Nursery bed for grafts

[Northbound]

What do you guys use for nursery beds for grafts and seedlings that you don't plant in final locations? In the past I just tree tubed the new grafts in the garden or their final locations.
This season I've got 250 rootstocks coming and want to keep them in a bed for first year or two. Don't want to tube that many temporary plantings.

My first thought was amend a fresh area with manure and enclose the bed with fence of metal roofing to keep out the critters. I have plenty of sheets from job site excess. My only concern is it shading and creating a oven of reflecting sun shine. Think that's a problem?
I'd like it to be easily removed for future removal of trees using skid steer. Thinking that if I set the pallet forks about 10 inches apart I can dig them up easily in the future.

What do you guys use for labels? Can you buy the paper type ones that come on nursery trees somewhere without buying thousands? I have plastic tags engraved but unsure of my scion counts currently so can't order the tags until after grafting. Last year the engraver miss spelled the rootstock name on a few tags so he owes me a discount when I do get an actual count this year ;) Look forward to the day the trees are big enough to nail the tags into a branch!

 

[Brush farmer]

I'm doing what do are describing with some DCO currently. The manure part might worry me unless it's well rotted and used lightly. I'd focus on having a bed with loose soil with good drainage and some well decomposed organic matter. Green manure or too much of it can be bad on trees. It also might not be the best thing to encourage too much tree growth in the bed. I'd rather keep the size manageable rather than damage or cut back a lot of roots when moving the tree to its final home.
I don't think the metal would hurt if its kept back from the trees a reasonable distance. Reflection / shade would depend on the beds orentation to the suns travel of course.
I've had good luck with aluminum impresso tags. You press your text into them as you write with a ball point pen. Make my own hanging wires from heavier stuff than what comes with the tags though.

 

[yoderjac]

What do you guys use for nursery beds for grafts and seedlings that you don't plant in final locations? In the past I just tree tubed the new grafts in the garden or their final locations.
This season I've got 250 rootstocks coming and want to keep them in a bed for first year or two. Don't want to tube that many temporary plantings.

My first thought was amend a fresh area with manure and enclose the bed with fence of metal roofing to keep out the critters. I have plenty of sheets from job site excess. My only concern is it shading and creating a oven of reflecting sun shine. Think that's a problem?
I'd like it to be easily removed for future removal of trees using skid steer. Thinking that if I set the pallet forks about 10 inches apart I can dig them up easily in the future.

What do you guys use for labels? Can you buy the paper type ones that come on nursery trees somewhere without buying thousands? I have plastic tags engraved but unsure of my scion counts currently so can't order the tags until after grafting. Last year the engraver miss spelled the rootstock name on a few tags so he owes me a discount when I do get an actual count this year ;) View attachment 16710 Look forward to the day the trees are big enough to nail the tags into a branch!

In that situation I'd consider the in-ground green roottrapper bags. That would make for easy extraction and also help build a good root system while you are nursing them. Another option that would likely have a similar effect is to build a Missouri Gravel Bed for them. I think there are some threads on here that provided references to it.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Jhoss]

250 you say? Lot of work for inground bags and hand filing them. I usually do 10 a year which is enough for me. The bags make the dig up easy and with zero transplant shock.

 

[Northbound]

The manure I use is more so to add organic matter to hold moisture. My ground dries out quickly.

I've seen the impression tags but made of copper. Worries of killing trees with copper is why I avoided those. I've heard copper nails kill trees..

I like the bags but just don't see them being worth the price unless only using a couple

The Missouri Gravel bed would be great but I've always thought that was for same season growth only? Like plant in spring and final destination that fall. Always thought winter over in it was not its purpose?

 

[buckvelvet]

@Northbound, those Plastic Tags are fantastic, I use the aluminum ones you can write on but I'd way rather have that plastic type.

Here is the last pic of my nursery. Christmas 2016 looks a lot like that out there right now except the trees are bigger. They'll be coming out this spring and a new batch going in.

I used cow manure & sand. http://www.habitat-talk.com/index.php?threads/1st-rd-done-of-grafting-complete.2930/page-17

 

[Bowsnbucks]

If you want just temporary tags until you know what all you have, use white electrical tape and write the variety / rootstock with a sharpie. Cheap & easy to tag each graft as you complete it. Get your permanent tags later if you wish. At least you have a quick, cheap & easy way to identify your grafts.

 

[Northbound]

I'm thinking of a Missouri Gravel bed for ease of removal but I can't find anything about over wintering.. have any of you guys kept trees in a Gravel bed over winter?

Fall planting to final locations is not a possibility for me. Work schedule is a complete zoo every fall, Winter or early spring only for habitat work on my grounds

 

[TreeDaddy]

Anyone have experience with Missouri gravel bed?

bill

 

[cavey]

Bareroot Trees and Missouri Gravel Bed

Wow, learn something new everyday... brief vid on the bed system

A power point on the system with (2nd to last page) a list having contact sources/advocates willing to lend advice.. might be a place to go to for info on over wintering stock
http://www.mntreeinspector.com/uploads/2/0/7/0/20706756/the_gravel_bed_option.pdf

 

[H20fwler]

The first tree order I had from Cummins I heeled into the garden so I could baby them until fall when they got moved, I think it was 8 or 10 whips. I tilled mulch and potting soil in deep and put four foot chicken wire around garden. Apple trees did great, super root structure...had one pear tree that got root shocked bad from the move but its doing fine now. My grafts last year I started in 3gal rootmakers behind the garage with potting soil for summer and planted them last fall.

 

[yoderjac]

I think the combination of a root pruning container system along with the MSG bed might be a winner. I find the root pruning container system effective for the first growing season, but trying to deal with larger volumes of trees with containers larger than 3 gal can be pretty expensive. The root pruning container system allows for that early start indoors under lights in the winter. With 3 transplants (from an 18 cell to a 1 gal rb2 to a 3 gal rb2 to the field) I was able to go from a nut in mid-December to a 6' tree with 3/4" caliper when planted in the field the following fall. I wonder how big that tree would be with the second year in a MSG Bed. Once trees hit my native clay, they slow down.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[TreeDaddy]

Bareroot Trees and Missouri Gravel Bed

Wow, learn something new everyday... brief vid on the bed system

A power point on the system with (2nd to last page) a list having contact sources/advocates willing to lend advice.. might be a place to go to for info on over wintering stock
http://www.mntreeinspector.com/uploads/2/0/7/0/20706756/the_gravel_bed_option.pdf

Ditto

I came across the same two links after reading this thread

i love this forum

bill

 

[cavey]

I was looking at making a nursery box for red osier cuttings with very course grained sands but never thought about using smaller gravel... should have, I had a pile of pea gravel under a sheet of ripped up plastic which had some volunteer maples growing in it, easily pulled the trees out even though they had tremendously fiberous roots. duh I guess sometimes the obvious is invisible.