Small new woodland

dair_ghaelach

Hi, putting in 0.5 acre of natives (oak, etc.). Site is dry, old ley. Can you use a rotavator straight onto grass and then plant into that? (don't have a plough, could pick up a cheap 5-6ft rotavator if doing this again sometime). Tractor is 95hp with crawler box.

blue5000

Oak has a long taproot. You'd be better off with a spade. Hire a mini digger and put mounds every 2m, might work better for you.

dair_ghaelach

blue5000 wrote: »

Oak has a long taproot. You'd be better off with a spade. Hire a mini digger and put mounds every 2m, might work better for you.

Ok sounds good. How should mounds be formed? Should the soil be scraped and mounded or just dig a hole beside it to get the soil for the mound?

Have you planted any this way? Thanks for your reply.

Dinzee Conlee

dair_ghaelach wrote: »

Ok sounds good. How should mounds be formed? Should the soil be scraped and mounded or just dig a hole beside it to get the soil for the mound?

Have you planted any this way? Thanks for your reply.

Saw a lad once who got in a mole plough or a ripper of some sort, it creating a slot in the ground, and then planted into the slot.
It gave a nice straight line, but it also allowed for a very easy way to plant after with a shovel...
Plus, it left the ground nice and clean and level...

PoorFarmer

Dinzee Conlee wrote: »

Saw a lad once who got in a mole plough or a ripper of some sort, it creating a slot in the ground, and then planted into the slot.
It gave a nice straight line, but it also allowed for a very easy way to plant after with a shovel...
Plus, it left the ground nice and clean and level...

Saw something similar except he rigged an old horse plough up to the tractor and ploughed a single furrow along the field to split it with a hedge. Didnt hang around to see how the planting went but he told me after it was a simple job. Just cut the sod into manageable pieces and turned it back over the trees with a spade. Hedge is still there. Might not be much use to the OP though as the spacings would be completely different

tabby aspreme

With dry land, mole ploughing or ripping is ideal, then plant about 6 inches from the rip line, ripping will loosen up the clay enough to make it easy to use a spade for planting, if there more than a few inches of grass on it, mowing before you rip it, will make planting more straightforward as it's awkward to see if the roots are covered with long grass.

Good loser

I have planted and cleaned a lot of trees.

Do not mound or do any mechanical cultivation.

Oak plants will be 2.5 ft high. Just dig a hole with a spade for each plant and heel them in well. Take care to keep them in a straight line.
For half an acre it might be easy to put up a line.

Protect from grazers.

dair_ghaelach

Good loser wrote: »

I have planted and cleaned a lot of trees.

Do not mound or do any mechanical cultivation.

Oak plants will be 2.5 ft high. Just dig a hole with a spade for each plant and heel them in well. Take care to keep them in a straight line.
For half an acre it might be easy to put up a line.

Protect from grazers.

I usually dig a hole twice the width and breadth of the roots to plant - for half an acre this would be a lot of spadework. I've done it that way for 2-300 trees in other spots but only because the soil is heavy enough and thought they mightn't survive if the hole was small and soil was compacted around them. I'm open to other ways though. What size of hole do you dig? Why do you not advise using a rotavator/digger?

Good loser

With a short handled spade would dig a slit/slot in ground to its full depth, lever it open, insert roots and straighten before firming.
Mechanical opening is not needed for a half acre - 1250 plants. Probably 1000 would do.

dair_ghaelach

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/116667662#Comment_116667662

Ended up doing this and everything seems to have established well!

dair_ghaelach

Some pics from establishment