# Seedling Planting Tool



## Log Man (Feb 16, 2012)

What is the best seedling planting tool?

I have 10.5 acres to plant in Dec. 2012 - Treated Pine Seedlings.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## madhatte (Feb 16, 2012)

This oughta get you started.


----------



## forestryworks (Feb 16, 2012)

I like the dibble bar myself.


----------



## madhatte (Feb 16, 2012)

I'm partial to the long narrow shovel... mainly because that's what the crews around here use, so it's what I inspect with. That's only a few weeks off, by the by, and I'm kind of dreading it. Don't like getting up an extra hour early.


----------



## Log Man (Feb 16, 2012)

*Up Early*



madhatte said:


> I'm partial to the long narrow shovel... mainly because that's what the crews around here use, so it's what I inspect with. That's only a few weeks off, by the by, and I'm kind of dreading it. Don't like getting up an extra hour early.



I know the up early part. For several years I taught on site classes at company's for their third shift people (Maintenance). Up at 4:00 am - travel - classes started at 6:00 am - the hardest part was keeping the employees awake before they got off at 7:00 am.


----------



## slowp (Feb 16, 2012)

WHAT!!! Nobody mentioned the classic, old school, wonderful HOEDAD? 

Design Your Own Hoedad With These Forestry Suppliers Quality Parts!

I bought one at the swap meet and I used it to plant blueberries with the other day. Yup, I can still swing it and hit a rock. 

Just remember...brown side down, green side up...I think I have that right.


----------



## madhatte (Feb 16, 2012)

We have maybe 50 hoedads in the warehouse from who-knows-when. Haven't seen one used in at least 15 years.


----------



## floyd (Feb 17, 2012)

Treated? Age? plugs ? An auger makes a nice hole for a plug.

Hoedads are for ground one can reach out & touch.

This numbass over by Kirkland wanted us to go up & down 70% ground. He looked straight out of forestry school.

I was not fast. maybe 400-500/day so I would stay back & straighten out the line. He thought I needed to be with the speed freaks.

I dint last long on that crew.


----------



## madhatte (Feb 17, 2012)

floyd said:


> This numbass over by Kirkland wanted us to go up & down 70% ground. He looked straight out of forestry school.



I know the type. I've inspected for them before. Lot of unhappy planters. Reprod surveys a year later always tell the true tale.


----------



## slowp (Feb 17, 2012)

If planting behind and augur, look for an excellent planting/tamping stick. A round end is best.


----------



## floyd (Feb 17, 2012)

Back then I preferred the auger. We had scalpers, auger operators, & planters.

One of these days I need to see if I can find some of the ground I planted. I haven't planted much at home. Select cuts have encouraged natural seeding.


----------



## forestryworks (Feb 17, 2012)

I guess augering holes for seedlings depends on soil type?

Seems like it wouldn't work too good here in our clayey soils; roots could get bound in the augered hole.

I'm gonna experiment with bare root this year.


----------



## slowp (Feb 17, 2012)

All I remember, is that augurs broke down frequently and did not do well in the rocks. I did not run one. That was a job for the tall people. We had one guy on the crew who had a knack for repairing the saw heads. 
They were chainsaw augurs. We had better survival rates in the areas planted with augurs. We don't have clay in this part of the state. The volcanos have taken care of that issue.


----------



## floyd (Feb 17, 2012)

Work good in clay. Have to be careful tamping. Rocks can be bad if too big. Otherwise the auger spits them out.

Power unit was a chain saw.


----------



## lmbrman (Feb 26, 2012)

does the site necessitate hand planting? 

I see no machines mentioned, just curious- I hate hand planting more each year


----------



## Fuzly (Feb 26, 2012)

I have a real nice dibble bar that my Dad talked one of his Forest Service buddies out of years ago. Job Corps welding class made them real heavy duty. The weight helps the tool do the work and stand up to our numerous rocks. I've planted a few thousand with it.

As lmbrman mentioned, machines are often an overlooked option. DNR and several county forestry departments rent them at very reasonable rates in Wisconsin. You need access to a decent size tractor. Don't know the terrain or if that is an option in your area.


----------



## lmbrman (Feb 27, 2012)

about one day's work for this planting tool :msp_smile:


----------



## slowp (Feb 27, 2012)

I overlook machines because most of the ground I planted on, was about 2 or 3 feet away from my face which would be a little bit too steep for a machine. Steep ground is good. There's less bending over.


