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Tree Planting

Dang Paul, seeing that dibble bar again makes my back hurt! I recall spending some quality time with it during a day of cold, pouring rain!
 
dbltree said:
I'll be sure to have it sharpened and ready for ya Walt...:D
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So if a guy dropped by to visit you'd expect a lil sweat equity? :confused:

Foresty Suppliers has dibble bars..not too bad on price http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/View_Catalog_Page.asp?mi=1592


Ran across these research papers comparing mats to tubes, various tube shelters, and weed control methods.

http://www.arlis.org/docs/vol1/236227219.pdf
http://www.treelink.org/joa/1999/march/02_TREE_SHELTERS_EFFECTS_ON_11_TREE_SPECIES_west.pdf
http://www.stroudcenter.org/about/pdfs/bs_SweeneyCzapkaPetrow2007SoJApplFor.pdf

Also here is a video on direct nut seeding from midwest whitetail....also a good speal on map readin http://www.midwestwhitetail.com/gallery/17/media/1376/mw098-the-quest-begins.html

After learning a bit more about the process, I'm going to get the TreePro tubes (possibly 4' then cut to 24" and drill some holes on the solid ones) for all seedlings, use ~2x2' cardboard on upland plantings, and just go with gly as needed on everything for weed control this first year. We'll use the root dip Ken mentioned and prolly some of the lil fert bags on the oaks.

Cattle have a plastic fettish (ours will eat those plastic front bumper liscense plates off your truck), so everything with a tube will get a larger hoop of used 'hog-wire'. T-posts are darned expensive and we straighten/reuse all the old ones, unless the anchor plate rusted off. Will use either rebar or conduit for hoop posts depending on cost. Since cattle browse a bit higher than deer, stacking hoops or raising may be needed down the road.

Ordered 50 each of roughleaf dogwood, fragrant sumac, and wild plum from Okie state forestry...requested Feb delivery and NO subs...150 total. From Oikos, I'll order: bimundor and sargent for the bottom...burgamble and burlive for the uplands....25 of each variety so 100 total. Next year well do some chestnutleaf in uplands and maybe schuettes and schubur in the bottom, if there is space available....ie limited acerage. He has some good prices on some species in 100ct for those interested!

After much correspondance, Ken recommended those varieties. He suggested a 20x40' or 40x40' spacing, which is considerably higher than the 10x12' or 12x12' spacing recommended by Okie state NRCS. Not sure exactly what to do on spacing? Any comments there?

Prolly the best news of the week is the 032 Stihl is now 'purrin like a kitten'. :drink2: Supposedly non-repairable, it sat in the garage for 15 yr because the local shop couldn't repair and offered me $25 salvage value...my response was kiss this :moon:. Local shop back home fixed it with a carb kit and I'm out $44....20" bar is on order to save the back! ;)
 
From Oikos, I'll order: bimundor and sargent for the bottom...burgamble and burlive for the uplands....25 of each variety so 100 total. Next year well do some chestnutleaf in uplands and maybe schuettes and schubur in the bottom, if there is space available....ie limited acerage. He has some good prices on some species in 100ct for those interested!

After much correspondance, Ken recommended those varieties. He suggested a 20x40' or 40x40' spacing, which is considerably higher than the 10x12' or 12x12' spacing recommended by Okie state NRCS. Not sure exactly what to do on spacing? Any comments there?
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Some great selections from Oikos! :way:

Base numbers for hardwood tree plantings are meant for bareroot seedlings...usually 600 trees per acre. The heavy planting rates allow for high mortaility and they also encourage crop trees to grow tall and straight for timber puposes.

Trees grown with lot's of room will develop branches low on the trunk and spoil the value of the tree. That being said, the idea is to thin stands as the years go by and one may eventually end up with 50 trees per acre.

Oaks planted soley for wildlife (mast production) can be planted on a wider spacing where timber is not the main purpose. they will grow faster and yield sooner then if crowded but may end up being worthless for timber down the road.

Another commonly used option is to use conifers for "trainers" because they are inexpensive and provide great cover as well. Interplant them between oaks and they will also cause the oaks to "reach for the sky" and can also be thinned years later without destroying otherwise good oak trees.

Each landowner must decide what is best for them by understanding the reason for different planting rates. :)
 
The wedge shaped dibble will handle gravely/rocky soil (we have much of this) while the pointed one is better for softer soils. So to kill 2 birds with 1 stone, I'd go for the wedge design.

