Across South Dakota, our interests vary as much as our landscape. In this edition of Dakota Life Digital, we meet people pursuing their hobbies in a variety of ways. We go cruising with a car club, we hike Grizzly bear Falls, learn about bare root plants and get tips on maintaining fishing equipment.
Pop Up Cruise Night
by: Nate Wek
Editor: Kyle Mork
The Street Masters Car Club in Pierre has found a way to have fun and enjoy the outdoors with family and friends, while still social distancing. This month, club members gathered at the state’s capital on both sides of the river for an hour-long cruise around town called ‘Pop Up Cruse.’
“The car culture in South Dakota is very strong, and we’re close knit – we say we’re a family,” said Street Masters Car Club President Patrick Callahan about the various car shows that the Mt. Rushmore state holds in the summer months.
“We’re seeing these car shows have to be canceled this summer because of COVID, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get out and cruise. You’re going to see a lot of these cruises, whether are called a pop-up cruise or a community drive. It’s just the car culture saying ‘we can still do something.”
These ‘pop-up cruises’ are another example of communities coming together, while at the same time, social distancing.
Grizzly Bear Falls
by Michael Zimny
Grizzly Bear Falls is a small, semi-secret waterfall near Mount Rushmore. Though it is no Niagara, the joy is in walking the little-known trail along scenic Grizzly Bear Creek, a deep cut through the granite core of the Black Hills, strewn with giant boulders carpeted with lichens and moss.
To get there, take the 16A to Grizzly Creek Primitive Campground. The trail begins across from campsite 12, bearing towards the first of five creek crossings (none are bridged). Though the trail is unmarked, it is fairly well-maintained. There is a Y about a mile in where you want to stay right. The trail ends above the falls (43.86466, -103.45395), a little less than a mile and half in.
Your SDPB Outdoors correspondent walked to the falls on a recent, snowy April morning. As the creek threads its way through enormous obstacles, there are many riffles and rapids — the sound of rushing water always ahead. Summer swimming holes are in abundance.
South Dakota Home Garden: Bare Root Plants
by Brad Van Osdel
Bare root plants are one to three-year-old nursery stock that are dug up, stored, and shipped without soil or potting mix surrounding their roots. Bare root plants are inexpensive, easy to plant, and offer field-grown hardiness. In the video below, Erik Helland of Landscape Garden Center explains some of the benefits of planting bare root plants and gives examples of the different types available.
The method for planting trees does not change, whether they are bare root, container-grown, or balled/burlapped. Erik Helland of Landscape Garden Center has the following instructions for planting trees:
Locate the graft union
The graft union is the swollen area at the base of the stem. The graft union is a scar or healed wound that results when a small shoot (scion) is grafted to specially selected root stock. It is important that the graft union be at or slightly above the soil level. You will want to make sure that none of the trees main stem is buried. If the stem is exposed to excessive moisture, the result could be rotting or a disease that may kill the tree.
Digging the hole
After finding the graft union, the depth of the hole can be easily determined by measuring from the graft union to the bottom of the root system, pot, or root ball. The width of the hole can vary. With bare root trees, dig the hole just wide enough to accommodate the roots when spread out. With containerized (potted) or balled and burlapped (B&B) trees, it is good to have at least a foot of space all the way around the root ball. It also helps to have the hole wider at the top. In cases where the soils are compacted, heavy clay or both, it is a good practice to dig the holes especially wide and also plant the tree slightly higher.
Planting the tree
Place the tree in the hole, then double check that it is at the correct height. This is also the time to make sure the tree is facing the right way. Due to injuries and pruning, a tree may have one side that looks better than the other. It may be preferable to have the tree’s best side facing a particular direction. Next, you can start to backfill with soil, making sure that large clumps of soil are broken up. As you fill in the hole, you want to firmly pack the soil with the heel of your foot. A shovel handle also works well. This is to provide support for the tree and also to remove air pockets that would cause settling.
Typically, the native soil on-site is the best backfill material. However, depending on past construction practices and the site's soil conditions, amendments may be necessary. Be careful. By backfilling the hole with a different type of material you can actually discourage or restrict root growth into the surrounding native soil. This is why it is important to mix the amendment material with the native soil as you backfill around the tree.
Watering berm / saucer
Once the hole has been filled in, the excess soil can be used to make a small berm around the tree, forming a saucer or basin to aid in watering. Some people do not care for the aesthetics of the water basin. In such cases it is also acceptable to grade the soil smooth with the surrounding yard.
Mulch
There are many different types of mulches on the market. Some examples are: shredded wood, wood chips, pine needles, peat moss, and also colored synthetic (plastic /rubber) chips. The purpose for mulch is to control weeds, moderate soil temperature, control water loss, aid in water absorption, limit competition from turf, and prevent lawn mower damage. These are some of the reasons why mulch is strongly recommended, especially an organic mulch such as a shredded hardwood mulch.
Watering
When watering, you want to soak the soil through to the base of the root system. This should be done right after the tree is planted. Then water again in the same manner every week for the next two weeks. Water as needed for the rest of the first year during periods without rain.
Dakota Life Virtual: Maintaining Fishing Equipment
by Paul Ebsen
On this episode of Dakota Life Virtual, it’s time to get the fishing equipment ready for the new season… or maybe social distancing has inspired you to get back to your fishing gear after a few years away. Maggie Lindsey from South Dakota Game Fish and Parks walks us step by step thru cleaning and maintaining a spin-cast reel.
“A spin cast reel is usually the reel we start on. It’s a very simple reel, very inexpensive reel – probably the best selling reel in the country, and it’s a great reel for either kids or beginners,” said Maggie Lindsey of South Dakota Game Fish & Parks. “The reason it’s good for beginners is it’s very easy to learn with and it also, with the cover on the front, it avoids tangles.”
Credits:
Photography by: Kent Osborne & Melissa Hamersma-Sievers