Bareroot Seedling Gravel Bed

[letemgrow]

This method can be used to transplant bareroot seedlings at any time of the year!! You plant them in the gravel bed in spring, water regularly and fertilize and can move them out even in July!!! I am going to make one and will report back the results. I plan on moving after they harden off in the fall and do not want to chance a July transplant.

http://web.missouri.edu/~starbuckc/MGB/mgb_lev2.htm

[Hans1]

sounds like a great plan please keep us posted about how it works out. I think that I see your posts on iowa whitetail as well.

[Texas Ranger]

Those Missouri boys are sure smart. :

[fishpharmer]

That seems like a significant advancement in tree planting technology.   Very impressive.    Hydroponics isn't just for tomatoes anymore ;D

Wonder how it would work with aquaponics?

[letemgrow]

sounds like a great plan please keep us posted about how it works out. I think that I see your posts on iowa whitetail as well.

yep you sure did

[mdvaden]

Hydroponics basically - right?

Do you wash the gravel off the roots prior to planting in the permanent location, or just leave it embedded in the root system?

Any preferred gravel (1/4 minus, pea gravel, 1/4 - 10) ??

[routestep]

I inadvertantly did something similar to what you are planning on letemgrow.

I had stratified a bunch of acorns and was planting them. Mostly Northern Red Oak, but I had found some Pin Oak and had stratified them also. I finished the NRO and opened up the Pin Oaks but very few had germinated. I plant only acorns that germinate after overwintering them. I remember thinking   *DanG, kept them in the refrigerator six months just to have a bunch of duds. But not wanting to just dump them off on the ground I dug a shallow trench on the side of the gravel driveway, plopped them in and walked away. Survival of the fittest. Maine gravel in that part of Maine pretty much looks like ready mix, a little sand and a little gravel of various size. Six months later there was a row of seedlings coming up out of the driveway. I guess Pin Oak takes a while to wake-up. The following spring I poured water on the seedlings, scooped them up and planted them around my wood lot like any bare root stock.

[letemgrow]

Hydroponics basically - right?

Do you wash the gravel off the roots prior to planting in the permanent location, or just leave it embedded in the root system?

Any preferred gravel (1/4 minus, pea gravel, 1/4 - 10) ??

Per the article:

Construction and Management of a Missouri Gravel Bed

The beds can be constructed in modules using gravel 1/2 inch sized and smaller with about 10% sand (passing a #10 screen), 14 to 18 inches deep. Standard pea gravel works well. Railroad ties or dimension lumber can be used to make the bed look tidy. A drip irrigation system works well, with lines spaced 1 foot apart and running the length of the bed from a header across the bed width. Emitters (1 gph) are spaced at 12 inches in the line. An irrigation kit, including a filter, pressure regulator, solenoid, time clock and all required fittings can be ordered from MPR Supply, St. Louis, MO 1-800-369-7257. Before calling, determine the width and length of your bed and the irrigation length and interval you plan to use. Also, note your water source, since this will determine the type of filter required. To reduce water usage and runoff, the gravel bed can be underlain with plastic on a slope to allow collection of irrigation water in a sump at the low end. Irrigation lines can then be pressurized by a sump pump, activated by a time clock. If using this approach, be sure to run a water supply line to the sump with a float valve to replenish water lost to evaporation and transpiration. Recent research results indicate that incorporating about 20% calcined clay into the gravel greatly reduces the irrigation requirement and may eliminate the need for a recirculating system.

Bed Management:

Plants are placed in the bed by digging a trench in the gravel and then shoveling gravel back over the roots. It is helpful to wet the gravel before making the trench. Spacing of plants in the bed will depend on plant size. Staggered rows work well for trees with 6-8' trees as close as 16 inches in the row. Up to 100 plants can be placed in a 100 square foot module including trees and shrubs. It is best to get the bed set up by mid April to allow for good root development before the onset of hot temperatures. Until plants leaf out, watering is not critical. Water the plants in well by hand and then set the time clock to water once a day for about 5 minutes. When the plants have begun to flush, set the time clock to irrigate about 3 or 4 minutes every 4 hours during the daylight hours. Later, when the growth has slowed, the irrigation frequency can be reduced to once or twice per day. Let the plants be your guide. Slow release fertilizer granules applied to the surface of the gravel will keep plants green. A material that contains sulfur will help counteract the effects of irrigating with alkaline water. Use a rate similar to that for topdressing container stock but apply 3 times at monthly intervals. When removing plants from the gravel, lay the plants on a piece of plastic and spray them with water. A bundle of five or ten plants can be wrapped up and tied with twine. If the bundle is not opened and is kept in a cool place, the plants can be kept for several days before planting. Dipping the roots in hydrogel does not seem to provide any real benefit and may actually interfere with root growth in some cases. It is best to just check occasionally and spray the roots with water if they begin to dry out. Later in the season, after the top growth has hardened, the roots can be placed in a bag and the tops left exposed.

When planting, the only critical thing is that a few gallons of water be added to the planting hole immediately after planting. This is often the only care required, as the roots can begin taking up water from the backfill soil immediately and are not subject to drought stress due to drying of a soil ball.

[letemgrow]

Those Missouri boys are sure smart. :

Every now and then, something dumb turns out to be something great.   ;D


I have a whole bunch of the 5-gallon rootmaker containers so I am just going to plant bareroot seedlings in those with osmocote fertilizer, some sulfur and 1/2 inch or less rock as suggested.  The sulfur is for the hard water that I will be using for irrigation.