Planting Trees

   / Planting Trees #1  

RonL

Banned
Joined
Dec 22, 2001
Messages
430
Location
Worcester, Massachusetts
Tractor
Caterpillar 416C IT, Caterpillar D3G, previously owned a Ford 1910
I just picked up 40 Emerald Green Arborvitae in 5 gallon pots to continue a project I started last year. I am planting them along the wrought iron fence of my house in the city. The frustrating part is that I cannot get my backhoe into the area where I am planting. I think I am going to get a rototiller attachment for my Gravely and use that to initally break the ground. When the plantings are in and start to fill out I am going to cut down the planting nearer to the house. That way I'll be able to sit on my sun porch and look at my garden, and not the junkies and hookers going by on the street. I'll be glad when I can retire to my place in the mountains.

RonL
 
   / Planting Trees #2  
Ron--

Are you thinking of the Gravely tiller, or the rotary plow? The rotary plow works very well for tree planting, as you can swivel the head to a vertical position and lower the shaft all the way down to spin out a fine hole. But I now use the Mantis to dig tree holes if I need to go bigger than is handy with the shovel--the Mantis just bounces around and digs the dickens out of it; it also breaks up all the spoil so you can just shovel/rake it back into the hole. IMHO the Mantis is as useful in its niche as a power tool can get--used it yesterday both to prepare the ground for laying stone steps and for spreading topsoil which had been laying in a heap for more than a year and had gotten almost hard as a rock. And now they come with Honda engines!
 
   / Planting Trees
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Rick

I'm thinking of breaking up the surface with a rototiller and finishing up the holes with a shovel. I figure that I'll have much more future use for the rototiller.

RonL
 
   / Planting Trees #4  
I plant around 20 trees ayear around my place.The best i found is putting my post hole digger
on my tractorand popping in my holes.Never again i'll be digging holes for 20 trees any more
 
   / Planting Trees
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Now, if only the rain would stop.

RonL
 
   / Planting Trees #6  
I planted 8 apple trees....and 19 8 foot fence posts... this past weekend using a borrowed post hole digger (about 16"diameter). Digging the holes took about an hour. PHD worked great for the trees, busting up clay and getting deep enough for me to put some better dirt in around the root ball. Can't imagine another tractor implement that would work as easily for this. If the trees were larger and the hole had to be bigger than a couple of feet deep and 16" across it would be another matter. My long handled shovel now retires to hole-filling duty.

Chas
 
   / Planting Trees #7  
We've been populating out 3 1/2 acres of ex-pasture with trees since we moved in 4 years ago. I used to do it manually - and complain loudly every time my wife brought a tree home from the nursery. Last year I rented a PHD and when my wife saw how well it worked she said "Oh, you need to OWN one of those!". Now I do own one and I happily help her pick out more trees.
 
   / Planting Trees
  • Thread Starter
#8  
What crazy weather. For two days its been rain, sunshine, rain, sunshine, all day long. For two days its been plant a tree, get rained on, plant a tree, get rained on. I'm taking this rain soaked butt down to Slippery's Tavern for a cold one. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

RonL
 
   / Planting Trees
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Rick

I bought the rotary cultivator (rototiller). The drive mechanism appears to be the same as used on the rotary plow. It's a massive cast iron gearbox that can be set at different angles. I'm thinking that I can get the rotary plow blade and drill out tree holes. Would this work without the rest of the rotary plow?

RonL
 
   / Planting Trees #10  
Chas
I use my trencher attachment. I can adjust for depth, crisscross for larger rootwads, plants in a straight line, cuts trench for water and root growth. I also use it for flowers, makes planting Iris' a snap. In 1994 I planted 18,500 trees on 80 acres for the Gov. tree program. Bounced around on the tree planter for days, back ached, covered in pollen, loved it.
The Forestry agent said that the trench left by the tree planter allowed water to reach the roots of the new trees. I do have a PHD but prefer the trencher. Just my $0.02

Jim
 
 
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