Thanks for the clarification on the spacing, we have very minimal marketable timer acres (thinkin less than 12) so I'll shoot for the 20 x 20....deer/turk hab is priority #! :way:
 
A few questions? Thanks in advance!

Miracle tubes came in today and I plan on cutting to 2' length and drilling more holes. These shorties will be shrub tubes. Will buy more of 4' tubes for oaks. Do you drill additional holes only in the upper 2/3rds or over the entire length of tubes?

Are Oikos' paper pot seedlings considered 'containerized' or 'bareroot'? Is dibble bar planting acceptable for paper-potted seedlings? Ken mentioned he used some type of spade and indicated posthole diggers would work too. He will ship paper potted about anytime.

Noble Foundation called me today and looks like we'll become a cooperator with them...on-site meeting in late Feb or early Mar. :way:

Hope the mid-west is not getting the ice that we are! :mad:
 
Do you drill additional holes only in the upper 2/3rds or over the entire length of tubes?

Are Oikos' paper pot seedlings considered 'containerized' or 'bareroot'? Is dibble bar planting acceptable for paper-potted seedlings? Ken mentioned he used some type of spade and indicated posthole diggers would work too. He will ship paper potted about anytime.
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Letemgrow has down more "hole drilling" then I have so maybe he will chime in on that subject?

I have planted most of my oikos paper pots with my dibble bar but sometimes a shovel is a little better for the task. Don't need to "dig" a hole but just a slightly larger opening to fit the pot in.

There is a soilless medium in the pot with the seedling growing in it but the bottom of the pot is open, so keep them setting in a bucket with an 1" of water or just some wet shredded paper or some such.

Getting excited about spring already!! :way:
 
Definitely drill more holes in the tubes to make sure the seedlings can harden off come winter. I prefer to drill close to the bottom of the tubes and am just careful when I spray around the tubes to keep the seedlings out of harms way. Had problems in the past where seedlings did not harden off so I make sure and put plenty of holes in the tubes now.
 
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dbltree said:
Getting excited about spring already!! :way:
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Same here! Haven't seen this many ice/sleet/snow events in several decades...maybe like the 70's....getting pretty stir crazy! :thrwrck:

Thanks for the clarification from both of you on those questions! 24" tubes are exact half price of the 48s so I'll just order them and some more 48s. Will keep paper potted in a bucket with 1" solution of biopack while planting. I'll get a load of rebar on the way back too the place.

Found some pelleted surflan (XL 2G Speciality Herbicide ) on craig's list...$25/50 lb...read the label and it shoud work after seedlings have settled in.....mason jar applicator with holes in the lid would work. Maybe they will still have it next weekend when this weather breaks.

Also considering dropping one of the little fert bags in the bottom of second dibble hole used for closing the planting hole. If I remember correctly from watchin a video on it, the bags need a lil dirt between them and the roots, so the closing hole seems best. Ever used the fert bags?

Feb, Mar, Apr and May are going to be busy! Let's see...Noble meeting, timber work, frost seeding, tree planting, plot soil amenments, burning, fencing, spraying/mowing, summer plots and somehow turkey whackin! We'll get 2 loads of stockers within this timeframe too, but not much I have to do there. This weather is just costing me time that is runnin short! :thrwrck: :thrwrck:
 
I would avoid fertilizing transplants until the second year, if you are planting acorns etc, go ahead and fert away. :D
 
Ever used the fert bags?
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I have...they are very slow release so pretty safe but not sure if they really did anything either?

Probably more cost effective to wait and then just broadcast a pound of triple 10 around the drip line of established seedlings the following years.;)
 
We have threads on NWSG for bedding and threads on hinging for bedding but I feel some of the best bedding areas can be created by planting a mix of shrubs and conifers.

Keeping in mind that habitat should be diverse and it should never be an "all or nothing" scenario, so that means landowners should utilize a combination of NWSG in open field areas, hinging in woodlots and then convert some areas to lower, denser cover with a mix of 6-12' high shrubs and conifers.

By now, most of you know that I have a deep passion for wildlife habitat and have been aggressively planting anything and everything for more then 50 years now. That being said, I think I have planted nearly every imaginable invasive from multiflora rose to autumn olives to honeysuckle, all of it long before any of it was considered invasive.

At the time the USDA and State DNR all promoted them and I was eager to plant them, so while I share pictures of atumn olive hedge rows planted 15 years ago it does NOT mean I am promoting them nor any invasive.

I am however promoting the idea of brushy cover that whitetails love to bed in and then encourage you to choose from native plants to fill that need.

