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2012 Tree sales

hickslawns

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248
Ohio
I was intrigued by the seedling sale posted for Portage County by Buckmaster. I let my fingers do some google searching and was able to take advantage of our local County Soil and Water Conservation District sales. Looks like I am going to have a butt load of trees to plant this spring. Hundreds! Literally. Made the mistake of calling a buddy to see what he wanted to plant on his farm. Between the two of us, we dropped $750+. Looks like we have a busy weekend sometime this spring. White oaks, eastern white pine, Norway Spruce, Colorado blue spruce, Sugar Maples and probably a couple others I am forgetting. Some are for wildlife, others are for nursery stock, and some are for privacy. We both want to plant for the deer, but I just purchased a property and would like a bit of screening down the road too. I am not sure about the nursery stock. More of a hopeful purchase on my part. Might bring in some money down the road if these trees pan out. I would say the skid loaders with a 12" auger bit will be seeing a workout!
 

hickslawns

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39,721
248
Ohio
Nope. Outside of white/red oaks, nothing to draw in the deer. I was hoping for some apple, pear, or persimmons so we could do some canning AND the deer would benefit. No dice though. I checked Allen and Auglaize counties.
 

Milo

Tatonka guide.
8,184
157
Hicks when you guys do the volume that you do , you need to contact some landscaping people. they can get stuff for stupid low prices. I mean 6 foot pine trees for like 75 installed.
 

hickslawns

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39,721
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Ohio
Hicks when you guys do the volume that you do , you need to contact some landscaping people. they can get stuff for stupid low prices. I mean 6 foot pine trees for like 75 installed.

Yes. That would be stupid cheap unless you are doing hundreds at a time. We are setup as vendors with several wholesale only vendors Milo. The reason we went with this volume is because we have time on our side. We are estimating conservatively low survival rates. If 1/3 survive we will be happy. Hopefully we will have higher success rates though. 50% would be awesome. We have access to water. I have a pump setup which can draft out of the pond. I also have several 500gal tanks we can fill, and use to water if needed this summer. Throw it on a flatbed truck and plumb it in with a basic ball valve necked down to a garden hose or even old fire house to water.

Our plans for planting are pretty open as well. I can run the tractor down the rows with the 5' tiller and plant them this way. Most likely though, we will use the 12" auger bit on a skid loader. One guy in the loader, one guy driving the truck. One guy throwing a shovel full or compost in each hole. One guy dropping the tree in the hole and backfilling. Given this method, I should be able to plant 3-500 trees in a morning. It pays to have the equipment and manpower to do it efficiently. If we do it this way, I think I could probably have all the trees in the ground for $2-300 labor.
 

Huckleberry Finn

Senior Member
15,973
135
What size starters are these that you're hoping for 1/3 survival rate out of ?

Drilling 300 holes with a 12 inch auger in a morning? Hole lee shit.

Let us know how this turns out! Sounds like you need to take a trip to home depot and find some ... help.
 

Milo

Tatonka guide.
8,184
157
Yes. That would be stupid cheap unless you are doing hundreds at a time. We are setup as vendors with several wholesale only vendors Milo. The reason we went with this volume is because we have time on our side. We are estimating conservatively low survival rates. If 1/3 survive we will be happy. Hopefully we will have higher success rates though. 50% would be awesome. We have access to water. I have a pump setup which can draft out of the pond. I also have several 500gal tanks we can fill, and use to water if needed this summer. Throw it on a flatbed truck and plumb it in with a basic ball valve necked down to a garden hose or even old fire house to water.

Our plans for planting are pretty open as well. I can run the tractor down the rows with the 5' tiller and plant them this way. Most likely though, we will use the 12" auger bit on a skid loader. One guy in the loader, one guy driving the truck. One guy throwing a shovel full or compost in each hole. One guy dropping the tree in the hole and backfilling. Given this method, I should be able to plant 3-500 trees in a morning. It pays to have the equipment and manpower to do it efficiently. If we do it this way, I think I could probably have all the trees in the ground for $2-300 labor.

