Planting Notes

Looking back on our several days of planting the American chestnut hybrids and Controls at Salem, there were a few planting notes we thought might be prudent to share.

On the left – Just one week after planting tree swallows find the orchard home. On the right – looking toward the northeast with rows of Hybrid BC3F1 chestnuts in the foreground. [click on image to see full sized photo]
Photos by Dr. David Bingham – April 18, 2006

David's planting notes:

1. To see if burning in and around the hole with a landscape torch helps prevent competition from roots and seeds in the soil, the first 16 positions in Rows 1 and 2 were torched, and positions 17-32 were torched in rows 3 and 4.
2. To see if soil from around a nearby American Chestnut mixed in with the potting soil helps growth through microrhizal effect any better than soil from an oak forest floor, the soil in Rows 1,3, 5 and 7 have Chestnut soil additive, while rows 2,4, and 6 have Oak soil additive (all positions).
3. Soil from the holes, taken with a bulb planter, was torched to kill any residual seeds and rootlets, then mixed 50/50 with a combination of peat and vermiculite, before adding the Chestnut and Oak additives (latter not torched, to avoid killing facultative soil organisms).
4. A handful of fertilizer slow release granules was added to a wheelbarrow full of potting mixture.
5. Sleaves were labeled as to row, position, and parentage of nut, tubes inserted, and then placed in holes and staked with a single bamboo stick.
6. Potting mixture was placed in tubes to ground level, then nut placed. Nut then covered with an inch of potting mixture.
7. 1/2 cup of water added to each Blue-x tube (potting mixture was fairly dry).
8. Dilute 30-10-10 is planned with watering every 2-3 weeks on the soil around the tubes, and porous matting in a 2'x2' square around each tube will be used to “mulch” the area.

Bill's planting notes

1. We used the 18 inch direct seeding, Blue-x Tubes. A jig would make tube assembly much easier. The assembly is a time consuming task that we didn't properly estimate. Including labelling, assembly, storage, estimate would be close to 40 seconds per tube.
2. Tubes should if possible be stored in a box in order, it's very time consuming to carry a box of 30+ unsorted tubes down a row trying to find the correctly labelled next tube.
3. Using small surveying flags for the layout and tube distribution made the operation easy and fast
4. 350 foot tape measure was best and fastest for layout – stretch out and simply walk along doing the math (8,16,24,32…)
5. The Home Depot big Green bulb planter worked “perfectly” and pulled out a perfect plug that was easy to discharge with the flip-open bulb cone flap even with wet soil
6. Plug cutting is easiest as a two person job – one pushed wheelbarrow, the other plugged – switch off roles.
7. Soil from plugs was picked through and 1/2 discarded. The remaining half was sterilized with heat being wet it took much longer to dry out than if it hadn't been raining.
8. Some plug holes were flash sterilized (15 seconds per hole) with the objective of observing the difference of weed seed germination. We were hoping the scorching would suppress seeds growth but it's always possible it could enhance it. Note … survey flags placed too close can melt from the heat of the torch.
9. Mixed in about equal amounts of sterile perlite and peat, though a bit more peat. The mixture looked and felt great .. though there have been warnings that too much peat can promote rotting.
10. After reading directions on osmocote we added just 2 tablespoons for the full wheelbarrow. Sara indicated she doesn't put in any. Glad we refrained.
11. Separated the soil mixture into two equal amounts and added oak forest soil or chestnut forest soil which would be applied by row. David wanted to test the soil mychorizzae associated with Oaks and American chestnut to see if there was any discernable difference.
12. Next step was to layout the tubes according to numbering by simply sliding over the surveyor flags.
13. Cut the 6 foot bamboo stakes in two. We determined the 28 inch to 32 inch stakes would have been preferable. Thje thin stakes (5/16th of an inch) work fine since the bluex tubes feel really secure in the holes.
14. Inserted the flags to about 5 +- inches, inserted single 3' stake inside sleave – pressing stake as deeply as possible (and keep vertical)
15. Poured measured soil in tube
16. Place nuts – lightly cover with soil
17. Clothespin tube tops (fence will keep out deer but certainly not Turkey)
18. Place leftover nuts in fridge – make sure there are no apples or pears in fridge (give off ethylene gas which is toxic to nuts)