IT'S SPRINGTIME ON THE FARM......a taste of summer brings sunny skies with a high of 85°.....We have been PLANTING YOUR FUTURE APPLES!! Ever Wonder how it's all done? Take a Peak! It's all about TEAMWORK... and One Amazing Process.
In Replanting Young Apple Trees Part 1 we harvested young trees from our nursery. With careful planning we were able to plant around 1000 of those trees in under an hour with a dozen guys 2 loaders, a tractor and a flatbed. Cutting down labor costs, keeping equipment available and roots exposed for less time are all benefits of our high density planting method.
Communication between our MG Hurd team is crucial to make this operation efficient and to ensure no damage is done to the baby trees. As you can see the farm dog, Calisee, is overseeing the operation. Charles Hurd takes the lead position in the front tractor. Everything is really happening all at once, but with careful inspection you can see each step taken to plant these young apple trees.
The Tractor has a planter attached on back where you can see a team member is sitting. That team member is placing the young trees in the ground and handing them off to 2 other team members who are securing them in the trench using their feet.
But where are the young trees coming from? They are brought up from the back flatbed (see person in yellow) and placed in a seed bucket attached to the trencher,
Three or four crew members will then fully cover the roots with the use of their feet and a hoe or shovel. Good gloves and boots are key to their success.
Since we have not installed our drip irrigation yet we use a loader with water bin to irrigate our freshly planted trees. Farmer Jon keeps a close eye on the stream of water to make sure it stays centered on the roots.