Dibble bar,,,, Kubota orange?

[ken erickson]

I have a 375 count tree planting project coming up , mid April to mid May depending on when the nursery harvests the bare root stock. 300 burr oak and 75 white oak.

I ordered a dibble bar and wanted one made in the USA. This thing is a beast and no joke!

I did not pay attention to the color when I ordered it but without being down at the land and comparing with my L2501 I would say it comes very close to Kubota orange.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

that's a great tool for the job and nice that standard forestry colours match our tractors.

a pulp hook and a hookaroon... my two most favourite / useful hand tools.

 

[chim]

You'll be very happy with the color even if it doesn't match your tractor. I bought a San Angelo bar about 10 years ago while doing a sidewalk here. It was black. After discovering how hot it became in the sun I painted it with some leftover orange spray paint. It no longer gets hot in the sun and is easier to spot.

 

[McMXi]

I have a 375 count tree planting project coming up , mid April to mid May depending on when the nursery harvests the bare root stock. 300 burr oak and 75 white oak.

I ordered a dibble bar and wanted one made in the USA. This thing is a beast and no joke!

I did not pay attention to the color when I ordered it but without being down at the land and comparing with my L2501 I would say it comes very close to Kubota orange.

View attachment 171772

I misread that as "Dribble bar" and thought that you were pulling a slurry tank around with your tractor!

 

[GeoHorn]

That would be bent-out-of-shape so fast in my central-tx rock it wouldn’t even make a good trotline-anchor.

I‘m thinking of welding something up to fit onto the FEL that can simply be pushed down and retracted from the tractor seat.

 

[ken erickson]

That would be bent-out-of-shape so fast in my central-tx rock it wouldn’t even make a good trotline-anchor.

I‘m thinking of welding something up to fit onto the FEL that can simply be pushed down and retracted from the tractor seat.

Given the 10lb weight, the material diameter , wall thickness and the 7/8 inch cast steel cutting/digging head I doubt this thing will "bend-out-of-shape so fast" even in rocky soil if used as intended. One man stepping on the tang of the cutting head and then rocking sides to open a v-shaped hole for bare root stock planting.

The Jim-Gen OST dibble bar is the standard in the reforestation industry and used world wide. I doubt I will be sending it back for warranty work.

 

[jyoutz]

Given the 10lb weight, the material diameter , wall thickness and the 7/8 inch cast steel cutting/digging head I doubt this thing will "bend-out-of-shape so fast" even in rocky soil if used as intended. One man stepping on the tang of the cutting head and then rocking sides to open a v-shaped hole for bare root stock planting.

The Jim-Gen OST dibble bar is the standard in the reforestation industry and used world wide. I doubt I will be sending it back for warranty work.

Dibble bars are good for long rooted seedlings. But in the west where we primarily use containerized seedlings, the forestry standard practice is to use a hoedad tool for planting.

 

[ken erickson]

Dibble bars are good for long rooted seedlings. But in the west where we primarily use containerized seedlings, the forestry standard practice is to use a hoedad tool for planting.

View attachment 171833

Exactly! The right tool for the job. I will be planting burr oaks and white oaks in loamy sandy soil . The bare root stock has roots 10 to possibly 16 inches in length.

 

[ken erickson]

Dibble bars are good for long rooted seedlings. But in the west where we primarily use containerized seedlings, the forestry standard practice is to use a hoedad tool for planting.

View attachment 171833

After your post, (thanks!) I watched a good video put out by the Longleaf alliance where they used hoedad's and containerized seedlings. Very interesting . The crew in the video made the planting look so very easy and fast!

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

Exactly! The right tool for the job. I will be planting burr oaks and white oaks in loamy sandy soil . The bare root stock has roots 10 to possibly 16 inches in length.

Since you mentioned right tool for the job, can I recommend a good pair of stiff soled work boots?

For many the soles of your feet will thank you versus using sneakers, croc's, or whatever soft soled thingys some people wear as a day of planting and pushing in the dribble by foot can be hard on the soles.

Were lucky we are very very sandy so the weight of the tool is enough to get dribble penetration but after dropping in the bare root tree a stiff boot heel is also good for compacting the soil in around the plant to make sure you compact the air from around the roots out. Getting air pockets out is good practice. Also soaking the trees before planting for 1/2 day is also good practice as well to hydrate. Young bucks in a planting crew hear expected to plant 4-6k trees a day. Unbelievable how fast they can move. Me too old now.

 

[Lil Foot]

Me too old now.

I hear ya!

 

[jyoutz]

After your post, (thanks!) I watched a good video put out by the Longleaf alliance where they used hoedad's and containerized seedlings. Very interesting . The crew in the video made the planting look so very easy and fast!

Almost all of our reforestation projects are containerized conifer species planted by hoedads. Good planting crews are amazingly fast and high quality planting. Most crews speak Spanish, so I tell them “planta los pinos por favor.”

 

[Motion]

Weather using bare root or plugs, be careful not to plant too deep err to the high side, to ensure establishing good crown roots. I planted a pecan orchard 30+years ago using container trees, used a rototiller chopped a 4' diameter circle and planted them on top of the ground a put two wheelbarrows of topsoil around them. I also plant long leaf pines and like to see the top of the plug. There's an old saying
"don't put a $10.00 tree in a ten-cent hole" Be reminded that you don't plant a tree for yourself, hopefully someone will sit in the shade one day and enjoy what you did.

 

[jyoutz]

Weather using bare root or plugs, be careful not to plant too deep err to the high side, to ensure establishing good crown roots. I planted a pecan orchard 30+years ago using container trees, used a rototiller chopped a 4' diameter circle and planted them on top of the ground a put two wheelbarrows of topsoil around them. I also plant long leaf pines and like to see the top of the plug. There's an old saying
"don't put a $10.00 tree in a ten-cent hole" Be reminded that you don't plant a tree for yourself, hopefully someone will sit in the shade one day and enjoy what you did.

You must be in a wet environment. In forestry situations we are cover the top of the plug with soil, otherwise the plug will wick out moisture to the air and dry out the roots.

 

[RCW]

A little bit of thread-drift, but it’s important to take good care of seedlings prior to planting.

Keeping them well-hydrated is essential.

I had a Professor that would often say “the #1 cause of seedling mortality is planting dead trees…”. Often due to folks letting them dry out before planting (especially bare root stock).