These are autumn olive that are part of a shelterbelt planting that provides protective screening from road poachers but also it is wide enough and thick enough that deer love to bed in it!

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In my area I have found red cedars work the best as a conifer that provides thermal cover and dense protective screening

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and the combination is unbeatable and deer will usually choose this type of cover over hinge cuts

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Red cedars should be open enough to allow some grass to grow in between and almost all will have beds up against them

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I would encourage landowners to look at all the native possibles in the first post of this thread for shrubs that are non-invasive that would work on their own property

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and choose dense conifers such as spruce or cedar to mix with the shrubs

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In my case deer have destroyed nearly 5000 norway spruce and white pines planted in the original planting (from rubbing) and I was forced to re-plant with red cedars. Not all landowners will be faced with that kind of problem however.

Shrubs are generally fast growing and can often provide cover within 3-4 years and conifers only a year or two behind them. Rows can be alternated or mixed and scattered or even hand planted in rough areas.

Odd areas of a farm where hillsides may not allow farming, old pastures or other unused areas are often great places to convert to shrub/conifer plantings.

Low areas can be planted to willows or dogwoods that provide both cover and browse.

Well thought out plantings can become travel corridors leading to feeding areas and perhaps surrounded as mine are by NWSG. Deer have well worn trails following my shrub plantings, screened on one side by shrubs while walking in the NWSG itself in complete safety.

While NWSG plantings are very attractive to mature whitetail bucks I find that deer in general prefer my shrub/conifer plantings.

If you have a favorite native shrub or pictures of your own plantings, please share to offer others ideas that may help them enhance their habitat as well... :way:

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A fellow QDM'er has started a new business selling seedlings from cuttings along with some great supplies like the Rootmaker products and a really cool auger that one can use on a drill motor for planting seedlings.

Check it out!

Big Rock Trees

If you have questions it's nice to have someone who really understands both tree planting and whitetails to help you figure it out...:way:
 
Shrubs fill in a nitch for wildlife (along with trees, native grasses and wildflowers), the shrubs provide great screening cover, browse, seeds, fruits or nuts to a variety of wildlife. With such high deer numbers in my area, I find it to be no coincidence that there is only one shrub dogwood on my 140 acres and 5 eastern wahoo (in multiflora rose bushes), and basically every single seedling white oak browsed that I have found. Desirable shrubs are not a bonus on my property, but a necessity for everything from songbirds to deer. :way:
 
Are the shrubs about like everything else you plant and need to be protected or are they pretty good at poping back from being browsed by the deer? I would think they would handle the browsing fine considering must of them can handle pruning. Thanks in advance for the reply. Great pictures dbletree, I love seeing the benefits or your hard work!
 
sadam said:
Are the shrubs about like everything else you plant and need to be protected or are they pretty good at poping back from being browsed by the deer? I would think they would handle the browsing fine considering must of them can handle pruning. Thanks in advance for the reply. Great pictures dbletree, I love seeing the benefits or your hard work!
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I have not had severe problems with browsing or rubbing but I have planted thousands of shrubs and cedars so perhaps if one planted 20 it might be different.


For the most part the shrubs can take a beaten and come right back though...:way:

This is a great time of year to just get out, do some walking and observe whitetail habitat, especially where they bed. I learn a lot while shed hunting and in my area beds are commonly found up against red cedars, probably more then any other type of tree.

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Certainly other conifers can serve the same purpose but red cedars grow wild here in Iowa and so they happen to be plentiful and a natural source of cover and bedding.

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Notice that these spots are semi-open with some grassy, light brushy cover but not a solid mass of cedars.

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This is a wild stand that is too thick and could use some thinning.

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The intent here is not to encourage you to focus on cedars themselves but whatever conifers that are adapatable to your area with cedars and spruces generally more suitable long term then pines.

One advantage red cedars have is that they don't turn into a towering 100 ft tree such as some pines and even norway spruce given enough time. In all cases keep the conifers open enough by thinning to encourage limb growth near the ground rather then a completely open understory as often happens in wild areas where they have grow to thick.

Plantings allows us some control over spacing and wild patchs of cedars can be thinned and improved to encourage whitetail bedding for years to come...:)
 
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Our Rootmaker Cells should be arriving shortly so I'm starting to read up on reccomended procedures for starting acorns and using the RootMaker system. A friend has been sending me a ton of information that has been helpful and he is going to send pictures as well eventually.

Here is a summary of starting acorns via the RM system...

