using the loader to dig Holes for trees = EASY!

[DuaneW]

This was my first attempt at actual digging with my new (now has 85 hrs ) 1428 massey. All in all I think it did an excellent job and was impressed. The ground was so hard it was difficult to get a shovel into. Trees are Autum (sp?) Blaze maple. need shade in the front of the house in summer, hope they grow as quick as labled with out getting roots into everything like silver maple. Need to get a pic of both my tractors together.

Duane W.

 

[flusher]

This was my first attempt at actual digging with my new (now has 85 hrs ) 1428 massey. All in all I think it did an excellent job and was impressed. The ground was so hard it was difficult to get a shovel into. Trees are Autum (sp?) Blaze maple. need shade in the front of the house in summer, hope they grow as quick as labled with out getting roots into everything like silver maple. Need to get a pic of both my tractors together.

Duane W.

A toothbar helps a lot with this type of FEL use.

However, you risk bending the FEL bucket and/or frame by digging in sun-baked soil.

My approach would be to break up the ground with a middle buster plow or a subsoiler and scoop out the loose dirt with the FEL.

 

[RoyJackson]

This was my first attempt at actual digging with my new (now has 85 hrs ) 1428 massey. All in all I think it did an excellent job and was impressed. The ground was so hard it was difficult to get a shovel into. Trees are Autum (sp?) Blaze maple. need shade in the front of the house in summer, hope they grow as quick as labled with out getting roots into everything like silver maple. Need to get a pic of both my tractors together.

Duane W.

Wow!!! Nice job!

Actually, I reckon that ground was pretty soft...you wouldn't have dug that well (especially with no toothbar), if it wasn't. Of course, that tractor weighs more then you do...so what's tough with a shovel is easier with a 2000 lb tractor.
Looks like you came in from all four directions to get that hole as squared up as you did. Looks right good, Duane!

 

[jbrumberg]

DuaneW:

Nice pictures and good job on the hole ! I agree with flusher as to the wear and tear on your FEL. A toothbar in this application would really increase the efficiency of the operation. Keep watering your tree ! Jay

 

[Beavis]

Nice photos, thank you for sharing.

 

[DuaneW]

A skilled patient operator can overcome alot of obsticals without damaging his equipment. Have been running loader tractors for over 30yrs, this is the first one I have ever operated with Hydrostatic drive. Much easier than slipping a hand/foot clutch while trying to operate hyd's . If you take small bites, use slow speeds and operate the tilt function as designed you will NOT bend a loader. Wish I had a video of me doing this, not bragging, but I can operate equipment, not just use it.

How I dug the hole.
The hole was only dug from two sides, reducing the wear and tare on my yard. 1st you get a decent bite with the bucket, apply slight psi from drive wheel (slooowly spinning wheels) then begin slowly working the tilt back and fouth, you will create a very uneven bottom, then you attack it from 90 deg and you can shave 1" to 2" off with very little effort, then from same direction create the uneven bottom again and move 90 deg again. NEVER do you use momentum with a loader, that is what will bend them. And YES, it was very hard ground, white compressed clay that actually developed black marks on it from spinning the tires, you cant use a hand post hole digger without spud bar. ( guess you can squeel tires on dirt, always wondered how the Duke boys did that.. LOL)

DuaneW.

 

[johnnylight]

nice job.

Nice grass too.

 

[RoyJackson]

A skilled patient operator can overcome alot of obsticals without damaging his equipment.
DuaneW.

Great response and great directions!

 

[Rara Avis]

Great response and great directions!

Here's the real easy way with a FEL...but a different bucket...

http://www.wrlonginc.com/photogallery/DSCF1972.JPG

 

[SPYDERLK]

Here's the real easy way with a FEL...but a different bucket...

http://www.wrlonginc.com/photogallery/DSCF1972.JPG

Those dont work well. All you can make is a small divot before the wedge shape stops you. The small mouth prevents dirt from entering easily.
larry

 

[ducati996]

Nice Job with the trees and machines - just a thought you might want to make mulch mounds (with cloth) around the tree's since the impact area is large enough per tree base.

