Episode #265 - How To Plant Fruit Trees - Wildlife Orchards

Published: 2025-03-23
Episode page
Duration: 73 min

In this episode

aaron-gaines

• Don explains the Expect Healthy Deer mineral technology was developed by Aaron Gaines, who later worked with Ani-Logics. 48:00
• Don announces Aaron Gaines is back working with them after leaving Ani-Logics. 48:19

apple-trees

• Don recommends attending an Andy Andreas apple tree seminar if given the chance, calling him a class of his own in fruit tree breeding. 6:39
• Don relays that Andy Andreas’s breeding and rootstock are designed so these apple trees will live a hundred years. 8:52

backfilling-technique

• When backfilling a planting hole, should the loose dirt be packed tight or left loose? 16:43

bare-root-planting

• What is Don’s best method for planting a bare root tree, from digging the hole to backfilling it? 13:03

basketball-wager

• Terry and Don propose a friendly wager where the loser of the Kentucky-Illinois basketball game wears the winning team’s shirt on a future episode. 4:08 (light moment)

blind-height

• Cliff Goitowski asks about ideal blind height, screening trade-offs, and whether elevated blinds used by others can condition deer to avoid an area. 40:14

business-rebrand

• Terry announces the consulting business is being rebranded away from Higgins Outdoors into the Chasing Giants organization. 31:31

cal-perry

• Don recalls Cal Perry once brought NBA scouts to a camp for his University of Kentucky players, calling it next-level thinking. 4:52

cedar-rust

• Jay Brandenberger asks whether cedar rust from nearby cedar trees is a concern for cedar-rust-resistant Gingerich apple varieties. 43:48

closing-thought

• Don closes by telling everyone that if they’re not dead, God isn’t done with them yet. 58:10

consultant-hiring

• Don states that character and integrity matter more than deer hunting knowledge when choosing new consultants. 33:13

consulting-ethics

• Don says he refuses to hunt clients’ properties even when invited, because taking someone’s money and shooting their buck isn’t right. 37:32

consulting-team

• Don names David Elliott and Caleb as the new consultants brought on this year. 33:31

emerson-day

• Terry recounts that a YouTube mix played Emerson Day’s song ‘God Ain’t Finished Yet’ on his plane the day before she reached out. 23:17
• Terry says the song’s lyrics got to him so much that he started crying on the plane. 24:03
• Terry considers Emerson’s song the ultimate theme for ministering to parents of sick children through the Lester’s Feet ministry. 27:11
• Terry offers Emerson free reign of the turkey preserve at the Pier Estate in Kentucky if she wants to turkey hunt. 29:43

encouragement

• Don says Emerson’s outreach encouraged him to make more effort to reach out and encourage others in whatever they’re doing. 29:25

episode-info

• Terry announces the episode airs March 23 and identifies it as roughly episode 265. 0:25

faith-encouragement

• Don notes that at the Iowa Deer Classic recently, many attendees encouraged them specifically about sharing their Christian faith on the show. 25:28

fruit-tree-spacing

• How far from the wood line should fruit trees be planted, and what spacing should be used between them? 9:43

fruit-trees

• Don spent the day doing habitat work, planting a batch of fruit trees including pears, persimmons, and apples. 2:26
• Don says the Gingerich bare-root trees he picked up have the best root system of any bare-root tree he’s ever planted. 6:55
• Don warns that buying fruit trees from a farm store or Walmart is a big mistake compared to quality bred nursery stock. 7:25

future-guest

• Emerson has agreed to appear on the podcast for an interview and to allow one of her songs to be played. 21:44

mineral-marketing

• Aaron Gaines reportedly said daylight-only mineral marketing claims are the craziest thing he’s ever heard. 50:50

mineral-sites

• Could shady, muddy mineral sites contribute to losing deer, especially bucks, by attracting biting midge flies? 46:04

music-recommendation

• Terry encourages listeners to go listen to Emerson’s song ‘Middle of a Miracle.’ 27:30

new-mineral-product

• Don says Terry will get a new test batch of mineral to try on his Ohio properties since Don can’t legally use it in Illinois. 49:01

personal-plans

• Terry is driving with his dad to the Virginia-West Virginia line to pack up his late grandmother’s house for sale. 57:39

podcast-shoutout

• Don relays that Emerson Day named Chasing Giants as a favorite podcast on another show. 21:14

real-estate

• Terry praises Midwest Land Group and Bryhn Craft as unmatched in real estate as the company expands east of the Mississippi. 39:13

second-podcast

• Terry says he and his dad will discuss during the drive whether to move forward with launching a second podcast. 58:03

stand-height

• Terry says his own blind stand at six feet is too low and is being reworked this year. 42:19

