Want advice on planting pines by hand

[pharmvet]

Im wanting to plant some pine trees this winter. I want to do so primarily to eliminate visability (from the road), and decrease sound on some property. The area will be approx 75 yards wide and 600 yards long. I have ordered a couple of planting dibblers. I have been told to plant the seedlings on 8' rows approx. 8' apart. I would like to keep the rows fairly even and have been thinking of exactly how to get this accomplished. I wa thinking of getting some heavy string and marking it in some manner at 8' intervals. I would them streatch it out in a line and walk down the line planting trees at the marks. Any suggestions?? specifically on the string, and exactly how to mark the intervals? thanks

 

[EddieWalker]

Instead of playing with the string, I'd just buy a wheel the measures in feet. Every 8 ft, mark the spot, or plant your tree.

I watched a show on TV where they were replanting pines after a forest fire. They were using something that looked allot like a wood auger bit in a cordless drill to make the holes. Then the guy took a small tree out of the bucket he was carrying around and put it in the hole. He steped on the dirt around the hole and moved on. It took all of 30 seconds for each tree, if that long.

Eddie

 

[BruceWard]

At 8x8 you are looking at about 6300 trees. I had about 30,000 trees planted a few years ago. The land I was planting on was ex farmland which had been compacted by cattle. Due to the compaction I needed to have a D4H rip two feet deep rips to allow the tap root to easily pass through the compaction. I was planting on a 10x10 grid. The D4H ripped each 10 feet. I believe the planters paced off the 10 feet between trees.

Initially I planned to plant myself but when I realized how long it would take to plant I decided to hire a crew. 15 years earlier my Dad and I had planted hundreds of pine trees several years in a row so I have some planting experience. At a tree a minute you could plant 480 trees per 8 hour day. I believe I paid 9 cents per tree planted to the planting crew. I assume it would cost more if the land was not ripped.

 

[Western]

I've been doing the same thing for 5 years on my place. I generally use my post hole digger and only go about 16 inches, I fill the hole half way with the tree and dirt, water in and fill the remainder.
My brother in law used to plant for reforestation after burns or clear cutting and he is like super fast, has a hand tool he kicks in the ground pulls back to create an opening inserts the seedling and stamps the hole closed...We did this the 1st year on 60 Eastern cedars, all but 2 died.. So now i dig the hole and do as i first mentioned and have lost only about 1-2% since. I think in reforestation they deal with numbers and averages and over plant.

I would certainly use masons twine if you want "straight" then use a roll measure as Eddy suggested, or a tape measure locked in at 8'. I would also offset each row, will screen faster.

You may want to check the Texas Forestry Service for seedlings, they closed the Indian mound nursery in east Texas but have one in west Texas, that's where I get mine. The eastern red cedar is perfect for what your wanting. I also ordered 25 each of 3 kinds of oaks. to replace some that will be coming down..Cheapest source I have found..and good planting info for you in Texas as well.

 

[dave1949]

I've been doing the same thing for 5 years on my place. I generally use my post hole digger and only go about 16 inches, I fill the hole half way with the tree and dirt, water in and fill the remainder.
My brother in law used to plant for reforestation after burns or clear cutting and he is like super fast, has a hand tool he kicks in the ground pulls back to create an opening inserts the seedling and stamps the hole closed...We did this the 1st year on 60 Eastern cedars, all but 2 died.. So now i dig the hole and do as i first mentioned and have lost only about 1-2% since. I think in reforestation they deal with numbers and averages and over plant.

I would certainly use masons twine if you want "straight" then use a roll measure as Eddy suggested, or a tape measure locked in at 8'. I would also offset each row, will screen faster.

You may want to check the Texas Forestry Service for seedlings, they closed the Indian mound nursery in east Texas but have one in west Texas, that's where I get mine. The eastern red cedar is perfect for what your wanting. I also ordered 25 each of 3 kinds of oaks. to replace some that will be coming down..Cheapest source I have found..and good planting info for you in Texas as well.

Don't know if you folks have apple trees but, eastern red cedar is a co-host for an apple scab disease. Some apple varieties are resistant, most not. Just a heads up.
Dave.

 

[2manyrocks]

What can you do to keep the deer from eating what you just planted? I've been thinking about doing the same thing, but I think I will have some problems because the deer graze in the field I want to plant with trees.

Another way to at least get a straight line is shoot a lazer line and then pace off the distances between plants or use a string and some sticks sort of like they use to measure 10 yards at football games.

 

[Western]

Peach country, wish we could grow good apples here though. I was told that we needed a longer freeze time for good apple production. Cherry's would be neat too.

 

[woodchuckie]

If you're wanting to block a view with the trees then I wouldn't plant them in a row as viewed from the direction you want to block. The more the trees grow the more you'll be able to see down the rows. With each row staggered or every other row being the same you'll get the most blockage.

You can measure your normal step and determine how many steps to make the 8 feet. With a strip of flagging tape at each end of the next line you'll be surprised how straight you can make the rows by sighting on the flagging.

If you go with marking the string, a quick spray with the orange marking paint would be quick and easy to see.

 

[MossRoad]

Contact your local extension agent and see if your watershed or state offers any incentives for planting trees for erosion control by both water and wind. There are many states that offer to help pay for the cost of planting trees. With that large of an area you are looking at a couple acres at least.

Back in 1990 or so we had 2000+ trees purchased, planted and side sprayed for weeds following guidelines developed by our state forester. After it was completed, he came back, inspected and sent us a check for 75% of the price we paid! The whole thing cost us about $265.00 after the state check. Look into it. You paid your taxes over the years to support these programs. Now see if they will work for you.

 

[turbo36]

I used to work the local Christmas tree farms and have planted thousands of trees. Nowadays the big operations have mechanical planters but we would use a "tree spud", sometimes referred too as a "dibble". First we would run a tractor that had a modified single bottom plow to slice the sod and establish the rows, and then pace off the spacing between trees just by walking. One person would take two paces and spud the hole and the next person would drop a seedling and kick the hole shut.

The most important thing is to keep the seedling moist, if the roots dry even for the shortest time more then likely the seedling will die.
We would replant the whole field one year and then fill in the die-outs over the next few years.

http://www.co.washington.wi.us/uploads/docs/LCD_2010ProperPlantingMethods.pdf