----------



## rwoods (Feb 27, 2012)

Log Man said:


> What is the best seedling planting tool?
> 
> I have 10.5 acres to plant in Dec. 2012 - Treated Pine Seedlings.
> 
> Thanks in advance.



Depends upon your terrain and soil conditions. If your terrain is level a machine planter will knock it out in a hurry. IME*: sandy soil - a light flat blade dibble; clay and/or rocky soil - a heavier pointed trianglar blade dibble. 

If you're careful about snakes and little hands, my father's approach worked well for him - he worked the dibble and I or one of my brothers placed and held the seedling. When we got stronger and heavier, he switched to pointing out where he wanted them, explained his required spacing and said "get to work."

Ron

*I have not planted seedlings in 30 years so there may be other options available today. But I do remember that the standard issue pointed triangular dibble was a lot heavier (and tiring) than the flat blade dibbles we used down in sandy Florida. But if you have a lot of clay or rocks, a flat blade won't work as well, and sometimes not at all.

PS It is good to see that you are planting "treated" pine seedlings as this should reduce our growing dependence upon pressure treated wood.


----------



## Log Man (Feb 27, 2012)

*Thanks For The Input*

A great *Thanks* to everyone.

I'm planting these trees for my grandchildren (about 75 more acres to do). I hope they will take care of the land!


----------



## lmbrman (Mar 14, 2012)

well the frost just came out around here and thought i would check back and see how your planting job looks-

got a few to plant myself and thinking of my family just like you, wife father and kid will be helping me

brown down


----------



## forestryworks (Mar 14, 2012)

Supposed to plant this week! Good timing too, lots of rain here in the last two months, enough to get us out of the drought on the drought monitor!

From the planting brochure...
_We use the Valentine, Nebraska seed source for Ponderosa Pine due to its resistance to Dothistroma needle blight and tolerance to pine tip moth._


----------



## madhatte (Mar 14, 2012)

lmbrman said:


>



Looks oddly familiar...


----------



## slowp (Mar 14, 2012)

lmbrman said:


> about one day's work for this planting tool :msp_smile:



I can't see it going through our slash. I experienced planting in light slash. I don't think it would do it, much less a logged unit in Hemlock and D-fir.


----------



## lmbrman (Mar 14, 2012)

slowp said:


> I can't see it going through our slash. I experienced planting in light slash. I don't think it would do it, much less a logged unit in Hemlock and D-fir.



- or your hills 

we used it to plant in christmas tree fields harvested the year prior, but that is nothing compared to logging slash. It has a 200# breaker just behind the coulter to break debris, but the coulter itself is vulnerable. It was a nice machine when my wife and I could ride together and hire a tractor driver and two people for sorting trees. Could actually sit upright on it and lean back like a recliner as there was a spacing chain that held the trees and released them in the trench, perfect spacing. We got to be a pretty good team. Paid for her school tuition and then some. Planting used to be a good job around here, with several locals guys planting half million a year with a few crews, but mostly open fields. I think it has mostly dried up.

Now she has a real job and the cost of hiring help scares me off. We sold that planter and have a small 'forester' tree planter that is slow and you hafta bend over, but it is simple and cost effective for the two of us to run on the weekends during planting season without hiring help. Kid will be old enough to ride the planter in a couple years, but can already sort trees and keep us supplied

edit/added: nursery is digging seedlings, but we will not be planting ourselves until april


----------



## q-tip jr (Mar 15, 2012)

*planting...*

in the late 1970's (God I'm a getting older) used to set Red pine (scotch) and white pine 2 year olds with something called a grub hoe, .06 cents a tree, after a thousand a day it was a time for refreshments! very sandy/ gravely soils in Maine and made it a little easier. This clay hear might not permit such a tool, I have heard of imported crews knocking out 20 or more acres a day with dibbles I would guess..


----------



## lmbrman (Mar 16, 2012)

q-tip jr said:


> in the late 1970's (God I'm a getting older) used to set Red pine (scotch) and white pine 2 year olds with something called a grub hoe, .06 cents a tree, after a thousand a day it was a time for refreshments! very sandy/ gravely soils in Maine and made it a little easier. This clay hear might not permit such a tool, I have heard of imported crews knocking out 20 or more acres a day with dibbles I would guess..



I have been lucky enough to mostly avoid hand planting, althought I do have a couple of those dibble bars around. Used them on our own land each year, but mostly underplanting whitepine, just a few hundred a year is all.

