This page has been set up to share photos & video relating to the "Planting A Seedling" chapter of "Step By Step, A Tree Planter's Handbook." Visit www.replant.ca/books to see books about tree planting.
This seedling is planted beside an obstacle. Sometimes, trees are planted beside obstacles (intentionally), to enhance the survival rate of the seedlings. One common reason for obstacle planting, when working in range forests, is because cows are less likely to step on a tree that is beside an obstacle. Another common reason for obstacle planting, when working in areas where chinooks cause problems for trees (such as the southern Alberta foothills region), is to "shade" the seedling from the prevailing chinooks, so the tree does not lose its insulating snow cover during a brief warm spell.
The root collar is the area between the top of the plug (or roots) and the bottom of the needles (or laterals).
When you grab a tree from your planting bags, hold it by the roots. The plug should be cupped in your fingers so the tips of your fingers are level with the bottom of the plug. This helps to ensure that the bottom of the plug isn't bent sideways when you plant it. Foresters will expect the plug or root system of the planted seedling to be vertical.
This planter is making sure that he has a seedling ready in his hand as he's moving toward his next planting microsite.
After you drive your shovel into the ground, your next movement should be to push forward when starting to open the hole. Most first-time planters assume that pulling back is the first step, but don't do that. Think about what will happen when you get faster and you're opening a hole while moving. Your body is moving forward, so it would be awkward to try pulling a shovel back towards yourself at the same time that your body is moving forward.
The most common way for planters to close a hole is to kick it shut. This is what first-year planters will be taught initially. It's the best way of ensuring that the hole is closed properly around the roots of the seedling, to make sure that the seedling doesn't get a quality fault for an open hole. There are different ways to use your foot to kick the hole shut. This photo demonstrates use of the heel, which uses the most pressure and which is usually the best way to kick a hole shut.
Here's another way to close a hole, by kicking with the toe. It isn't as effective as closing with the heel since less pressure is used. However, in loose or sandy soil, that's probably not an issue. This method can also be slightly more comfortable depending upon the positioning of your body.
If you're using your foot to close the hole, it's best to hold the top of the tree at the same time, which helps to keep it straight. This may feel very awkward when you first start planting, but it will soon feel very natural.
Hand closing works in areas where the soil is quite loose. However, there is an increased risk of tendonitis of the fingers when the soil has more clay, or during cold weather. Don't use this method too much at the start of the season, until the muscles in your hand and fingers have built up some strength.
In areas with heavy clay, it's common to have to do a secondary shovel close after kicking the tree hole closed, to ensure that there are no air pockets. This technique is called the "double shovel." Shovel closing is something that some planters eventually adopt as an extra technique for occasional use in loose or sandy soil too, although first-year planters shouldn't think about learning this in their first few months of planting (it is not an appropriate/effective technique for closing holes in most types of ground). In this photo, the planter has stuck the shovel blade into the ground between himself/herself and the tree, only five or six inches away from the seedling, and is "leaning in" to push the dirt forward and compact the original hole around the plug.
Here's another shovel close, although in this case, the shovel blade is on the far side of the seedling, and is pulled back towards the plug to compact the soil around the plug.
If you want to practice planting and you don't have seedlings to work with, you can "make your own" using 1 inch wood dowels, and some duct tape. We use these "rookie sticks" as props for training.
Working with rookie sticks is great practice, because it's so easy to see if the depth is good, and if the tree is straight.
Click here to see a page listing books related to reforestation in Canada. If you received a photocopied version of this book from your planting company, or you're a trainer at a Canadian planting company, click on this link for more information.