I actually have to plead with some of my guys to allow me to use my machine on root balls that size. They bang out the hole in no time, with little impact to the area. Of course they allow me when its they start getting larger (diameter)

 

[tony123]

Looks Great! Anything to keep the shovel out of your hands.

I can't afford a FEL, do you guys think a rear mounted scoop could be used in the same way? I've never used one. Can they dig? or is it just to scoop above grade material?

 

[DuaneW]

I didnt take any photo's, but the trees are all mulched now, ground is so dry that I kinda 'damed' up the outter edges of the hole to help retain water. The grass is nearly recovered already on all but 1 hole (did 4 in one evening), had it not been so dry, grass recovery would have been complete on all four holes.

Tony123 you could probably use a scoop, might be harder to keep your holes square ( not tappered ), the ability of the scoop going deep would have more to do with the 3pt setup of you tractor.

DuaneW.

 

[tony123]

You've got t a point. Once I get as deep as the 3ph will allow, then it is a matter of getting the tractor lower. Which means, you could use it to dig a hole that the tractor fit in, but not something like a tree hole.

I wonder how you could use a tractor to plant trees if you didn't have a FEL or hoe? or auger? hahaha I'm making it tough. Basically, I have a scoop and a BB....how do I dig a hole?

 

[curly]

You've got t a point. Once I get as deep as the 3ph will allow, then it is a matter of getting the tractor lower. Which means, you could use it to dig a hole that the tractor fit in, but not something like a tree hole.

I wonder how you could use a tractor to plant trees if you didn't have a FEL or hoe? or auger? hahaha I'm making it tough. Basically, I have a scoop and a BB....how do I dig a hole?

Prolly just do it by hand...sorry The auger, of course would be the least expensive choice of a new implement.

 

[jeffinsgf]

Nicely done...but sure makes me glad I have a backhoe.

Just one comment on the tree planting...and it may be a trick of the camera.

In your last pic, it looks like the crown of the tree (top of the root ball, where the trunk meets the ground) is below the grade of your lawn. That's too deep. You want the crown three or four inches above the grade of the surrounding lawn and you want the mulch to thin out to nothing as you move from the drip ring to the trunk.

I mention this because you brought up the issue of silver maple roots growing at the surface. The biggest cause of this is trees being planted too deep.

I just planted an Autumn Blaze maple, too, along with a Pacific Sunset maple, a sweetgum, a crabapple, a Serbian spruce and a half dozen shrubs.

 

[DuaneW]

It was a trick of the camera, but it was not 3-4 inches, more like 2-3 inches. If you look close at the pick, the top of the 2x4 is approx 1/2" below the top of the rootball, which is how I was told to plant them, I hope that is not to deep, what do you think?

 

[jeffinsgf]

It was a trick of the camera, but it was not 3-4 inches, more like 2-3 inches. If you look close at the pick, the top of the 2x4 is approx 1/2" below the top of the rootball, which is how I was told to plant them, I hope that is not to deep, what do you think?

You should be just fine. Just make sure you pull the backfill back away from the crown a little, so that the original potting soil is visible at the crown. You want the crown to breathe and you want those roots reaching down for water and soil instead of up. Looks like your water ring is well outside the drip line of the tree -- that's good.

One trick I got from the place I bought my trees (and it was one I remember my dad using years ago) is to bury a piece of perforated pipe vertically next to the root ball. Then when you water, you can be sure that the water is getting to the root zone where it is needed. After the tree is established, you can just fill the pipe in and it will never be noticed. I put a landscape grate over each of mine and will use them to feed and water for the next couple of years. I was also instructed to water weekly until mid-November, start again with weekly watering in March and continue through the first year. For Fall planting they suggested using no fertilizer until next Spring, then using a spike or root zone feeder.

 

[jeffinsgf]

Where are you Duane? I bought my Autumn Blaze in Ohio, and it had already started turning. Yours look mid-summer green.

 

[DuaneW]

I'm in central Ohio, just south of Columbus. The trees turned RIGHT after planting them and now are getting thin on leaves. Was told the same thing about watering them, 1-2" per week untill november. Right now I am using a 5 gal bucket with a small hole in it to water, takes about 5 hours to get the water all out of the bucket, do that about every other day when its been 90+, will back off once it cools down a little.

DuaneW.