Planting woodland - heavy going!

[spandit]

Didn't realise how much work would be involved in planting the 1,500 trees that arrived this week. Been working pretty much solidly, with volunteers and paid youths and we've still got nearly 700 left to plant...

Did this lot this morning. That's 90 standards and about 50 shrubs. Hoping to knock the numbers down a bit tomorrow but reckon I'll still be planting well into next week...

 

[Toddy]

Sterling effort there

M

 

[widu13]

Not the Scottish pound or Euro?

I'll see if I can get over with the kids for a few hours tomorrow Spanders.

 

[Toddy]

We're not quite sure what Mr Salmond has in mind for the siller merks and bawbees maybe ? but I did wonder about Euros

Spandit, that lot must have cost a small fortune to acquire. Is there funding for this kind of thing ?

cheers,
Toddy

 

[British Red]

Nice going Spandit! You might want to think of killing off all the grass around the base of the trees - but with 1500, I'd be tempted to let them take their chances

Give us a list of what you are planting then?

 

[spandit]

I'm planting:

alder
aspen
beech
blackthorn
cherry
crab apple
field maple
hawthorn
hazel
hornbeam
oak
Scots pine
spindle

I got them through the Woodland Trust MOREwoods scheme, which is essentially a 60% discount so the trees/shrubs with shelters/canes etc. are costing about a grand, considering each 1.2m tube is about £1.20 that's not bad

Didn't want to spray glyphosate (environmental considerations aside, it's been so windy & wet I don't think it would have done a lot) so using weed membrane individually - that was another £200 or so and will take weeks to "tuck in" round each plant - I'm then hoping to mulch over the top but not for a while

Widu13 - any help greatly appreciated but I've got to go out after lunch for the rest of the afternoon.

 

[greensurfingbear]

Great work that. Very satisfying planting trees. You T slit planting them or have you had folk digging holes? We planted about 100 hedgerow trees last week with volunteers most time consuming part is the stake and tubes lol. Hope your vols. managed to put the tubes on right way around. Even after telling mine umpteen times I still ha to turn a dozen or so lol


Orric

 

[spandit]

We're slit planting - spade in, tree in down the back then tread in. Know what you mean about the guards - had to redo quite a few! Even found one that had managed to leave the tree outside...

 

[THOaken]

Great work. I remember planting oak, scots pine and hawthorn using the T slit method early 2013.

 

[British Red]

I'm planting:

alder
aspen
beech
blackthorn
cherry
crab apple
field maple
hawthorn
hazel
hornbeam
oak
Scots pine
spindle

I got them through the Woodland Trust MOREwoods scheme, which is essentially a 60% discount so the trees/shrubs with shelters/canes etc. are costing about a grand, considering each 1.2m tube is about £1.20 that's not bad

Didn't want to spray glyphosate (environmental considerations aside, it's been so windy & wet I don't think it would have done a lot) so using weed membrane individually - that was another £200 or so and will take weeks to "tuck in" round each plant - I'm then hoping to mulch over the top but not for a while

Widu13 - any help greatly appreciated but I've got to go out after lunch for the rest of the afternoon.

I predict you cursing blackthorn in a few years !

Nothing to stop you buying some other species to dot in over the next few years - I've had great fun with that

 

[Toddy]

Nice selection That's going to be a beautiful woodland, and so rich in biodiversity too
I know it's a huge effort, but what a lovely thing to watch grow, and to see it develop and thrive. Lot of hope for the future there

cheers,
Mary

 

[spandit]

I predict you cursing blackthorn in a few years !

Nothing to stop you buying some other species to dot in over the next few years - I've had great fun with that

The blackthorn is all planted in a single hedge right in the top corner - I'm expecting it to spread.

Did another 100 this morning but got to go out now...

 

[British Red]

Very neat

The blackthorn will spread indeed - so long as you can run a topper or some other kind of mower along the edge of the hedge, it'll be fine. It can sucker thuggishly though - I have one hedge that does

 

[spandit]

It's on the boundary between us and a neighbour we don't like (long story) so the more it suckers the better! Sloe gin needs a few anyway

 

[greenshooots]

1,500 trees that arrived this week

.

mornings work especially slit planting the time consumming bit will be the staking and tyinng ...

greenshoots

 

[spandit]

Thing is, if I don't stake/tube as we're planting, we'll lose track of what's gone in and it risks the danger of being eaten by something

 

[Kong]

Didn't realise how much work would be involved in planting the 1,500 trees that arrived this week. Been working pretty much solidly, with volunteers and paid youths and we've still got nearly 700 left to plant...

Did this lot this morning. That's 90 standards and about 50 shrubs. Hoping to knock the numbers down a bit tomorrow but reckon I'll still be planting well into next week...

Very good I have nearly finished plant ing 6000 trees for a hedge line hazel quickthorn blackthorn holly alder maple dogrose it has been hard going in the bad weather but is look ing good and neat and tidy now I have got a nother big hedge to lay be fore March

 

[spandit]

How long have you been working on planting those? I reckon I could plant 300 hedging plants in a day at a push. Can you post pictures?

 

[Goatboy]

Good going Spandit, nice to see that. Takes me back to planting though we did it on an industrial scale more often than not. (We did do plantings like yours and I enjoyed that more). But we were mainly planting conifers for timber. Usually did about 1'800 a day. At times we had a squad of 15 guys all doing that so 27'000 trees a day covered a fair swathe of hill and moor. Strange going back to those areas now a quarter of a century later and seeing how the landscape and ecosystem has changed.
Nice neat job you've done. Just be careful as the ground looks pretty soggy, I've seen tubes fill with water on ground like that and kill the tree.
Be good if you can update us in the future as to survival rates and how the area is looking.
Cheers for posting.
GB.

 

[Melonfish]

Cracking!
are you trying to link woodland or just create it?
did you get the photodegrading guards also? otherwise you may find you'll have to come in again in a couple of years to remove all the old guards.
those pesky wabbits don't half like young tree's though.
Pete