Planting pine trees after timber harvest in South Carolina

[HCJtractor]

The stumps are numerous. No way to do anything about them without spending more than we made on timber sales. And who cares? The pine stumps will rot in several years anyway. It's hunting land, not a pasture. And of course, there's no way to drive any vehicle across it, except a dozer or tank! So any planting will be done by hand. My understanding, the bare root seedlings require no dug hole, just a planting dibble. So I envision a crew walking across, and punching holes, inserting the seeding and moving on.

So using a tractor is not possible. Long ago, I did use one of the three point hitch planters. I sat on it facing rearwards and my dad drove slowly in a line. I planted zillions. I could plant one every 30 seconds if my memory is good. But it was across a pasture, not a clear cut. Didn't rain for months. Every one looked dead and brown. But amazingly, I think almost all lived. They are 30 feet tall now.

Anyone ever had a crew plant an area by hand? I know I can buy the seedlings from the State fairly cheap. Guess I need cheap labor!

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[HCJtractor]

We planted 18 acres in pines in 2013. I contacted the GA Forestry agent for my county. I knew absolutely nothing about the proper techniques. My agent shared all the proper techniques for preparing the site and the sequence for preparing to plant. He also came by periodically to check on the progress of the preparations. I was most impressed by the grants he found for me paid by various agencies and companies. We did the preparation ourselves and the planting. I rented a planter from the Forestry Commission and called my son and two sons-in-law to participate in a three day working party. It turned out to be only two days and we planted 11,000 seedlings. End Result when the grant money came in I spent $345 out of pocket. I recommend contacting the Forestry commission first.

Good info. I guess you used a mechanical planter? So I assume you could drive cross it. Unfortunately, I don't see being able to do that.

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[smstonypoint]

The latest issue (September/October 2015) of Forest Landowner magazine has a report detailing the results of a survey of the costs of various forestry practices in the South in 2014.

The average cost (exclusive of seedlings) for hand planting on cutover land (all pine) was $37.17. The average cost/seedling was $0.081 and the overall average seedlings/acre was 462.

The average cost (exclusive of seedlings) for hand planting on cutover land was $86.22. The average cost/seedling was $0.154/acre and the overall average seedlings/acre was 542.

Steve

 

[boggen]

can you get a 4 wheeler / atv / utv into the areas? perhaps something out there in trailer form you could pull. *shrugs*

==============
worked on a 4 feet deep by 2 to 3 feet wide ditch through one shed. dug it by hand. the area had been used to store hay / straw square bails for years. rock was mixed in and pushed down into the dirt over the years.

i found a little gadget. that you place on a shovel. "creates a bigger step to place foot on" vs the little narrow end of metal of the shovel. it saved my foot. working 1/2" to 2" deep at a time. it was a hard plastic and yellow. i done broke the shovel and the gadget. from wear tear or perhaps it was trying to pry a smaller rock out (very possible). but it lasted for a good length of time. and overall was not that heavy. so i was not wearing out lifting up the extra weight with each shovel full of dirt. i did have to tighten a couple bolts/nuts used for a clamp to hold it onto shovel a few times.

*shrugs* cost of a few shovels and the little step gadget... and be able to walk afterwards...

EDIT: Dig Rig-Shovel Attachment coming up kinda dry on google searches. one had had a wider stepping area. with a muffler like clamp to hold it on to the shovel.

 

[hutchman]

We planted 18 acres in pines in 2013. I contacted the GA Forestry agent for my county. I knew absolutely nothing about the proper techniques. My agent shared all the proper techniques for preparing the site and the sequence for preparing to plant. He also came by periodically to check on the progress of the preparations. I was most impressed by the grants he found for me paid by various agencies and companies. We did the preparation ourselves and the planting. I rented a planter from the Forestry Commission and called my son and two sons-in-law to participate in a three day working party. It turned out to be only two days and we planted 11,000 seedlings. End Result when the grant money came in I spent $345 out of pocket. I recommend contacting the Forestry commission first.

I think my bill was around $1,200 (that's for the Elite seedlings plus the replant crew ... plus you can claim on your taxes) for 17 acres 9x10 foot spacing and after the county paid me back their portion from cost share program I think that cut the bill about in half. I did not plant the trees or even lift a finger. A crew of professional tree planters came in and planted the entire place in like 2-1/2 hrs! I think it was 12-14 guys. They said they would plant several tracts my size in a day. The owner of the planting company (there is a list of state forestry approved planters) said they usually plant much larger tracts. I couldn't believe how fast they did it and thought he was pulling my leg so I asked my forester and he said he is present when they are doing the planting and said that when he calls and notifies the land owner that the planters are starting the land owner often drops by to check out the progress and the planters are usually done and gone by the time they show up! It's a pretty impressive operation to watch ... those guys are efficient!

 

[smstonypoint]

*shrugs* cost of a few shovels and the little step gadget... and be able to walk afterwards...

EDIT: Dig Rig-Shovel Attachment coming up kinda dry on google searches. one had had a wider stepping area. with a muffler like clamp to hold it on to the shovel.

?????

There are two specialized tools for planting bare root seedlings -- a dibble
and a hoe dad .

I guess the choice is one of personal preference, but all of the crew members that planted my tract in March used hoe dads.

I couldn't believe how fast they did it and thought he was pulling my leg so I asked my forester and he said he is present when they are doing the planting and said that when he calls and notifies the land owner that the planters are starting the land owner often drops by to check out the progress and the planters are usually done and gone by the time they show up! It's a pretty impressive operation to watch ... those guys are efficient!

Absolutely. Unless the OP is a glutton for punishment and has a lot of time on his hands, hiring out the hand planting of 70 acres is the way to go.

Steve

 

[HCJtractor]

Very good info!! Thanks guys. I will contact my state forestry department. Looks like I have all winter to get this planned and completed.

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[hutchman]

Very good info!! Thanks guys. I will contact my state forestry department. Looks like I have all winter to get this planned and completed.

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Around here they usually do the replant in the spring.

 

[rebelback]

I would check with my local NRCS office and look into the EQIP cost sharing program or another similar program. You can also check with your county forester to have a reforestation plan drawn up for you. If you plan to replant in pines I would burn it off about this time of year and replant in February or so. You have to have seedlings in the ground before Spring.

They will most likely hand plant them, but they do make large equipment to drive over clear cuts now and replant. It leaves ugly hills similar to a row crop field out in it from there on out, though.

 

[newbury]

I've lectured about this before but will do it again.

The times they are a changin.

There is some Fed effort for "certified forests".

What it boils down to is that the big box stores are encouraged to buy lumber that comes from "certified forests". So if you've got 100 acres of timber and a neighbor has 100 acres of the same type timber and it's "certified" his may sell first or for more.

There's a thread on it here : american-tree-farm-certification.

Real easy, real cheap, just gets you into the que. It seems you can basically write, or your State Forester will write for free, whatever management plan you want.