Next Season Tree Planting

[cavey]

I would say the same thing Mortenson said... if you get one shovel something like the wolverine will cover most everything you plant except stuff like basswood which has massive root systems - you would have to spade dig them in. Its a beefy shovel and gets heavy with hundreds of plantings and is over kill on small stuff.

Match the shovel to the root system. Most people do 1yr - 2 yr old bare root trees with relatively small root systems .... both shovels (hi-baller and wolverine) are quality and will last most here a lifetime. I use my Hi-baller for 1-2yr old pines and stuff like red osier and go to the wolverine for hardwood planting like oak which have larger wider root systems. Apple trees I use a spade.

The only other thing would be a planting harness 2 or three bag setup to free up your hands - dragging 5 gal pails around is a efficiency drag.... and marker tape to tare, drop and stab hi-vis tape into the ground to mark your newly planted trees (easier to find later).

I do occasionally power auger stuff in, we have clay so raking the sidewalls of the holes to take off the auger glaze is worth it... I will often take the time to pry with a spade around those holes to help break up the soil for added water intrusion.

You will never regret buying one of both of those shovels. Dont buy a cheap tree spade the blades tend to fold even those like razorback brands are not thick and/or rigid enough. Now the only place I think a OST dibble works good is in gravel and never buy a KBC type.


Have fun planting!

 

[BuckSutherland]

I'm going with the wolverine. I have 63 SWCD trees coming in 1-2 gallon pots. The transplants I tear out of the ditch and replant often have some bigger roots too. Hope the good lord gives me enough time and ambition to wear the damn thing out.

 

[TreeDaddy]

I would say the same thing Mortenson said... if you get one shovel something like the wolverine will cover most everything you plant except stuff like basswood which has massive root systems - you would have to spade dig them in. Its a beefy shovel and gets heavy with hundreds of plantings and is over kill on small stuff.

Match the shovel to the root system. Most people do 1yr - 2 yr old bare root trees with relatively small root systems .... both shovels (hi-baller and wolverine) are quality and will last most here a lifetime. I use my Hi-baller for 1-2yr old pines and stuff like red osier and go to the wolverine for hardwood planting like oak which have larger wider root systems. Apple trees I use a spade.

The only other thing would be a planting harness 2 or three bag setup to free up your hands - dragging 5 gal pails around is a efficiency drag.... and marker tape to tare, drop and stab hi-vis tape into the ground to mark your newly planted trees (easier to find later).

I do occasionally power auger stuff in, we have clay so raking the sidewalls of the holes to take off the auger glaze is worth it... I will often take the time to pry with a spade around those holes to help break up the soil for added water intrusion.

You will never regret buying one of both of those shovels. Dont buy a cheap tree spade the blades tend to fold even those like razorback brands are not thick and/or rigid enough. Now the only place I think a OST dibble works good is in gravel and never buy a KBC type.


Have fun planting!

Tell me more about the planting harness

Im still dragging the 5 gal TSC bucket

bill

 

[Tree Spud]

Tell me more about the planting harness

Im still dragging the 5 gal TSC bucket

bill

Planting Harness

 

[cavey]

I'm going with the wolverine. I have 63 SWCD trees coming in 1-2 gallon pots. The transplants I tear out of the ditch and replant often have some bigger roots too. Hope the good lord gives me enough time and ambition to wear the damn thing out.

The wolverine you work like a dibble tool, its a stab pry thing ... you may just want to spade dig or auger in potted plants unless you are going to bare root them out.

 

[cavey]

Tell me more about the planting harness

Im still dragging the 5 gal TSC bucket

bill

Tree spud linked you to what I am talking about. I use a brush pro harness and drop in silvicool sacs/bags and I will use a little hand pump sprayer with water to mist roots with water as Im stuffing bags for planting. I usually have staging areas for my rootstock boxes - shaded or tarped out areas to keep trees/shrubs out of the heat of direct sunlight. Grade out the seedlings there and shear excess roots and stuff the bags. 2 sets of bags is nice but 1 set in the harness is really all you need. Pull up the draw sting on one of the bags in the harness (keeps roots wet and cool) and pull from the other...repeat

https://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/products.php?mi=16020 you really only run seedlings out of the two side bags... I just keep drinking water and extra marking tape and maybe a root shears in the back