switchgrass

• Should Miscanthus clumps be planted before or after drilling switchgrass seed over a converted field? 52:12

testimony

• Terry recounts someone approaching them to say they made a decision for Christ because of conversations sparked by the podcast. 25:59

timber-harvest

• Is it common for loggers to cherry-pick only the most valuable tree species and leave lower-value trees standing? 53:58

tree-protection

• Don learned the hard way that deer will find and chew unprotected fruit trees overnight if not caged immediately after planting. 18:33

tree-survival-rate

• Don reports his fruit tree survival rate is typically over ninety-five percent, losing just one of forty trees last year. 18:04

weekly-plans

• Don plans three more consulting visits, all in Illinois, so he can sleep in his own bed this week. 57:16

wives-episode

• Terry mentions plans to eventually have their wives do an episode or part of one. 42:34

Deer activity

• King David Buck (harvest) 12:05

Listener questions

Question: How far from the wood line should fruit trees be planted, and what spacing should be used between them? 9:43

• Answer: Plant fruit trees far enough from the woods to get full sunlight, since trees planted too close to the treeline get shaded by overhanging branches. 10:18
• Answer: Space fruit trees about 30 feet apart, and keep them well out away from the woods. 10:40

Question: What is Don’s best method for planting a bare root tree, from digging the hole to backfilling it? 13:03

• Answer: Don bought a small auger for his skid loader to dig planting holes. 13:23
• Answer: Don uses a 24-inch auger on his skid loader to dig the holes, which loosens the dirt far better than a shovel. 13:47
• Answer: He adds a copolymer gel to the backfill whose granules absorb 300 times their weight in water to retain moisture. 14:43

Question: When backfilling a planting hole, should the loose dirt be packed tight or left loose? 16:43

• Answer: Don stomps the backfill tight to settle it around the roots. 16:51
• Answer: Don does all this intensive work only in the first year of planting. 17:51

Question: Cliff Goitowski asks about ideal blind height, screening trade-offs, and whether elevated blinds used by others can condition deer to avoid an area. 40:14 — asked by Cliff Goitowski

• Answer: Don believes the ideal blind height is about 10 feet, which is what nearly all of his blinds are set at. 41:17

Question: Could shady, muddy mineral sites contribute to losing deer, especially bucks, by attracting biting midge flies? 46:04 — asked by Don A

• Answer: Don doesn’t think mineral sites cause deer loss, because the salt content in the mud likely discourages midge gnats rather than attracting them. 46:49

Question: Jay Brandenberger asks whether cedar rust from nearby cedar trees is a concern for cedar-rust-resistant Gingerich apple varieties. 43:48 — asked by Jay Brandenberger

• Answer: Don personally wouldn’t plant the Rutmaster variety near cedar trees, though other varieties haven’t shown issues on his farm. 45:42

Question: Should Miscanthus clumps be planted before or after drilling switchgrass seed over a converted field? 52:12 — asked by Josh Hers

• Answer: Don recommends planting the Miscanthus clumps first, then driving over the top and drilling the switchgrass seed right over it. 52:29

Question: Is it common for loggers to cherry-pick only the most valuable tree species and leave lower-value trees standing? 53:58 — asked by Levi Harmon

• Answer: Don confirms it’s very common and frustrating, seeing loggers cherry-pick white oaks and walnuts while leaving other big, harvestable trees standing. 54:00

Prayer Time

Scripture: 2 Corinthians
Theme: authentic Christian witness as the aroma of Christ
Brent connects deer hunting’s not-seen, not-heard, not-smelled principles to living an authentic Christian witness, citing 2 Corinthians 2:15 on believers being the aroma of Christ, and prays for humility and an authentic life that draws others to Jesus. 67:15

Sponsors this episode

• ASIO Gear

Don and Terry covered fruit tree planting in detail: Don had spent the day planting pears, persimmons, and apples, praised Andy Andreas’s bred bare-root stock and Gingerich’s root systems, warned against farm-store trees, and described his auger-and-copolymer-gel planting method, along with spacing (about 30 feet) and sunlight guidance from listener questions. They discussed rebranding the consulting business as Chasing Giants, naming David Elliott and Caleb as new consultants chosen for character over hunting knowledge, and Aaron Gaines returning to work on Expect Healthy Deer mineral after leaving Ani-Logics. Terry shared that singer Emerson Day had praised the show and agreed to an interview, describing being moved to tears hearing her song on a flight, and invited her to turkey hunt the Pier Estate. Listener questions also addressed blind height, mineral sites and midges, cedar rust resistance, Miscanthus planting order, and loggers cherry-picking valuable trees. Brent led a prayer likening undetected hunting to an authentic Christian witness.

Unofficial fan project. AI-synthesized from public episodes; may contain errors.