Planting a Small Southern Woodland 



215 



fully and planted properly, according 

 to directions received with the seed- 

 lings, an owner should be rewarded 

 with a successful plantation, provided 

 rainfall is adequate. 



Woodland owners will do well to 

 order their seedlings well in advance of 

 the time of planting. State forest nurs- 

 eries strive to raise enough seedlings to 

 supply the demand. Sound public 

 financing suggests that they plan to 

 grow no more than they sell. In the 

 South, about 20 months elapses from 

 the time plans are laid and seed col- 

 lected until the seedlings are lifted 

 from the nursery. Seedlings may not be 

 held over in southern nurseries through 

 a second growing season because they 

 become too large for economical trans- 

 planting. The State can therefore do a 

 better job of nursery-production plan- 

 ning if orders are placed about 1/2 

 years ahead of the date when the owner 

 wishes to plant. Of course, the State 

 may be able to fill small orders placed 

 only a few months ahead of the date 

 of planting. 



Planning ahead is sound business for 

 the planter also. It enables him to take 

 proper care of the seedlings, make ade- 

 quate preparation of the planting site, 

 and arrange for the necessary labor. 



Seedlings should be planted prompt- 

 ly after receipt from the nursery. If 

 planting is necessarily delayed for a day 

 or two, seedlings may be stored in a 

 cool, dry place in the package as re- 

 ceived from the State nursery. If seed- 

 lings are received unwrapped, as in a 

 truckload shipment, or if the delay in 

 planting may extend to several days, 

 seedlings should be heeled-in. The 

 heel-in site should be cool, well- 

 drained, and shaded from the sun. 



Trees are heeled-in in long trenches. 

 The trench made with a shovel or 

 spade is dug deep enough to accom- 

 modate the full length of the tree roots. 

 One side of the trench, the upper side, 

 if on an incline, is sloped. Trees are 

 spaced out on the sloped side thinly 

 so that some roots of each tree touch 

 the slope. Loose dirt is shoveled over 

 the roots, all of which should be cov- 



ered. Soil is then firmed lightly and the 

 trees are watered. Trees are lifted from 

 the heel-in bed as needed ; the remain- 

 ing trees are kept well watered until 

 planted. 



Tree roots must be kept moist and 

 sheltered from the sun and the wind. 

 Seedlings are transported in a bucket 

 or another watertight container. Wet 

 moss or sawdust should cover the roots 

 at all times, and the trees should be 

 taken from the container one at a time 

 as needed and promptly planted. 



TOOLS USED IN HAND PLANTING are 



simple and inexpensive. The mattock 

 and spade are still used where the soil 

 is thin; with them, special care is 

 necessary to provide enough dirt to 

 cover the roots properly. 



Newer tools have been designed for 

 use where the soil is loose and deep. 

 One, the planting dibble, is a long, 

 wedge-shaped bar that is fastened to a 

 handle. It is used to make a slit in the 

 ground deep enough to take the roots 

 without doubling them back. The 

 seedling is placed in the hole. Its roots 

 are spread as much as possible to in- 

 sure individual contact with the soil. 

 The tree is set in the soil at the ap- 

 proximate depth that it grew in the 

 nursery. After proper setting, the seed- 

 ling is firmed in, and the hole closed 

 with the same tool. Distance between 

 rows is measured off and the end of 

 the row is marked with a flag as a guide 

 to the planter. Spacing along the rows 

 is measured by pacing. 



For larger plantations, planting ma- 

 chines drawn by tractors are now used. 

 One type of planting machine opens a 

 narrow slit in the soil with a trencher 

 plow. The slit is held open by two 

 parallel iron runners long enough to 

 permit the insertion of a seedling. 

 After that, the slit is closed and firmed 

 about the seedling roots by two rolling 

 wheels, which press the soil from either 

 side. Other types work similarly with 

 slight variations. 



Planting costs may vary, and average 

 estimates have little value for a given 

 prospective planting. 



