Cost of interplanting bare root Christmas trees. Time and money spent?

Hello rob here from flanigan homestead It’s thursday march 3rd 2022. uh i just Got home from teaching and i have here In these boxes 700 nordman furs for our Planting uh this late winter spring This winter we already did a planting of Noble furs we did 1500 plugs which is We’d like to do plugs in the fall and Get that root growth But you can’t we can’t get nordman furs And plugs so we were on a wait list Because they were all taken up but we Were able to get 700 nordman first so We’re gonna go plant these i know that Uh i’ve had some other planting videos But i i’m gonna take you along the Process this year and maybe show a few Different things and things uh things That we didn’t talk about one of which Was cost and one of the things that’s a Little bit different this year Is We normally get our trees from brooks Tree farm in salem oregon which is about An hour and 45 minute drive from my House where i’m sitting right now uh Fortunately for me my son’s been going To college in salem for a while so when He comes home On the i have him come home on the Weekend that we need trees i pay him gas Money a little bit more and he brings Him home uh this time he’s going to the Coast dang it son no just kidding for a

Friend’s birthday so we couldn’t have Him bring him home so we’re having Instead of driving over three hours There and back and paying for all that Gas and everything we’ve had these paid Uh to be shipped ups in these boxes So That’s going to get added cost i don’t Have the receipts right now when i get The receipts i’m going to show you the Cost the exact cost of the trees and the Shipping just so you can kind of figure Out how those things go Um The other one of the other things i Didn’t like about the fact that i had Down shift ups is uh You know it’s supposed to be overnight But you’re not always sure so we had Them ship These on wednesday it’s now thursday so They were taken out of the cooler on Wednesday They’re going to sit here thursday Friday saturday i have a crew that was Available on sunday to come and help me Plant these so we’re going to plant These on sunday so these are going to be Out of the cooler longer than we would Like So you know normally they want you to Plant them within a day or two and then And keep them cool but fortunately the Weather is now we’re going to be in the

Low 30s overnight And it’s going to be Maybe low 50s during the day so they’ll Probably keep all right Here i’m going to keep them right out Here on the porch because it’s on the North side of the house no sunshine will Hit them they’ll stay in the shade all Day long And they should keep fine and then we’ll Plant them the other thing is you know The boxes seal up really nice to keep The moisture and everything in and it Got torn up a little bit i’m Not appreciating that normally i don’t Care about the box but it does keep them Sealed and tight or the right moisture Content so i’m going to keep this folded Up i’ll just put the other box on top of It and we’ll keep them there until Sunday morning And Then i’ll take you through the process Of how we’re going to Plant our second planting of this winter Normally i like to get these done Presidents weekend obviously we’re uh A week or two later than that but This is still plenty early enough so Stick along the next you’ll see us here In just a second it’ll be sunday morning So it’s eight o’clock sunday morning We’re getting ready to plant here’s the First box i open it up but i’m not going

To pull Any trees out of this bag just yet Because you can see they come in a Sealed bag that keeps the moisture in it I’m going to keep the bag in the box And wow part of the reason i want you to See this video is You could probably see the sun just went Behind a cloud right now but we’re Having direct sunlight today which is Unusual this time of year so this box is Sitting behind these trees right here We’re going to keep them in the shade You want to keep your trees That aren’t being planted at the time in The shade and one of the things you Definitely want to do is never have your Trees laying out where the roots are Exposed to the sun it dries them out as A matter of fact we have buckets here Today You know it’s easy to carry the Seedlings around that are going to be Planted but we’re also our other buckets Are deeper than this we’re going to put A gallon of water in there and a little Bit of root stimulator and so The trees will be staying the roots will Be sitting in moisture Soaking up moisture if anything not Drying out plus they’ll be getting some Root stimulator on them We don’t always put root stimulator on Them

But it can’t it’s not expensive doesn’t Hurt and so just a little bit of root Stimulator in there Will be a positive thing but What i want you to see right now is Keep your trees in the shade you can see You can see now as the sun’s starting to Come out the sunny spots over there this Box is sitting in the shade and it’ll Stay in the shade until it’s planted So Anyway oh by the way i got the numbers Uh from Brooks tree farm so i my Uh nordman first seedlings this year 2022 or 66 cents Uh a tree uh if you buy them by the Thousand but Anytime you get over 500 they call it a Thousand so 66 cents for the trees And i it cost 70 to have them shipped Overnight ups So One of my 500 and some dollars in there Between buying the trees and having them Shipped to me Okay so now we’re getting them out of The bags here’s our 3-0 nordman’s uh Probably 10 inches tall A lot of them eight to ten inches tall So This is a lot better we we got two o’s Several years ago and they were barely Four or six inches tall so these have a

