Digging holes with FEL?

[npaden]

It was probably a year or so ago but someone posted on digging holes for trees with their FEL. They described how they did it and dug some nice 5' square holes to plant some larger trees in. I've searched high and low and can't seem to find the thread.

I have a toothbar on my FEL and I think it shouldn't be that difficult, but I remember the guy had several tips and tricks to dig a nice clean hole and I was hoping to read it again before trying it.

I have access to as many 8' tall 3" diameter apple trees as I can handle digging up. I'm thinking they will end up with about a 30" diameter root ball so the 60" square hole will actually be about the right size for them.

Now I just have to figure out how to dig them up without a backhoe or a tree spade!

Anyone remember that thread?

Thanks, Nathan

 

[npaden]

Also, has anyone tried one of these root cutter shovels?

TBF Root Cutter on Ebay

They look pretty good but $100 for a shovel seems pretty expensive.

 

[DuaneW]

I beleive this is the post you are talking about

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/107735-using-loader-dig-holes-trees.html



DuaneW.

 

[npaden]

Yep! I was going to ask how you found it so quickly (I looked last night using the search function for at least an hour) but then I noticed you were the author of the post!

Thanks!

 

[npaden]

I think I've found the method that I'm going to use to dig the trees up. I called the guy who has put in my last 2 septic systems and he is a very good backhoe operator. I asked how much to dig the trees and he said $75/hr with a 2 hour minimum. He also has a 36" bucket he can use which would be perfect for the trees I'm getting.

He said he could dig the trees and put them on my trailer in under 5 minutes per tree easily so I'm trying to line up as many flat bed trailers as I can find to put the trees on and going to have him dig as many as he can in 2 hours. I have access to 2 - 16' 7,000lb trailers and 1 - 12' - 3,000lb trailer right now, but with a 3' root ball I'm only going to be able to fit a dozen trees on a 16' trailer plus at least 6 on the 12' trailer so that means I might need to find another trailer.

I figure he can do 15 - 20 trees per hour so I need to start digging some holes!!! At 30 trees the cost comes out to $5 per tree for him to dig them, at 40 trees it would be under $4 per tree.

I wonder how long it will take me to dig a hole with my FEL? Looks like I've got some seat time ahead of me!

 

[ctpres]

Havn't tried this yet but I have idea to outline hole with phd and maybe some holes inside depending on size. Waiting for a couple 55 gal plastic drums to bury for dumping water system brine flush, sort of a mini septic system. Will let y'all know how it works.

 

[npaden]

Well I dug a test hole tonight and it went REALLY smooth. Took less than 5 minutes with the toothbar. Ended up taking 2 cuts at it from one direction, switched to the other direction and took 3 cuts at it, then did a final cut from the original direction. Ended up with a hole about 20" deep and 60" square.

I think I should be able to get 30 holes dug in a couple hours. Now I need to figure out how far apart to dig them.

 

[drtydeed]

I wonder how long it will take me to dig a hole with my FEL? Looks like I've got some seat time ahead of me!

Npaden,

If you're doing that many trees, do yourself a favor and rent a dingo. You can dig 40 holes with a 30-36" auger in 2 hrs. You can even get them with a tapered bit, that way if you drop the tree in the hole it actually stands upright. Not sure what your soil conditions are like, but these little machines work so much better than a tractor mounted phd because you can put lots of down pressure on them. They grind the soil and also deposit it around the perimeter of the hole (you can't do that with an FEL very effeciently. Believe me...I do lots of trees, and when I have a large job to do, I just rent a dingo (and yes, I have a small backhoe).

 

[DuaneW]

Well I dug a test hole tonight and it went REALLY smooth. Took less than 5 minutes with the toothbar. Ended up taking 2 cuts at it from one direction, switched to the other direction and took 3 cuts at it, then did a final cut from the original direction. Ended up with a hole about 20" deep and 60" square.

I think I should be able to get 30 holes dug in a couple hours. Now I need to figure out how far apart to dig them.

Glad it is working out for you, took me awhile because I DONT have a tooth bar and we where in the middle of a drought... so ground was VERY hard. You also have heavier equipment another plus. Good luck with the trees.

DuaneW.

 

[Aquaman]

Well I dug a test hole tonight and it went REALLY smooth. Took less than 5 minutes with the toothbar. Ended up taking 2 cuts at it from one direction, switched to the other direction and took 3 cuts at it, then did a final cut from the original direction. Ended up with a hole about 20" deep and 60" square.

Sounds like I need to get a tooth bar. No way my smooth bucket would work that fast and easy.