Tree Farm

[Rch]

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=implement&Number=44160&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1> tree planter</A>
I 've planted about 60,000 trees on 50 acres over the last 14 years. Here is my tree planting rig; currently I'm down to 2-3000 every spring. I also had a post about the same time about a sprayer I use that I'll have to see if Iif I can revive( the photos get deleted from an off-site because TBN was temporalily not loading photos)

 

[Rch]

Tree planting of seedlings is an eight month project and most people don't realize the preparation needed for a good outcome. Ideally, in September ( this is for central Wisconsin) I like a hay field that's been cut short. In May, I spray with Round-up just as the clover/timothy is starting to take off ( you need a growing green plant for Round-up to work) but not so tall that a Round-up laden plant touches a newly planted green conifer seedling and kills it( with decidous "whips" that's not a problem). I usually spray 4 to 24 hours prior to planting- they reccomend spraying 7 to 10 DAYS before planting but I find that impracticle unless I'm planting into tall vegetation. I tried fall plowing but it's hard to get in the field early May because of poor footing and get the seedlings started at the front-end of that all important first season. One year I hit everything right only to have a more late appearing weed(morning glorys) choke out the trees. There are sprays that can be sprayed over the top but by planting a mix of conifers and decidous that precludes that.
You have to line up your trees in the Fall for spring delivery. Generally, you want the biggest seedlings you can get( 2 year transplants decidous, 3 year transplants conifers). If you buy from a private nursery you got to make sure they are able to come up with the species and AGE of the seedling you want- they have catalogs that look great but can't deliver in the spring. A 1 yr red oak seedling is going to do poorly compared to a 2 yr transplant and it's just as much work for you ! Trees from the state nurseries, especially if you get into various assistence programs have restrictions about not reselling them or not developing the land they're on. Some paper companies sell seedlings ( Trees for Tomorrows, Eagle River WI) that come in a styrofoam container with cells about the size of a test tube and several hundred can be in a block of styrofoam 20 x20". The are handy to store as they have holes in the bottom and can be set in a shallow pan of water for weeks if necessary. They,however, are only 1 yr seedlings and I've had poor survival out in the field. I would reccomend these only for landscapings projects that lend themselves to ongoing watering and weed control for 2 or 3 yrs. Also I've seen these containter plants 1/2 out of the ground the next spring as the ground thaws- they have an artificial soil with peet and vermiculite and literally float out of the ground with surface water. Bare root stock doesn't do that. Wali Nursery, Hayward WI has a special every year of 100 trees such as various spruce/pines that are 5 year transplants.(www.walinursery.com or 800 367 9254, Jack & Sue Peterson) that are ~ $250 depending on variety. These are cold-hardy stock and ideal for establishing wind/ sight breaks. You have to order now for Spring.
The big unknown re tree planting is the weather. A local cheese plant has a big drive-in cooler and has stored the seedlings for up to 2 weeks until I can get in the field. Sometimes, the decidous trees will leaf out and a late frost will hit. Some will recover, some won't. A dry July/ Aug is hard on newly planted seedlings since they have little drought resistance. One year, after planting, it turned cold and rainy for 3 weeks and they never took off. Every year is somewhat of a crap shoot. Landscape trees close to a H2O hose and weed control measurer are a more sure thing There is a saying; if you want to be happy for a year plant a garden, if you want to be happy for a life time, plant trees. I believe it. Besides there is all that equipment and tractor time, and those trees look better every year.
See " Tree Planter" pictures above

 

[tbarber]

I would like to thank everyone for their responses. I had no idea that there were so many tree farmers out there. What would you recomend as the minimum amount of acreage? X-mas trees would be good for only one month, what would you suggest for planting for the other 11 months and still be profitable?

 

[MossRoad]

Nice pics. The planter that my forester used was similar, except the seat was at the top of the U and faced backwards, there were holding racks on both sides, there was a spray tank on the front of the tractor with hoses that ran to nozzles that were set behind the press down wheels and it sprayed continuously, which left about a 1 foot path of dead everything except the trees. The field looked striped for the first year. One other neat feature was a little button next to the planter operator that blew a horn next to the driver. If he needed to stop, beep beep. They planted about 2150 trees in 6 hours, with 2 more hours gathering water from the creek, mixing chemicals and sorting the trees. All done with a rather small ford diesel 4WD tractor. Nice setup.

 

[PaulT]

Tom,

We bought the property in 1996. We have just over 10 acres, with about 5 of them covered with what were x-mas trees. We are the 3rd owners. The first owner planted most of the trees several years earlier. My guess is that they were initially planted 7-9 years before we bought it. The trees are a mix of Norway Spruce, Blue Spruce and Scotch Pine, with a handful of Douglas and Fraser Firs scattered throughout. These Firs have been "spot" planted in sparse/harvested areas by the second owner. Now I have many large trees that are not suitable for x-mas, and cannot be used for state landscape projects (due to trimming), and are cost prohibitive to use in quantity for landscape resale. I have begun cutting them down and burning them/w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif. If I were just starting out (or starting over), these are the main points I would consider:

Choose trees that sell well in the local nurseries/Lowes at Christmas. Preference in tree species is VERY regional, and also tends to shift over time. Here, the Doug/Fraser Firs sell best, since they have soft needles. Unfortunately, deer love these best selling trees because they have soft needles. It is not unusual to loose 95-99% of first year plantings to deer. They prefer young fir trees over just about everything else, year round.

Choose trees that are more "deer hardy". Spruces are also a popular seller since they have a great smell and retain needles well. Deer don't like to eat them because the needles are very sharp. They also have a natural pyramid shape, and sell well even if not trimmed (i.e. low maintenance)

Plant 2 species to meet more preferences.

I would not recommend investing the energy on anything less than 3 year seedlings, unless you have the experience and conditions of a real tree nursery. Do not plant different age seedlings in order to stagger your harvest. It is better to stagger planting areas each year. Also once the seedlings are planted, they grow at different rates. Some will grow rapidly and be harvestable in 4 years, while others won't even reach 5 feet in 8 years. Yes, the majority of them will mature within 2 years of each other, but like people, they all grow somewhat differently.

Better yet, plant 1 or 1.5 acres each year. By rotating these lots, you can stagger the harvest more effectively.

If you are planning on trimming them yourself, and you have a day job, I would recommend that you keep your crop relatively small, as it is VERY hard work to trim more than a few trees at a time.

For a hobby farmer, I would recommend half-acre lots staggered over 4 years, for a total of 2 acres of trees. This is a size that would be comfortable for me, since I really only set out the cut your own sign on weekends during Advent. Any more trees than that, and I would have the same problem I have now - a growing forest that threatens to block my view of the valley below.

I plan to expand my blueberries and add grapes. That way I have some cash crops that have different seasons of work effort. By far, the hardest thing in front of me is clearing the land of the overgrown trees to make way for vines and berries.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I have a few rows of noble firs along the Southern edge of my property.
There are so many deer around here that they are too hungry to run
away from you during the hot summer, and one of the few things they
leave alone is the noble firs. I don't know much about trees, but these
are very beautiful. They are mabye 40' tall now, and they make an
excellent hedge. Also the needles have fallen off of the bottom limbs,
so the deer and I think bear like to hide out in there. It's nice and cool
to walk around under them, and there's no brush because the ground
is covered in needles. I know this isn't what you want, I'm just pointing
out that worse things could happen than abandoning an Xmas tree grove.