Don’t love gardening? I don’t. If you want a food prep that keeps on giving, year after year, in situations ranging from SHTF to ‘can’t afford produce’ though, start thinking about tree planting.
Fruit and nut trees are a great bet. That’s why I’ve been putting in trees both in my back yard and at The Place for the past five years. Early spring’s the right time for most tree care, so here are some things to put on your Spring Preps list.
Here’s our podcast that accompanies this article:
Selection
Tree choices can last longer than some people’s spouse choices, so I did a post on this topic all by itself. You can find it here:
Prep A Steady Food Source: Four Considerations About Food Producing Trees
Digging
A picture’s worth a thousand words, they say. This pic shows why you need to check with utilities before you dig your tree’s new home:
Color me Glad I didn’t ram a shovel into this underground gas line while trying to plant my tree.
The white flags mark where I hoped to put the tree. The yellow flag line running through the area marks the site of an underground gas line I hadn’t been aware of. If I hadn’t done the requisite utility check (in Missouri, call 1-800-DIG-RITE or google that number and use the web interface), my digging experience may have ended in a Big Bang.
Now for another thousand words worth — oh, let’s score 2000 this time so you can get a good look:
My digging tools. The blue one (post hole auger) is the only Easy way I’ve ever met to dig a deep, fairly narrow hole.
The business end of a post hole auger, good for digging deep in a narrow hole.
The blue one is the greatest manual tool for tree planting I’ve ever heard of. It’s called a post hole auger — you’ve probably guessed it’s also hugely useful for putting in wooden posts. Standard shovels are only really good for the shallow parts of the holes. The long skinny shovel is good for enlarging the hole the auger makes.
Tree Planting
The best time to plant trees is before they awaken from their winter dormancy. Mid March is prime here in northern Missouri. I’ve had success with later spring tree planting, so long as it’s not yet very hot. The planting will disrupt the tree’s ability to pick up water for awhile. Some species, like apples, can also be planted right after they’ve gone dormant in the fall.
Tree planting: I plant trees like making lasagna: The (rather poor) soil layers interspersed with layers of composted manure and organic filler to lighten the clay (I use shredded paper).
Having poor soil, I put the tree in, spread its roots as much as possible, and start layering in compost, some soil, a filler to lighten the clay (some shredded paper and some sand), water to help it settle and get out air pockets, and repeat. On top goes a layer of mulch, either straw or wood chips, to keep down the weeds.
Fence if deer are your neighbors
One week after I planted my very first trees at The Place, I was so excited to see the apples already blooming! The week after that, I arrived to find everything eaten to sticks by the deer. I learned to fence that summer, and replanted in the fall. The deer still visit (I see their sign), but they can’t reach the trees.
The tool in the pic below is a fence post driver, used to place metal posts without having to dig a hole. If you need to fence, whether the bad neighbors are deer or troublesome humans, I highly recommend one.
This post pounder (set on a post) is very useful for fencing with metal posts. In the background you see the wire mesh I use.
A roll of wire mesh, some fencing wire, pliers, snips, and gloves, and you’re good to go. Have Lots of fun!
The rest of the kit: gloves, fencing wire, clippers, pliers, sturdy boots. These are all in your preps, right?
Putting the trees in is unquestionably work; but it sure does have a long payoff!