Little bit better start so we’re we’re Looking at probably about eight inches Above ground Eight inches below ground uh on what We’re going to be doing here so we’re Going to have to be putting holes about 8 inches deep And So now that i got these out of the bag I’m going to get these in a bucket we Have a couple In a buck a couple buckets already Where there soaking And getting ready to go There’s more getting it done He’s doing a good job for us Once again you can plant these with a Shovel But we’ve liked filling it up because Our using the auger because basically it Fills our ground for us And makes the soil Nice and soft so We feel that the augering it in Does a better job than just shovel Planting It looks like a bunch of mole hills Just whole plant trees Okay so we’ve got our nice turned up Soil From the auger that’s part of the reason We really like the auger it’s almost Like a rototiller in the spot I’m gonna stick mine in the ground get

It nice and low uh i you know you want The Root line to be the same what place it Was in the field it was before but if You’re going to miss to one side of the Other i’d rather have the tree low than High i like to say plant it low and Watch it grow Plant it high and watch it die if it’s Lower This is good draining soil so when we do Get rain it’ll sit in there and soak Down in Also as Dries out in the summer uh you know There’s more moisture further down so if The tree is a little bit further down as Opposed to higher up it’s got a little Bit better chance getting that moisture So i’m gonna just pack the soil in here Keeping the roots spread apart a little Bit I like to work it tight down with my Fingers but making sure everything’s Spread apart Just keep working around Jab it in there tight I’ll show you what moy and felipe are Doing We got moy and felipe helping us here Today These guys know how to do work They’ve actually uh been planting for The clark county for quite a while on a

Crew that’s done there and They’re working on buying the business i Believe is that right moy yeah that’s Right so anyway They’re going to be too rich to be plant For me here too much longer but uh So moye and felipe have a little bit Different technique than me but it’s Basically the same thing With a slight different twist Gonna get the dirt instead of packing it Down the way i do pushing fingers in He’s gonna take a shovel here Press everything in make it tight that Way And then you don’t want to have that Hole where there’s a gap there so he Always Takes a scoop on the side fills it in Stomps it down and We’re looking good [Music] So the planting is almost done Uh moy has run the auger and he’s got a Count on how many trees are left that Felipe is currently planting We start at eight o’clock this morning It’s now three o’clock there was a lunch Break in there so We’re at what seven hours to get our 700 Trees in the ground i had basically two Guys doing it And uh Just to give you information you know

Statistics so we’re at 66 cents of trees On these nordmans 70 shipping to get it Here we’re running an auger two guys Seven hours Uh it’s gonna be a little over seven Hours seven hundred trees in the ground You might ask what do you pay these guys You know historically i’ve Given people an hourly rate but usually When we have these guys out we just say Hey this is the fee for the trees so Both of them are gonna get i believe We’re gonna send them away with two Hundred dollars each Uh for their seven hours So but uh basically we told them get the You know it’ll be four hundred dollars To get the 700 trees in the ground so uh You know looking at that rate it’s a Little bit more than 50 cents a tree Uh to get them in the ground but uh As i get older And i’ve Sold trees you know it’s worth it Oh uh one of the things people have Made comment on there is why don’t you Have an attach if you’re going to use an Auger when you have an attachment on the Back of your tractor and do that and Out in the open field that’s behind the Camera there where we just planted uh a Couple new acres uh it’s fine we could Do you know we could put all three Thousand holes in the ground without

Running into anything but when you get In this section over here where we have Established trees that some have been Harvested out and we’re replacing it’s Just not worth it to try to maneuver in And out In and amongst the larger trees with a Tractor plus there’s other small ones in There That we’d be running over so we didn’t Want to do that so just the Man Operated auger Uh that’s the way we go to uh turn up The ground and like i said we we really Like the auger because it it’s almost Like a rototiller for a small spot one Thing that uh I have i’m frustrated with myself with Is you know there’s a new area that we Knew we wanted to plant i’m standing in A hay field here that we’ve been Expanding into it and We didn’t get a kill in the uh before Hand and if if i was smart and if i Would remember Uh if i there’s an area that we’re going To plant the following spring or late Winter if when the rains come in the Fall we would spray some herbicide and Kill that Then it’s a lot easier to plant whether You’re doing it with a shovel or an Auger it doesn’t matter

If you’ve got this thick sod of this Hayfield with nice deep roots you try to Break that up and plant christmas trees In it it’s a pain in the rear but if you Kill this months before and give it a Chance for it to die back and the roots To rot out then the soil is much easier And the planting will go significantly Easier so Try to plan ahead if you know when You’re going to plant get a kill On that ground well in advance and it Makes the planting that much easier So once again thanks for joining me on The flanigan homestead where christmas Trees are my business teaching including Horticulture is my job and outdoor Projects are my passion we’ll keep you Updated on how all the trees we planted This year did 1500 nobles in the fall Uh 700 nordman’s uh Here in the late winter and Next year we’ll be getting our grand Furs replanted and as well as some dugs So Please like subscribe follow there will Be tons more christmas tree stuff as we Go