Maintaining Hundreds of Young Trees
Here in Bedford, New York, we've been pretty lucky this winter. So far, temperatures have been relatively mild and we've been able to get many tasks done around the farm.
This week, my outdoor grounds crew is busy caring for all sorts of potted saplings I have waiting to be transplanted into the ground. These saplings, or young trees, were originally ordered as bare-root cuttings, which are plants that are removed from the earth while dormant and stored without any soil surrounding their roots. I order some every spring and then nurture them in containers behind my stable for a couple of years until they are ready to plant in more permanent locations.
Enjoy these photos.
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- Here is the area behind my stable where I keep most of my potted tree saplings. I like this spot, so they can be closely monitored and well-watered. Every few months, we take stock of the inventory, and do some maintenance work – these trees need to be repotted and re-organized into neat and tidy rows.
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- Here is a group of them when they were first potted last April. Bare-root cuttings are difficult to identify when there are no leaves, so it is important to keep them separated by cultivar and always properly marked.
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- They’ve all grown quite a bit – some are now more than four feet tall.
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- These are the feathery needles of the bald cypress tree. My mature bald cypress trees have already lost all their foliage for the season, but these young specimens are still showing off their beautiful russet brown leaflets. Like trees with leaves, bald cypress trees drop their needles in the fall leaving the tree – well, bald.
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- These young trees are osage orange trees. Despite its name, it is not related to oranges at all. It is actually a member of the fig family. Macular pomifera is more commonly known as a hedge apple, bow wood, or bodark.
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- And these spiny branches belong to the Helmond Pillar Barberry – a very striking vertical deciduous shrub, growing four or five feet tall, but staying just one or two feet wide. It has rich, deep-purple to red leaves, which hold their color throughout spring and summer, and then turn bright red in fall before falling and revealing the many spines on the branches.
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- We use composted manure and top soil for potting. Composting manure above 131-degrees Fahrenheit for at least a couple weeks will kill harmful pathogens, dilute ammonia, stabilize nitrogen, kill weed seeds and reduce any objectionable odors. I am so proud of the nutrient-rich soil we make here at the farm.
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- Once a good mound of compost is unloaded, Domi adds some good fertilizer and then mixes it into the compost. Here, we are using Bio-tone Starter – an all-natural plant food enhanced with bio-stimulants, beneficial bacteria, and mycorrhizae. It helps to to prevent transplant loss, promote faster establishment, deeper roots, and good soil structure.
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- The weather has been cold enough to freeze the potted trees in their their pots. To loosen them, Phurba places them in a large tub of water for several seconds while each plant absorbs the liquid.
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- And then carefully pulls out the rootball – still intact.
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- The trees are lined up and ready to go into their new, larger pots.
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- We save pots whenever we can – they always come in handy for projects like these, and I always encourage the crew to reuse supplies whenever possible.
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- Each pot is laid out with a small layer of soil ready for the tree and backfill. The crew has devised an efficient production line process for potting massive amounts of trees.
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- When planting, Phurba places each tree at the same level it was grown in the original pot. More soil is then gently backfilled around the root ball. Lastly, Phurba pats the soil gently to ensure good contact.
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- In order to get all the seedlings re-potted as quickly as possible, it was “all hands on deck.” The crew still has many more to repot, but look at all the’ve done in just a few hours.
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- Pasang works in the aisles placing the newly potted trees in organized rows and raking up any debris left over.
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- Any detritus is collected in my Multi-Purpose Reusable Heavy Duty Tote Bags – so useful for carrying, organizing, and storing so many things indoors and out. My crew loves these bags and uses them every day. Look for them at my shop on Amazon.
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- There are hundreds and hundreds of healthy young specimens. I am so glad they are thriving here at the farm.
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- Here, one can see how we used garden rope to corral the trees in the space – hopefully, this will keep them all standing strong through the rest of this cold season.
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- Trees are very important to our environment – they help combat climate change, provide habitat and food for birds, and other animals, and release oxygen for us to live. In fact, in one year, an acre of mature trees can provide enough oxygen for 18-people. I have planted thousands of trees since I purchased my Bedford, New York property. They look so pretty planted in allees, in groves, and as privacy hedges. I feel very strongly about giving back to the earth – the more trees planted, the better. I always look forward to spring, when many more of these young trees will be transplanted in the ground.
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