popular networks.

Have fun with your projects. If you can post pictures, that would be wonderful!

[VERN in IL]

If you don't want to grow hay or have cattle there, then see if Texas has a program where they pay you to plant it with trees.

That is what Grandpa did, he usually planted soybeans in the bottoms, sometimes you get a good crop, sometimes you don't, depends if the season is wet or not. He finally retired and put the land into a program, he had to plant trees and enroll in a government program yearly.

[tinknal]

How many animal units is it rated for ? I would consider running "grass cattle". Yearlings that are grazed during the summer and then shipped to feedlots in the fall. You can run 3 yearlings per AU. You don't need to own the cattle, you just lease the pasture. They are a minimal amount of work and can have great returns. You get paid per pound of gain. You can probably rent corrals for roundup time. You could find a local cowboy who does day work for things like moving pastures and doctoring (yearlings on grass seldom need doctoring). On shipping day just hire a few more cowboys. About the only major investment (since you own the land and I assume the fences are in good repair) is salt and mineral. You may even find an owner who would do all of that himself.

[Wanda]

When you quit grazing every year things will change very fast. Your areas that are producing forbes and grass for the cattle will probably revert to shrubs and trees in very short order! I would fence some of the areas that are best suited for your small needs and continue to lease the remainder. Once it reverts to thickets and brush you will have a very hard and expensive project to return it to grass or more open areas.

[ErinP]

I'm a rancher. Bottom land is for haying.
And in Texas, well grown hay will sell for a good price.

[edcopp]

Perhaps an intentional community.

[||Downhome||]

I was Gonna Say Rice... See its already suggested.

Hunting Lease?

[just_sawing]

On the High side of the bottom land will grow Nut of fruit trees. Raising Bees there is a no brainer. As the land pays for it Bream up dicks to allow the land to flood but drain slowly so you can catch the rich ground. As the ground builds plant trees and berries.

[TxMex]

Originally Posted by Wanda

When you quit grazing every year things will change very fast. Your areas that are producing forbes and grass for the cattle will probably revert to shrubs and trees in very short order! I would fence some of the areas that are best suited for your small needs and continue to lease the remainder. Once it reverts to thickets and brush you will have a very hard and expensive project to return it to grass or more open areas.

Yep, that is precisely the problem. Without cattle grazing and regular mowing it would be impassable in 5 years or so. I have a small 4 wheel drive tractor. Though it would take a while, I could keep it mowed. That is one of the great things about being retired....you get to fill your time with other sorts of work that doesn't pay anything...lol!


Yes it is completely fenced, though since it has been leased out for a long time....it sure isn't pretty fence and I have a LOT of clearing work to do so that all of it can be checked. I need to replace a lot of posts. Renters tend to prop it up and not do much work on it as long as their cows aren't getting out.

LOL....at one point I did consider an intentional community, but I'm too much of a hermit to want people around full time. The hill where I'm going to be living is so remote and peaceful that it is not unusual for several hours to pass and not hear a car on the blacktop county road.

Yes! Of course I will be living there! I have a lovely view and frankly if I'm not living there and doing armed patrols I'm never going to get people to quit poaching.

It does kind of keep coming back to having cattle on it doesn't it?....or maybe water buffalo

[Maura]

If you feel that cattle are too big, but you need something to graze, think about sheep. You can graze them all summer then butcher them when it's time to switch to hay (or keep a few ewes as breeding stock). They prefer forbes, and if they aren't keeping the grass down, you can always toss in a cow and calf. The calf would be for your own freezer, the cow would be to produce another calf.

[Pigeon Lady]

Oh, I wonder if you could grow and market thatching reed. I doubt that there's much of a supply in the US.

YouTube

And here's a video on Coppicing Willows.

YouTube

Maybe you could open a small retreat for birdwatchers or artists too.

Congratulations on such a wonderful inheritance!!