If you combine two types of shovels and the harness system you can plant pretty much any bare rooted seedlings fast. The the harness just frees up your arms/hands, the only thing you have in your hands is a tree and a shovel. You never have to drag a bucket around, repeatedly set it down, yank seedlings out, and keep moving the bucket as you go. Buckets work fine if you have a few hundred to plant and are only doing it once in a while . If you have lots of trees you intend to plant every year shooting them in as fast as you can while using the harness will save you time. Time is everything when you are planting especially if there is only one or two of you.

Its an added expense that you may not need - but I had some bigger plantings and was doing follow plantings each year with around 2000 tree/shrubs. I have never regretted those purchases.

 

[cavey]

I should add, the harness and bags work best with conifer seedlings... the oak or hardwood seedlings work but you can really pack in the pines

 

[TreeDaddy]

Tree spud linked you to what I am talking about. I use a brush pro harness and drop in silvicool sacs/bags and I will use a little hand pump sprayer with water to mist roots with water as Im stuffing bags for planting. I usually have staging areas for my rootstock boxes - shaded or tarped out areas to keep trees/shrubs out of the heat of direct sunlight. Grade out the seedlings there and shear excess roots and stuff the bags. 2 sets of bags is nice but 1 set in the harness is really all you need. Pull up the draw sting on one of the bags in the harness (keeps roots wet and cool) and pull from the other...repeat

https://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/products.php?mi=16020 you really only run seedlings out of the two side bags... I just keep drinking water and extra marking tape and maybe a root shears in the back

If you combine two types of shovels and the harness system you can plant pretty much any bare rooted seedlings fast. The the harness just frees up your arms/hands, the only thing you have in your hands is a tree and a shovel. You never have to drag a bucket around, repeatedly set it down, yank seedlings out, and keep moving the bucket as you go. Buckets work fine if you have a few hundred to plant and are only doing it once in a while . If you have lots of trees you intend to plant every year shooting them in as fast as you can while using the harness will save you time. Time is everything when you are planting especially if there is only one or two of you.

Its an added expense that you may not need - but I had some bigger plantings and was doing follow plantings each year with around 2000 tree/shrubs. I have never regretted those purchases.

Much like MDC,forestry suppliers is a candy store to me

bill

 

[cavey]

Much like MDC,forestry suppliers is a candy store to me

bill

I know what you mean, and its Christmas .... so... santa dropped off a Silky Zubat Arborist Handsaw. With all the talk on here about how great the silky's are I bit the bullet and will give it a try.

Right now I would say there are 7-10 tools/items I have bought that I could not live without and wished I bought earlier. Some where a little more pricey than I thought i might need to spend and some are super cheap but they have all made a big difference in being able to enjoy and be efficient at this addiction I have for habitat stuff.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

I've never planted large numbers of trees like you guys have at one time. I'll do 50 to 100 spruce / balsam fir seedlings at once. But a few things I've learned are .................

For fruit trees, spray the spots with Roundup the fall before to kill off grass & weeds so your newly planted trees won't have to compete with them for nutrients. I've pre-dug holes for apple trees, but no more than a week in advance. Heavy rain can wash them back in.

PLAN your locations!! Look them over ahead of time to make sure there are no shade problems, crowding problems with other trees/plants too close, etc.

If you're going to cage any .............. pre-fab your cages!! BuckSutherland gave you some good ideas in his posts. That way, you're ready to rock-n-roll come planting time - no time wasted.

If it's dry at planting time - make a solid plan in advance to get water to your seedlings so they get a good, wet start.

If using cages, have as many stakes as you need plus a few extra ones ready.

I don't know about the harness the other guys were talking about. I've always used a 5 gal. bucket for seedlings with thoroughly- wet potting mix filling in all around the seedlings which keeps the roots moist and protected from air exposure.

Mixing in some "Soil Moist" granules with the backfill soil is a good idea to attract & conserve moisture around newly planted seedlings, especially if your area gets little rain / dry spells.