Potting Trees at the Farm
Potting and planting hundreds of trees at the farm is a huge, yet exciting undertaking.
I love trees, and every year I plant hundreds, sometimes thousands. Trees are crucial to the environment. They provide food, protection, and homes to scores of birds and mammals. They also help combat climate change and release oxygen for all of us to live. This week, we received a shipment of bare-root cuttings from Musser Forests, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based company specializing in conifer and hardwood seedlings and transplants. Bare-root trees are so named because the plants are dug from the ground while dormant, and stored without any soil surrounding their roots. Once the young specimens arrived, my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew placed them in tubs to soak overnight and then hurried to pot them the next day in nutrient-filled composted soil made right here at the farm.
Here are some photos - enjoy.
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- Here is the area behind my stable where I keep my potted tree saplings. I like this spot, so they can be closely monitored and well-watered when needed.
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- Since I plant so many trees, I get most of them in the form of bare-root cuttings. Bare-root plants should not have any mold or mildew. The cuttings should also feel heavy. If they feel light and dried out then the plant probably will not grow.
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- We always pot bare-root cuttings in individual containers. The trees will only remain in these pots temporarily – eventually, they will be transplanted in various locations around the farm. We save pots whenever we can – they always come in handy for projects like this, and I always encourage the crew to reuse supplies whenever possible.
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- We use composted manure and top soil for potting our cuttings. Composting manure above 131-degrees Fahrenheit for at least a couple weeks 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. Chhiring brings loads of it from the back compost field using our Kubota M4-071 tractor. It’s designed to use auxiliary equipment such as the L1154 front loader that helps us transport so many things around the farm.
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- Once a good mound of compost is unloaded, it is amended with some good fertilizer and then mixed well.
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- Each bare-root cutting is placed into an appropriately sized pot. The root section should fit into the pot without bing crowded at the bottom. Healthy bare-root trees get off to a more vigorous start because their abundant, roots have already had a chance to develop unrestricted.
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- Each pot is prepared with a small layer of soil ready for the tree and backfill. Pasang plants each specimen carefully, so it is straight and centered in the container.
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- Here he tamps down lightly after the pot is backfilled so there is good contact between the tree roots and the surrounding soil. Each tree is placed at the same level it was grown by the nursery – where the roots start and the top shoots begin.
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- As each tree is potted, it is placed in a row with all like specimens.
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- In order to get all the seedlings potted as quickly as possible, it was “all hands on deck.” The crew created a very productive assembly line. While Pasang prepares the bare-root cutting, Domi fills the pot, and then Chhiring, in the back, moves groups of bare-root trees to their designated spot.
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- Some of the trees we’re potting include Picea omorika, also known by the common name Serbian spruce – a species of coniferous tree endemic to the Drina River valley in western Serbia, and eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Black Hills spruce is a naturally symmetrical cone-shaped conifer with a dense, compact habit, and bright blue-green foliage when mature.
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- Gold Thread Cypress is an evergreen shrub with striking yellow foliage. It holds its stunning golden color all throughout the year.
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- Golden barberry has bright solid yellow foliage year-round and is compact, adaptable, and very hardy. I have golden barberry growing on my terrace parterre.
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- These are the roots of Shumard Oak trees. The Shumard Oak, Quercus shumardii, is a stately tree with beautiful fall color. It is one of the largest of the oak species in the red oak group and can grow 50 to 90 feet tall.
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- Weed cloth is placed under the pots to keep everything neat and tidy. Most of these bare-root cuttings do not have leaves, so they are difficult to identify. It is important to keep them separated by cultivar and always properly marked. Buttonbush is a shrub with glossy green leaves and fragrant, round flower clusters during mid-summer. Native to the Chicago area and the eastern United States, buttonbush attracts many species of birds and butterflies.
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- These evergreens will do so nicely in these pots until they are ready to be transplanted in their permanent locations.
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- Chhiring adds a top-dressing of mulch to the pots.
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- And then pats it down neatly.
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- On the other side of this area, Phurba checks on the existing bare-root trees already in pots and growing well. He cleans the aisles and makes sure each plant has enough soil.
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- Our trusted STIHL battery-powered blower is nearby and used to blow any leaves and debris in between the pots. The crew uses this blower every day – it’s great for blowing leaves and other debris off the terraces and footpaths around my home.
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- By late afternoon, hundreds of bare-root cuttings are potted and carefully arranged. I am confident these trees will thrive in these pots and be in excellent condition when it is time to plant them in their more permanent locations around the farm. April 22nd is Earth Day – I hope you’ll consider planting a tree to celebrate. This year, the theme is “invest in our planet.”
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