The Forestry Forum

we are preparing to grow new forest in large area., the terrain is very complicate with a lot of moutain creek, rocky ascent.. the slope is about 18 -35..
we'll grow acacia species ., we are looking any machine that can help in digging a pit/.
can anyone help ???? :P

Are the trees bare root or container grown? What is the diameter and depth of the root mass? If container grown and under 2" diameter root mass I would suggest a pottiputki. You sink the tool in the soil, open the foot valve with a trigger, drop the seedling in the tube. Lift the tool, firm the soil around the tree by foot, on to the next spot. No bending. Might be difficult to use hardwood seedlings if their crown diameter is beyond 3", difficult to get the seedling to drop down the tube. Other than that, a narrow planting spade that is narrower on the bottom than the top, something like 3" on the bottom and 6" at the top of the spade and a short handle with hand grip. Most heavy machinery used in site prep are designed for well drained deep soils with light slash to be most effective. Looking at this as an employment opportunity, it can put a lot of folks to work manually planting. Pay is usually based on production.

Quote from: vietnamforestry on July 17, 2009, 04:53:32 AM
we are preparing to grow new forest in large area., the terrain is very complicate with a lot of moutain creek, rocky ascent.. the slope is about 18 -35..
we'll grow acacia species ., we are looking any machine that can help in digging a pit/.
can anyone help ???? :P

We use an auger for planting acacia. But, in our soil, there is no roots, no rocks. One thing to know on an auger, if the soil isn't very good (like clay) you can glaze the sides of the hole, which will effect the ability of the roots to spread, not good at all.

Which acacia are you planting?