GROWING TREE SEEDLINGS

My Current Preferred Methods
By
Carl Whitcomb PhD
Lacebark Inc. 2104 N. Cottonwood Road, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74075

Frequently I get the question, “If you were growing tree seedling, how would you proceed?” Here is a summary of the technique that I have found to work best year after year and yield the strongest seedlings with the best root systems and that rarely require staking:

1. Get local seeds or seeds adapted to the area where you expect to sell the seedlings.

2. Store most seeds dry in zip-lock poly bags in a refrigerator at a temperature of 33 to 35 degrees F. Be sure the seeds are dry on the surface before storing. With oak acorns, dry somewhat longer, especially if it has been rainy just prior to or during seed collection. The reason for this is to avoid moisture inside the acorn in the space between the true seed and seed coat that would allow fungi to grow.

3. With oaks in the white oak group that insist on germinating as soon as they fall or sometimes while still on the tree, the only practical procedure is to collect and plant as soon as possible. Live oaks can sometimes be collected and stored dry until spring as this is the preferred way.

However, if that is not an option, plant the seeds in 18 or 32 cell RootMaker II trays that have been filled with a good soilless mix and are on wire benches at least 16 inches (one cinder block on end) high for good air circulation for air-root-pruning. Then protect from freezing - nothing more. The temptation is to place them in a heated greenhouse but this leads to problems. If you place the seedlings in a heated greenhouse, set the thermostat at about 35 to 40 degrees F, no more. The objective is just to avoid freezing and any root damage, cut NOT to stimulate top growth. If there is no heat in the structure or in situations where no structure is available, simply cover with any good insulating material whenever freezing is threatened. The fact that light is excluded for a day or two or even a week is not a problem.

4. With seeds of species stored over winter, the preferred time to plant is in late winter or early spring. DO NOT plant seeds in a greenhouse in Dec. or Jan. in an attempt to ‘get a jump on the season’. In winter, the days are short, light intensity is low and the sun is low in the southern sky. Seeds that germinate under these conditions create tall, spindly seedlings with poor root systems. It is much better to wait until the sun is higher in the sky, days are longer and light intensity is higher.

5. Place one or two layers of newspaper (no more) in the bottom of mesh flats and add about 1 to 1.5 inches of mix. Then add the seeds in a single layer – just so there are no seeds on top of others. Add enough additional mix to cover the seeds about ½ to ¾ for oaks and just barely cover other species. The flats must be on raised wire benches. Water as needed.

6. Mice and rats LOVE most seeds. They will bypass poison grain and traps baited with peanut butter to get to many tree seeds. The ONLY way I have found to keep rodents out of my freshly planted seeds is to place the flats on benches suspended from the roof of the greenhouse. I use two 2 X 6 boards 16 feet long, with cross members every four feet that space the boards about 16 inches apart. A light weight chain (like a dog chain) is used on all four corners to suspend these ‘benches’ from the roof structures. By using screws with head size such that the chain can be slipped over as the connecting mechanism, when these ‘benches’ are no longer needed, they can be raised above head high, reconnected to the chain so that they are out of the way for the rest of the season.

7. As soon as the seeds germinate, transplant one viable seedling into each of the 18 or 32 cavities in the RootMaker II trays. [This procedure does take time, but the payoff is that you have each cell within a tray with a seedling at the same stage of development, thus a more uniform crop. On the other hand, if you plant seeds directly into the cells, some germinate sooner, others later and some not at all and you have many more culls at time of transplanting.]

Do not procrastinate. With oak acorns, as soon as the primary root is out and has turned down, even only ¼ to ½ inch, it is time to transplant. If you have the seeds mostly covered, watch the bottom of the flats. As soon as you see a white root tip sticking through (a blackened end of a root if air-root-pruning has occurred), at least some of the seedlings are ready. Remove only those seeds with primary roots extending out and down enough so that down is very clear. DO NOT disturb the other seeds that have not yet germinated for if you do, you will have kinks in the stems at the root-stem interface that will render many useless. Just prior to germination, seeds perceive what is the up side of the seed and the side that is down and respond accordingly. If you rotate a seed 180 degrees after this pre-germination adjustment, the root will grow up first, then bend and grow down. The reverse will happen to the stem.

This is mostly a concern with those species where the seed stays put and the root grows down and the top grows up. With those species where the seed is lifted above the soil at time of germination (pines and most other conifers), this is normally not a factor.