We have 7000 to plant in april equal mix of red/white pine, open ground, mowed last fall, 1/4 mile rows. Should be an easy one. Well, I might have jinxed that now-


----------



## lmbrman (May 9, 2012)

planting season is always hectic and this year was no exception. Weather did not co-operate, but we got the bulk done in early april. No pictures from that round- too hectic. Last weekend on saturday lmbrkid and i dug some balsam fir seedlings from our patch. I did little to cultivate these plants, but they are prolific seeders, and we have thousands in our yard from seed. The weather was perfect- like 45' in the am, cloudy, light rain the night before as well as heavy rain for three days after planting. Lmbrkid is not quite big enough to plant yet- arms are too short so lmbrwoman had to help plant.

here is the planter, the area past the tractor to the pines has already been planted to white and red pine, some black spruce







ready to plant, the rows continue close to the treeline


----------



## lmbrman (May 9, 2012)

couple more pics- the view from the planter:






and the results :


----------



## lmbrman (May 9, 2012)

later than we cared to plant balsam, but the price was right, and i want to encourage my daughter's interest in this

best picture (the box is from the previously planted pine and spruce) :


----------



## Samlock (May 18, 2012)

I did a two days planting job this week. It was the first of the season and may be the last too, so I took the liberty to make a clip of the tool we use here for planting smaller softwood seedling.

[video=youtube;biq-A2CI_Ns]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biq-A2CI_Ns&feature=youtu.be[/video]


----------



## slowp (May 18, 2012)

A blonde joke.

There were two blondes coming down the side of the road. One would dig like crazy with a shovel, then the other one would come along and fill in the hole. They were going fast, and working hard. 

A bystander asked them what they were doing. 

They answered that they were planting trees, but one of their crew, whose job it was to put the tree in the hole was sick that day......

Well, guess I'll go out and face the firewood.


----------



## hammerlogging (May 18, 2012)

your video made me very happy. 
Grinding chains tonight, as many as I can.


----------



## Humptulips (May 18, 2012)

That is one sweet looking rig to plant trees.


----------



## Samlock (May 21, 2012)

hammerlogging said:


> your video made me very happy.
> Grinding chains tonight, as many as I can.



Joe, guess what I'm up to tonight?

Started another job. Urban logging. They're going to make a residential area for 50-60 houses out of an industrial wasteland. My job is to make the tree stands look decent, or, alternatively, tolerable. Willows, Alders, Birches, mostly chipper quality. Cut, cut, #### (steel bar)... cut, cut, ##### (barb wire)... cut #### (lump of concrete). 

Ok, I'm from Guatemala. Or from any Stan of your choice. I don't care. Just let me back to do planting, please.


----------



## OlympicYJ (May 21, 2012)

lmbrman said:


> planting season is always hectic and this year was no exception. Weather did not co-operate, but we got the bulk done in early april. No pictures from that round- too hectic. Last weekend on saturday lmbrkid and i dug some balsam fir seedlings from our patch. I did little to cultivate these plants, but they are prolific seeders, and we have thousands in our yard from seed. The weather was perfect- like 45' in the am, cloudy, light rain the night before as well as heavy rain for three days after planting. Lmbrkid is not quite big enough to plant yet- arms are too short so lmbrwoman had to help plant.
> 
> here is the planter, the area past the tractor to the pines has already been planted to white and red pine, some black spruce
> 
> ...



How do you figure the spacing with that? does it have a wheel counter or something?


----------



## lmbrman (May 21, 2012)

OlympicYJ said:


> How do you figure the spacing with that? does it have a wheel counter or something?



drone of the diesel helps -

some guys mount a counter, we never needed one after the first million trees


----------



## OlympicYJ (May 22, 2012)

Samlock said:


> I did a two days planting job this week. It was the first of the season and may be the last too, so I took the liberty to make a clip of the tool we use here for planting smaller softwood seedling.
> 
> [video=youtube;biq-A2CI_Ns]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biq-A2CI_Ns&feature=youtu.be[/video]



How do you like usin that tube? Ive never seen that before for plugs. Everyone here just uses shovels. Any problems with air pockets and such?



lmbrman said:


> drone of the diesel helps -
> 
> some guys mount a counter, we never needed one after the first million trees



Haha yea after a while you can get into a rhythm lol


----------



## Samlock (May 24, 2012)

OlympicYJ said:


> How do you like usin that tube? Ive never seen that before for plugs. Everyone here just uses shovels. Any problems with air pockets and such?



