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One man plug planting: how fast?

SD51555

SD51555

5 year old buck +
There is a chance I'm planting alone this weekend. I've got 600 4a plugs coming plus other stuff.

Last year I had help. I'm 32 and in less than ideal physical shape right now (thank you office work and truck stop food). Can I get all these planted in a long day? I'm planning to dip all my plugs before planting.

What kind of rate per hour do u solo guys get?
 
SD51555 said:
There is a chance I'm planting alone this weekend. I've got 600 4a plugs coming plus other stuff.

Last year I had help. I'm 32 and in less than ideal physical shape right now (thank you office work and truck stop food). Can I get all these planted in a long day? I'm planning to dip all my plugs before planting.

What kind of rate per hour do u solo guys get?
Click to expand...
Why one day and not a weekend? Hoenstly I would say you could do it but I would not want to be you at the end of the day or the next couple of days. 300 a day is a fast pace and I like 200 a day but a young fella like you starting at 6:00 am and working to 8:00 pm could do it. Take allot of ibuprofen.

Good Luck!
 
What are you using for tool sd
 
I'm using the heavy duty OST bar with the point for rocky soil. All the plugs are going to be in a line connecting the bedding to the plots to the road. It's going to be a cover corridor to hopefully provide safe and consistent routes to move between properties.

Looking to plant these about 5 feet apart in about 6 rows and thin later as they grow together.
 
Freeborn said:
Why one day and not a weekend? Hoenstly I would say you could do it but I would not want to be you at the end of the day or the next couple of days. 300 a day is a fast pace and I like 200 a day but a young fella like you starting at 6:00 am and working to 8:00 pm could do it. Take allot of ibuprofen.

Good Luck!
Click to expand...
I've got other things on the list as well. Pruning in the tubes, swapping zip ties for twist ties, spreading 5 bags of lime, replace 12 trees within tubes that didn't take, mark out new plots, count stumps again, salt the stumps, and rework some tubes so the stakes are on the inside instead of out...

I think that's it.
 
Sounds like a good feat but doable, Good Luck!
 
It's possible but you may be sore at the end of the day.
 
Sd-If you are talking about zone 172, are you sure the frost is out?

I am planning on about two weeks from now for my 600 trees up there.
 
I'm fairly sure. I talked to A guy from deer river and he said it was looking good already.
 
I wouldn't try doing 600 in a day Solo, even with my planting tool. There's a lot of bending over, a lot of arm moving, and the logistics of moving the plugs (you don't want to be walking around with more than about 50 plugs - they get heavy). I did 200 MG rhizomes in about 4 hours with a shovel in soft ground (it was raining half the time), and that's probably about the same effort as the tool I think you've got. It kicked my butt and I was very glad when I put the last one in.

If you had a crew of 3 people, it'd be pushing it to get them all in one day. One guy - not something I'd wish upon anyone. Figure on 2-300 a day and it being a long day with a dibble.

I'll second the ibuprofen, and add to have some spirits of choice for the afternoon/evening. ;) You're not talking about back-breaking HARD work, it's not that at all. You'll be using muscles you don't even know you have, and using the ones you do have in ways they're not used to being utilized.

With all you have planned, I'd break it up over a long weekend.
 
This is what I've got.
image.jpg
 
Now that we've got some numbers out there, I feel like I've gotta prove something. Famous last words on my part?
 
Prove away. :D

I have no shame in my "slow" pace - my success rate speaks for the efficiency of not being "sick of planting" and giving each plug the care it needs as I heel it in.

I'd looked at that bar when responding. You've got the stab, then wiggle, extract, plant plug, and heel in - for each tree. The wiggle and bending over is what's going to wear you out. Closing the hole will probably take longer than making it. Very similar process to my shovel planting MG. 200 was a lot for a single stretch (for me, but I have spinal issues). 300 is 50% more - that's a long day! You'll slow down as the day wears on you too. It's not a matter of "1 hole takes 20 seconds x 600", your first 50 will go at a reasonable clip, then the next 50 will take a little longer, the next will be longer still, and so on. By the end of 300 you might be at a hole a minute or longer - that's just the nature of fatigue.

With a crew, you have double or triple the fatigue tolerance as each member is exposed to less motions and are rotated as they tire from the tasks so they can rest.
 
I think 600 in a day is possible if the conditions are right (never hit a rock or root). But you better be ready for one long a$$ day.
 
Ground needs to be soft too. Is it SD?
 
:) That's why I made them Stu. Dibbles and anything like them just take longer, and more effort.

It'll be interesting to see how I do solo next week. New tool and hopefully a paper route bag if my mom can find one of my old ones.
 
I've learned the slower easier route. Going too fast just wears you out. I can plant spruce plugs at 100 per hour but I'm not doing that anymore. This year I'm doing 1000 and probably over 3 to 4 days. If I can I will also try and get at least one helper but, I'm still only doing 300 a day max. I'm using a cordless drill with a 1" brad point bit.
 
Go easy on the ibuprofen unless you're staying well hydrated. Why not Tylenol? I'm only a doctor on days I'm not planting or playing in the woods but dehydration plus NSAIDs (ibuprofen, Motrin, aleve) is a set up for kidney failure! Having said all that, I'm more likely to die of fatigue from slinging around that heavy KBC bar all day and trying to find the little bit of soil that hides between our rocks than from kidney failure!
Maybe next year I'll switch to plugs.......until then I don't need a gym membership to stay in shape!
 
I'd say it's doable as long as your joints are up for it. I know that I'd be dog tired, but able to do it. My dad on the other hand would have a hard time doing all that walking and bending. I'd say knock out as many as possible before lunch (maybe try 400?) and then do as many as you can after. Maybe even do 150-200 then take a break to do some other stuff for an hour or two. Then go back and do another 150-200. IME, whenever I do projects the biggest thing is keeping my mind fresh. I know I'll be tired at the end of the day, so for me it's about keeping it interesting. Go knock out as many as possible, then go screw around with the other stuff for an hour or two, and then knock out as many as you can do again. If you're at the end of the day saying that you've gotta push through another 100 or 150, I think you'll be able to get it done.

Then again, as it's been said, there is certainly no shame in taking a bit more time. Last summer I was planting about 2 apple trees a week over the course of about a month. Part of this was being able to get up to the property, but the rest was just enjoying being there and playing around.
 
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