Planting trees for timber and other

[Wrace]

My wife and I own 13 rural acres in sw Washington. These are two adjacent parcels, one 5 acres in pasture, and the second 8 acres is a patch work of heavy vegetation, small stands of trees, springs, peat bog, pasture etc.

We are going to purchase about 500 trees to plant. Some on the 5 acres as a screen from the road. Most on the 8 acres, some for screen from the road, some scattered around, some to be used for firewood etc.

We might apply for an open space tax deferral on the 8 using the timber deferral available. You must have at least 5 out of the 8 in "timber" to qualify for this deferral. New plants should be 10 feet apart. We may or may not apply for the exemption, still up in the air about that. We would like to build on the 8 within the next 8 years or so. So it may not be worth applying for the exemption.

At any rate, the trees we are ordering are some noble fir (for Christmas trees), Austrian pine, douglas fir, and western red cedar. Thinking also about some leland cyprus as well, heard these were fast growing. While these are the most popular trees available from the county conservation group, I've actually found them to be less expensive in 100 lot quantities from a commercial outfit.

When offered we plan to order the taller versions vs the little plugs. We are absentee owners and are hoping the taller plant will be less likely to get mowed over when we do brush hog the property periodically.

Any input on these types of trees? I like fast growing, dense, all green, all the time type trees.

How should we go about planting them? I was told a pick axe... a pick axe for 500 trees??? Seems like we should brush hog down much of the overgrowth to clear spots for the trees? What about using some round-up after the brush hog to flatten out the area for planting. Waiting whatever time period necessary after spraying and before planting of course.

Which of these trees would be best for a fast growing, dense screen from the road? Right now we have some doug fir as screen from the road on the 5 acres, but they are tall and skinny. This leaves almost no branches down low where we need the screen from the road. This may have been a case of not thinning properly though.

I've also heard something about a fertilizer pellet to plant in with the tree?

Thanks
Wayne

[Ron Scott]

Check with your 'local" Conservation District Forester at the Natural Resource Agency, Extension Service, state DNR service forester, or a professional consulting forester for the best local advice for growing trees in your area.

[Ianab]

Hi Wrace

Like Ron said, local advice is good as it will relate to your local climate, soil, weeds etc.

But having said that, the Leyland cypress usually makes a good shelter belt and is fast growing. The tree gets bad press sometimes because people plant it as a hedge in an urban environment. It gets big and dense real fast and shades the neighbours house. >:(

Getting shelter for your other young trees will improve their growth and form as you simulate them growing in a sheltered clearing in a forest.

Taking some time to plant the trees properly will pay off in the end. Best method depends on your local soil types. You may need to bust thru a hard pan under the topsoil in some situations. If they aren't dug in correctly you end up with poor root layout or the roots twisted around the seedling, it can strangle itself or blow over in the wind a couple of years later. Spraying patches to plant in is an option, by supressing the grass and weeds around the seedling you leave it more light / nutrients / water. A pellet of slow release fert buried under the tree can help too.

Here in NZ pine trees are hand planted by the millions so they have got the technique worked out pretty well. Normal method involves a spade and about 3 digging moves. I will see if I can find some details online for you.

Cheers

Ian

[SwampDonkey]

These sites may be of help Ian, there aren't many online manuals for planting techniques. If you find any, please share.

Click here

Here's a tree planters guide with some interesting knowledge/experiences from actual tree planters

Preventing Tree Planting Injuries, Safe tree planting techniques - Click

[GareyD]

About 20 years ago, when I was in way better shape...I ran a hand planting crew we traveled with the seasons from the Pacific Northwest states to the Southeast Gulf states....

The tools of choice for planting seedlings was a "Hoedad", "Dibble Bar" or a shovel depending on ground conditions...

With a hoedad on ground here in the Southeast, it was fairly routine to average 3,000 - 5,000 trees per man per day...

In the Northwest, on some of them rocky cliffs..500 - 1,000 per day was really humping it!!

Here is a link that shows care, transportation and handling of seedlings...and illustrates really well the proper way to plant with the above mentioned tools....

//cecommerce.uwex.edu/pdfs/G3481.PDF

I personally prefer a good seedling bag and the hoedad...

Also do a google search for hoedad...saw some really good information on planting....and a few sites of the "HOEDADS" a female group of handplanters....Ya don't want to mess with them girls....they be TUFF

Hope this helps

GareyD

[UNCLEBUCK]

I did just like Ron Scott said and contacted my local county extension office and I had my choice of any kind of tree planting equipment ranging from the bigger ones that have seats on them and you ride and stick a tree down into the ground while someone drives the tractor and pulls you along . My first attempt and I planted 500 trees in about one hour on a gradual rolling open farm field. I have planted 650 spruce with tree spud and it took 3 days and I couldnt walk for about a week from bending. I found that buying trees from the state nursery in lots of 1000 is over half price from the county office . Seedlings they say work better through a transplanting machine than actual transplants ,seedlings are 3 year old and transplants are 4 year old and have been uprooted one time and roots pruned and replanted then when you buy it its hauled out of the ground for the second time with a much stronger root system and that is why its called a transplant . So I ask the state nursery if I can plant seedlings which are 3 year old unrooted little trees and they said I sure could and I would have a hard time telling the differance between that and a transplant so I saved about 50% cost again and was able to order twice as many seedlings than transplants . You could even pull the tree planting machine with a pickup if you could maintain a nice slow steady ground speed because the pull type tree planter has its own little battery operated hydraulic lift system and can be pulled down a tar road at 50 m.p.h. .  Ok thats all I know about tree planting but I made alot of calls and asked alot to get this far , for Christmas tree planting go 700 trees per acre and for forestry go 500 trees per acre, Swamp Donkey knows of a chemical to spray pre-planting time to kill weeds too. Good Luck with it .

[UNCLEBUCK]

Oh I forgot to mention that where I get my liitle transplants and seedlings from they come in a cardboard box of about 250 per box with a heavy plastic liner wrapped around them but open at the top of the plastic for ventilation and all the roots have some dirt clinging just a bit to them and there is a little bit of water slopping around in the plastic bag too . I have left some in the box for a week in the shade and then planted and they survived just fine . I have seen these containerized seedlings on the internet and I just dont know how I would get them out of the styrofoam container and placed in the tree planting machine without falling off . With these trees I get in the cardboard box I dont baby them and I rip the tangled roots apart trying to get the next one ready to shove down the tree planter .  I guess it sounds like I got cabin fever and am excited about getting my trees . Kind of like looking through the Guerneys seed catalog on a winter day at all the colorful things that wont look nothing at all like that in my garden . ;D