First I must say, it's _really_ good for your back. And shoulders too. The only body part that gets sour with the tube planting is the soils of your feet. The jaws cut a round hole a bit more spacey than the plug, so you need to pack it good on the both sides of the root. That's quite easy since you're already standing straight. However there's always citizens who will skip the packing because it takes time. That's when the problems with air pockets and such will emerge.

Careful packing, I think, makes that the tube doesn't speed things up. Just makes it a lot lighter, on a fairly flat ground. On that particular plot shown on the clip, (flat, mostly soft soil, not much rocks or clay, slash cleaned, max. 250 meters distance from the landing) I planted 2400 pieces within 8 hours.


----------



## slowp (May 24, 2012)

It does look much easier than slamming a hoedad in the ground. The nurseries would have to cooperate in making plugs instead of bare root trees.


----------



## 2dogs (May 24, 2012)

Samlock said:


> Ok, I'm from Guatemala. Or from any Stan of your choice. I don't care. Just let me back to do planting, please.



That cracked me up.


----------



## OlympicYJ (May 24, 2012)

Samlock said:


> First I must say, it's _really_ good for your back. And shoulders too. The only body part that gets sour with the tube planting is the soils of your feet. The jaws cut a round hole a bit more spacey than the plug, so you need to pack it good on the both sides of the root. That's quite easy since you're already standing straight. However there's always citizens who will skip the packing because it takes time. That's when the problems with air pockets and such will emerge.
> 
> Careful packing, I think, makes that the tube doesn't speed things up. Just makes it a lot lighter, on a fairly flat ground. On that particular plot shown on the clip, (flat, mostly soft soil, not much rocks or clay, slash cleaned, max. 250 meters distance from the landing) I planted 2400 pieces within 8 hours.



Yupp even with bareroot you can get air pockets but other bad things can happen if planted correctly. What is the name of the tool? who makes it?



slowp said:


> It does look much easier than slamming a hoedad in the ground. The nurseries would have to cooperate in making plugs instead of bare root trees.



Alot of the nurseries are making more plugs these days. They're just spendier than bareroot and everyone has always planted bareroot so the change is pretty slow.


----------



## lmbrman (May 24, 2012)

new paige/consolidated papers used to offer containerized seedlings back as far as the 80's and gave quite a few away to area tree farmers each year - not sure about current practices thou -

that is one slick tool for planting :msp_thumbup:


----------



## Samlock (May 25, 2012)

OlympicYJ said:


> Yupp even with bareroot you can get air pockets but other bad things can happen if planted correctly. What is the name of the tool? who makes it?
> 
> Alot of the nurseries are making more plugs these days. They're just spendier than bareroot and everyone has always planted bareroot so the change is pretty slow.



We call the tube here _pottiputki_, that's also the trade mark of the tool. It's a Finlander invention from back 70's, if I recall it right. Now a Swedish company BCC is marketing the tool, they seem to have more info on their web site Product

One more thing on plugs vs. bare roots. Most of the planting is done by the not so experienced labor. I'm okay with it, but you really need to be careful with the bare roots that you set them straight. Some people have serious difficulties figuring that. There's plenty of tree plantations one can still see by looking the curved butts which direction the planter has moved. Anyone gets four plugs out of five straight with a tube by accident.


----------



## OlympicYJ (May 25, 2012)

Samlock said:


> We call the tube here _pottiputki_, that's also the trade mark of the tool. It's a Finlander invention from back 70's, if I recall it right. Now a Swedish company BCC is marketing the tool, they seem to have more info on their web site Product
> 
> One more thing on plugs vs. bare roots. Most of the planting is done by the not so experienced labor. I'm okay with it, but you really need to be careful with the bare roots that you set them straight. Some people have serious difficulties figuring that. There's plenty of tree plantations one can still see by looking the curved butts which direction the planter has moved. Anyone gets four plugs out of five straight with a tube by accident.



Thanks I'll have to check it out! 

Bareroot can be a pain to get strait.


----------



## slowp (May 25, 2012)

Samlock said:


> One more thing on plugs vs. bare roots. Most of the planting is done by the not so experienced labor. I'm okay with it, but you really need to be careful with the bare roots that you set them straight. Some people have serious difficulties figuring that. There's plenty of tree plantations one can still see by looking the curved butts which direction the planter has moved. Anyone gets four plugs out of five straight with a tube by accident.



We call that J rooting.


----------



## OlympicYJ (May 29, 2012)

slowp said:


> We call that J rooting.



J rooting is when the roots form a J pattern in the hole not if the stem isn't strait with the ground.


----------



## lmbrman (Jun 3, 2012)

try again slowp :hmm3grin2orange:


----------

