Planted oaks today.., TSC county line auger is awesome...

[Whitbread]

Tme to make some changes to the house or furnace then.

The only change somewhat easily possible would be putting newer windows in that are more energy efficient than the current 20 year old windows. The furnace is a high efficiency natural gas unit that's only 8 years old. I'd love a heat pump system, but I can cut A LOT of wood for the cost of one. The indoor boiler in the shop heats the dhw and the exchanger in the furnace plenum to heat the house.

The house and shop are both r19 walls with r30 ceilings. The issue simply the mass I'm heating in a cold climate (had an entire month of below 0F last winter). The house is 4100sqft with 14ft peaked ceilings on main floor, finished basement, 28 windows total, and 2 sliding doorwalls. The shop is 35x50 but it's 3 levels and 36ft at the peak. I keep the building heated (via in floor) full time as it's my business. So considering my heated volume and climate, I don't think 20-22 cords per 5-6 month heating season is that bad at all.

 

[Cavjock22]

OP:
going back to your original post, yes the PHD is a convenient way to plant small trees, esp bare root. before the roots spread laterally, i recommend drilling holes about 12" (maybe more it they are container grown) around the circumference of each tree. maybe work some nutrient or compost etc in as well.
this will greatly promote lateral root growth, and improve moisture retention. not a big task looking at your images. Your soil looks like hard pan.
Hopefully, you will be able to irrigate.

also, this spiral wrap will prevent buck rubs, very destructive @ this time of year i put them on late Aug- late April (in my area)
best of luck
Spiral Tree Guards | Spiral Tree Wrap | Tree Bark Protectors

Big Bubba
Are you saying to drill more holes around the tree at 12 away? Would you recommend potting soil or just good top soil? Yes, I added a drip irrigation system since this is a weekend home. Normally only get there one long weekend a month.

 

[mcfarmall]

What gets me is that some people have dirt under their feet instead of rock.

According to a professional geologist friend of mine, bedrock is about 650 feet under my feet in SW Michigan. You hit blowsand or fine gravel at 12".

 

[mapper]

Used a PTO post hole auger for the first time a couple of weeks ago. My clay soil was so dry that it would not feed very well at all. My neighbor helped out with his B2310 using his loader to apply a bit of down force, worked well was able to dig 3' holes easily. One area where there was a bit of soil moisture the auger worked ok.

 

[stuckmotor]

My County Line auger penetrates the ground well.

 

[EddieWalker]

Used a PTO post hole auger for the first time a couple of weeks ago. My clay soil was so dry that it would not feed very well at all. My neighbor helped out with his B2310 using his loader to apply a bit of down force, worked well was able to dig 3' holes easily. One area where there was a bit of soil moisture the auger worked ok.

I had two different augers before getting a Country Line from Tractor Supply, and there is a huge difference in how quickly and easily the Country Line auger digs compared to the other brands. It's like living with a butter knife, and then all of a sudden discovering the steak knife!!!!

 

[mapper]

I had two different augers before getting a Country Line from Tractor Supply, and there is a huge difference in how quickly and easily the Country Line auger digs compared to the other brands. It's like living with a butter knife, and then all of a sudden discovering the steak knife!!!!

This one is free, it's an old john Deere. May look into getting a second auger, the one I have is 12", great for planting trees but a bit big for fence posts. Found it takes about 1/6 yard of gravel for a 3' hole to backfill, that can get a bit spendy if you have a bunch to do. Would have to check if a county line auger would fit.....

 

[DingDangKid]

According to a professional geologist friend of mine, bedrock is about 650 feet under my feet in SW Michigan. You hit blowsand or fine gravel at 12".

Must be nice, this is just a few hours from my doorstep in PA. This is from a breakdown of bedrock, not a glacier dump.

Around here it's very easy to find original property lines because they are lined with rock walls.