Tree Planting - How to Guide
How we do it on Motutapu

Everything you always wanted to know about tree planting on Motutapu but perhaps were afraid to ask (?)
Read this page before you visit the island and amaze your friends with your expertise on the planting slope.
Click on the link to print off your own hard copy: How_to_Tree_Plant.pdf

We're planting in Lower Watershed and Hospital paddocks in winter 2010, see if you can spot them in this .pdf
Motutapu_Paddocks.pdf

Firstly, we encourage our tree planters to pair up because:

• - Less damage to plants when being carried (use two hands)  
  - Digging is physically tough, sharing makes it easier
• - Pair planting is more sociable
• - Fewer spades are required
• 
  
  Even groups of three are good if you have a real keen hole digger in your team - two planting, one digging,
  though remember to swap roles from time to time! We try and encourage our tree planting volunteers to plant at least
  an average of 10 PB3 potted plants/person among your group - You can do it !!

Planting PB3's (plastic bagged plants)

For our 2010 winter planting season we will mostly be planting PB3's (previous seasons we have mainly concentrated on planting 'root trainers). We are including actual plant demo pics this year as well as the graphics). We recommend you bring your own gardening gloves out to the island. We do have a quantity of gloves available for you to borrow but it is nicer to have your own pair.

Extra special TLC required

We are asking our tree planters this season to exercise extra special TLC. Our plants, all raised from eco sourced seed in our own nursery at Gardiner Gap (south western end of Motutapu) have had a long road and heaps of volunteer effort to get to where they are. One tree planted to survive is way better than two carelessly planted that won't.

• Also - never plant two of the same species adjacent to each other unless we simply don't give you a choice.
• We try not to plant two manuka/kanuka adjacent to each other as they are fire promoters.

 
What sort of spades do we use and how best to handle them?

When not using your spade, you need to rest it dug into the ground in an upright position. Do not leave it laying flat on the ground. If you do this we are highly likely to lose it in the undergrowth and perhaps rediscover a rusted out version of it several years later.

NEVER carry our spade over your shoulder.You are very likely to turn around and accidently whack your neighbour. We want healthy happy volunteers with us on our planting days not bandaged ones. Maggie is demonstrating the correct, safe method of carrying your spade. 

....and also...remember to share the digging duties around your team. However, we occasionally get teams that include young men that like to work off a bit of steam (or get a little competitive with a neighbouring tree planting team). These guys often like to dig holes all day and that's fine as well. Let them go for it !

What size are the PB plants and how best to handle them?

As we said above, we treat our babies with extra special TLC. Trevor, our nursery guru has lavished heaps of love and affection on them during their time in the nursey right from the initial pricking out into the seed trays, time spent in the shade house and then the period growing and hardening up in the stand out areas. We don't want to drop the ball with these plantlings at the very moment they are being introduced to the great outdoors. 

 
How do we go about digging the holes, removing the plant from its plastic bag
and planting it in the ground?

First you may well need to 'screef' (refer graphic below) the surface where you want to dig your hole. This is where there may be too much grass or weed ground cover to allow you to easily get the spade in. Many of us had never heard of this expression either but screefing is where you scrape the long grass and/or weeds away from the immediate area with shallow type forward movements of your spade. This should expose enough soil to allow you to get stuck in and dig your hole.

You want to dig a hole slightly larger and deeper than the width and depth of the plastic bag container. Don't get too hung up about this - you will get the hang of it and there will be plenty of regular volunteers around to offer advice and encouragement (or even dig a couple of holes for you to get you started if you ask nicely).  

Also, remember to keep the soil that you've dug out of the hole in a heap close by, together with the screefed material because it will all be  needed in and around the plant plus and a little on top when the plant is in the ground.  If you spread the soil and material around a little too much it can get lost in the surrounding undergrowth.

Removing the Plastic Bag

Remove the plant from the plastic bag  by turning it upside down and gently pulling the bag from the base.Please note we recycle the pb bags. If the plant doesn't come away easily, you can gently shake the plant while holding on firmly to the folds at the base of the plastic planter bag.