How big of trees are you actually getting that you need a 12 inch hole? Most of the trees that come from these places only require a tree dibble to heel them in they are that small.
 

Huckleberry Finn

Senior Member
15,973
135
How big of trees are you actually getting that you need a 12 inch hole? Most of the trees that come from these places only require a tree dibble to heel them in they are that small.

And trees that small don't have 1/3 survival rates.
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
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39,721
248
Ohio
Some of these are simply seedlings. Others are transplants which are 5-6yrs old. Even the 5-6yr old trees will be 2' tall max. You are correct though. 12" auger is overkill. However, I feel given the fact some of this ground has not been worked, opening up a hole 12" around by 12" deep, with a shovel of compost, followed up by a dose of 6-24-24 fertilizer will give them the best odds of survival. On a smaller scale, we could probably get away with a few cordless drills and auger out a 4" hole, plop them in the ground and roll. I am willing to spend a little more time and fuel and give them a better chance though.
 

Jackalope

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38,841
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Some of these are simply seedlings. Others are transplants which are 5-6yrs old. Even the 5-6yr old trees will be 2' tall max. You are correct though. 12" auger is overkill. However, I feel given the fact some of this ground has not been worked, opening up a hole 12" around by 12" deep, with a shovel of compost, followed up by a dose of 6-24-24 fertilizer will give them the best odds of survival. On a smaller scale, we could probably get away with a few cordless drills and auger out a 4" hole, plop them in the ground and roll. I am willing to spend a little more time and fuel and give them a better chance though.

When planting trees you really shouldn't make a large hole and back fill with fertilized dirt. The roots will try to stay in the dug hole and use the good dirt instead of spreading out their root system. Basically the same thing as a potted plant will do.
 

hickslawns

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39,721
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Ohio
When planting trees you really shouldn't make a large hole and back fill with fertilized dirt. The roots will try to stay in the dug hole and use the good dirt instead of spreading out their root system. Basically the same thing as a potted plant will do.

Given this thought process, if I dig a 4" hole, then the roots will stay in the 4" hole? Maybe I am not following.

I do know I want the roots to grow. I want to establish these trees. Larger hole with dirt worked up will enable the roots to spread out without using as much of their energy to break through the hard (not worked up) soil. Compost in the bottom. Backfill. Throw some granular 6-24-24 and it will be a slow release fertilizer which they receive as it rains. If I am missing something, let me know. I have planted plenty of trees. I won't lie to you though. I have not messed with a ton of seedling sized trees.
 

Beentown

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Sunbury, OH
Spikes around the canopy. As it gets older the spikes start moving back with the canopy which encourages the roots to spread.
 

swantucky

The Crew
1,594
122
Swanton, Ohio
I would guess 1/3 survival if you have good weather. I have planted maybe 1000 over the years. I use either a bulb planter or an ice spud to open a hole, then I stomp them in. I always plant extras to replace what dies.

Lucas county is offering paw paw and some other fruit trees this year.
 

jagermeister

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18,060
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Ohio
I think the auger is a bit of a waste of time here, Phil. Maybe it'll work alright for transplants, but the seedlings aren't going to need a big hole. You could probably plant them twice as fast with the dibble than you could with the auger.
 

Beentown

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
15,740
154
Sunbury, OH
I would guess 1/3 survival if you have good weather. I have planted maybe 1000 over the years. I use either a bulb planter or an ice spud to open a hole, then I stomp them in. I always plant extras to replace what dies.

Lucas county is offering paw paw and some other fruit trees this year.

I would like some paw-paws...how much?
 

swantucky

The Crew
1,594
122
Swanton, Ohio
I would like some paw-paws...how much?

5-12"-18" seedling for $8. Kinda pricy but I'll probably raise 3 of them in a onion sack just covered over or in a pot where I can water them and put them in the woods in a couple years. Hunter and I moved maybe 10 of differing species around the food plot this winter before the ground got hard. Burying them in a onion sack makes them pretty easy to pop out and transplant.