8. I use a mix of 50-50 peat and perlite most of the time (but a mix of fine pine bark, peat and perlite also works well) – the exception is when a bale of peat is opened and it is extremely fine, sometimes even dusty. When I encounter such peat, I set it aside to be used in the mix for larger containers and try another bale. What I look for is light colored peat with good fiber structure. Likewise, I have on occasion opened a bag of coarse perlite only to find it is not very coarse or has lots and lots of fines. When that happens, that too gets set aside to be used in the mix for larger containers. DRAINAGE AND AIRATION AND WATER HOLDING CAPACITY IN SHALLOW CONTAINERS WITH SMALL SEEDLING IS TOO IMPORTANT TO TAKE ANY CHANCES. It is tempting to simply use the especially fine peat or perlite and add more of the other material to compensate. This is NOT a good practice as the very fine materials will erode to the bottom of the small containers and impair drainage.

9. To the mix for the 18 or 32 cell RootMaker II containers, I add 1.5 pounds of Micromax micronutrients, 6 pounds of Osmocote 18-6-12 (NO substitutes) and from zero to 6 pounds of dolomite, depending on the quantity of calcium dissolved in the irrigation water. You MUST know the chemistry of your irrigation water if you expect to grow good seedlings.

10. As soon as the seedlings are a few inches tall AND all chances of frost have passed, either move the seedlings out into full sun or remove ALL poly from the greenhouse to expose the seedlings to FULL sun and WIND to flex the stems. Full sun and flexing of the stems stimulates root growth as well as strengthening of the stems.

11. Shortly after moving the seedlings to full sun, topdress with about 4 pounds of Osmocote 19-6-12 (3 to 4 month formulation) per cubic yard. To determine the correct amount to apply, multiply 11 cu. in. per cell x 32 =352 cu in per tray. Or if you prefer the 18 cell tray, multiply 25 cu.in. per cell x 18 = 450 cu. in. per tray. Divide 46656 (the number of cubic inches per cubic yard) by 352 = 132 trays can be filled per cubic yard with the 32 cell trays or divide 46656 by 450 = 103 trays can be filled per cu. yd with the 18 cell trays. To get the volume of Osmocote to a practical level, simply divide 132 trays by 4 = 33 trays of the 32 cells should be covered with one pound of Osmocote or 26 trays of the 18 cells. Once you apply one pound over the proper number of trays the approx. density of fertilizer granules can be seen. Thereafter, I simply spread Osmocote 19-6-12 over the remaining trays at that same density.

12. As soon as the seedlings have reached the point where the taproot has reached the bottom of the container and was air-root-pruned, which in turn stimulated secondary roots to form and those in turn were air-root-pruned by the openings on the sides of the RootMaker containers and tertiary branch roots have formed, IT IS TIME TO TRANSPLANT. Do NOT think of how long you can leave the seedlings in these or any other container. DO focus on how SOON the seedlings can be transplanted into the next step in the production sequence.

13. If you transplant seedlings into one or three gallon RootMaker containers, use the standard mix (preferably 3 parts ground conifer bark, 1 part peat and 1 part concrete sand), with 1.5 pounds of Micromax micronutrients plus 15 pounds of Osmocote 17-7-12, plus the appropriate amount of dolomite relative to your irrigation water quality, per cubic yard.

14. If you transplant into 5 or 8 inch knit bags in cinder blocks, use the same mix as noted in item #13 only instead of the 17-7-12 Osmocote, use 8 pounds of Osmocote 18-6-12 PLUS 4 pounds of Osmocote 19-6-12. The reason for the change is due to the cooler temperatures in the cinder blocks.

In north-central Oklahoma this regiment provides tree seedlings four to six feet tall in October following planting of the seed in March. Tree seedlings that begin to get too crowded prior to October should be spaced further apart or shifted into the next container size desired. DO NOT allow the tree seedlings to be crowded as they will stretch upward and you or your customers will be caught in the quagmire of staking. Most tree seedlings grown with timely transplanting from the propagation size container and moved into full sun and wind as soon as possible, then transplanted into the next size container at the optimum time do not need to be staked. In addition to the items noted above, timing, attention to spacing and approaching conditions of crowding and proper water management are critical ingredients. Do not underestimate their importance.
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Because I do not have a huge amount of acorns to plant I may plant directly into the cells rather then start in the trays but I can see the importance and advisability of utilizing that method of germinating and starting acorns.

Lot's to learn about all of this and I'm looking forward to getting started in another month... ;)

RootMaker System

The RPM System has an interesting banner at the bottom of the page that shows a growth timline...

RPM Ecosystems

I'll be posting pictures as I go through this process and encourage others to share as well so we can learn more about starting acorns and seeds using the root pruning containers... :)
 
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