Be careful to support the plant so there is no damage to either the roots or foliage. Also be careful to not lose any of the soil.

Placing the released plant in your freshly dug hole

Go on ...don't be shy..you are now ready to place your plant in the hole.

THIS IS MOST IMPORTANT : The base of the plant stem should not be be level with the surrounding ground, it should be 2-3cm below the existing ground level. A 2-3cm covering of soil placed above the root mass will greatly assist survival over the next summer if we get another dry one like 2009/10. So we want to bed the plants in fairly deep. In the second in the series of pics above, our lovely model Maggie is demonstrating how you can ensure you are complying with the 2-3cm 'below the surface of the surrounding ground' thing. You can check by ensuring the plant root mass is around about the vicinity of the second knuckle of your hand below the surrounding ground level   

Add back around the plant the previously removed soil, firming it carefully layer by layer with your hands. You may need to break up some of the soil clods to achieve this.

When the hole is full, compact the soil with your hands and replace the turf. You need to push the soil around the lower sides of the potted soil mass with your fingers to ensure there are no air spaces. Invert the removed sod layer, cut in half or quarters and ensure it covers the planting and surrounds the stem.

Scrape extra soil slightly back from the plant stem so that the stem is exposed by 1cm around its circumference (i.e 1cm radius)

If you can, cover the planting hole with grass/turf to cover disturbed soil. The graphic below shows how the original hole dug is larger than the size of the plant's root mass. However, this season we are asking you to plant a little lower into the ground than this graphic indicates.

 Your job is now very nearly done in respect of this particular plant - however......

 Of course we recycle our Plastic Bags

Shake all the leftover potting mix out of the plastic bag, fold it and place into an onion bag

Job Done, you are now ready to ground your next plant ! Any questions at all please tackle our regular volunteers leaders. They will only be too happy to help out.

NOW...AND THIS IS IMPORTANT:
In planting season winter 2010 in the pasture conversion planting areas - we are planting each PB3 plant 2.5metres apart. Regular volunteers will find this way more spread out than previous seasons. The easiest way to estimate this 2.5metre distance is to  measure out two and a half spade lengths from where you grounded your previous plant. Easy. It's likely we will also have a quantity of 2.5 length pieces of wood that you can use as the measuring device.

 

Remember, once you plant trees with us on Motutapu you are forever connected with this beautiful island - soon to be the largest island conservation park in New Zealand

Thanks to Vanessa who provided our graphics and Maggie who planted the coprosma robusta so prettily and got mud under her nails especially for this photo shoot. She's a real trooper. You can wear gardening gloves when you come over to tree plant with us. Bring your own else we can lend you a pair of ours.

Planting Root Trainers (RT's)
It is possible we may still plant a small number of
basket root trainers

• This is the Root Trainer 'book (RT). They are plastic, 12 of them are fitted into a wire frame 'basket',
  around 50 plantlings per basket

• There are usually 4 or 5 plantlings in each book
• We suggest you plant with a selection of 2-3 books of different plant types (this is to ensure you have a
  species mix in your planting area and  don't plant a complete area with only one plant type)

• Choose a site, clear the grass and weeds from about 250mm square.
• Do this by skimming' with your spade as per above

• Dig a hole large enough for the seedlings root structure to fit
• The hole pictured above is actually a little too big. We will give you more information on this
  technique as part of the pre planting on site demo

• Opening the RT 'book' exposes the roots in potting mix
• Pick the plant up carefully with your hand under the base of the roots and place in the hole. The top of the
  potting mix base should be level with the surface of the ground.
• Hold the plantling gently in place and upright

• Fill in the hole being careful not to break the tender root structure.
• Press down firmly and replace turf upside down on top
• It is most important that the top of the potting mix base is flush with the surrounding ground surface. Too shallow
  and the plant will dry out, too deep and the plant stem will likely rot.
• Please note we recycle the root trainer books. Our volunteer leaders will be on hand to collect your 'empties'

 Thanks to Vanessa who provided our graphics