Home Page

About Us

Our Business

Our History

Virtual Farm Tour

Interesting Plants

What's in Bloom

Favorite Links

Contact Us

Click for Heirloom Tomato Seed Selection

Save Seeds - Victory Horticultural Library

matersearch.com - online tomato resources

A history of International Harvester and our farm's tractors.

 

Welcome to Dunton Family Farms
Since 1909


Tree Planting on the Farm

[ Tree Nursery ] [ 2006 ] [ 2007 ] [ 2011 ] [ 2012 ]

This project has been neglected since 2007.  I constantly think how it would transform the farm to have a perimeter screen of trees planted.  However, resources just never seem to be available.


4/11/11 - I ran across an ad in The Capital Press for a nursery selling ten to twelve foot Austrian Pines.  I called and got some prices.  Because of their size, the cost per tree to have them installed was about $100 each.  There is no way I can justify or afford planting the numbers necessary to form an effective screen.


4/17/11 - After much thought, and after getting our tax work done, I decided that we could afford to have ten of these large trees installed.  In the meantime, I ordered 200, two foot seedlings from a wholesale nursery.  I will pot them up and then get them planted this fall after tilling and prepping the planting area.


4/19/11 - Change of plans!  I called and the nurseryman to find out about installing the ten trees.  This was the number that I decided we could fit into the budget and the minimum number necessary to screen from the entry to just past the seedhouse.  My timing was excellent.

He told me that he had just paid to dig out a large order for a customer in Colorado and after he got them out of the ground and balled up yesterday, the person canceled.  So instead of ten trees, it sounds like I am getting fifty trees delivered and installed.  He will come by in the morning and we will work out the details.  My work will then be getting water out to them and keeping them watered through the summer and into the the fall when the rain starts again.


4/20/11 - I met with the nurseryman, Mel, at 9 a.m. and he told me what I needed to do in preparation of them coming to plant.  I thought he was talking about later in the week but he said, "No, no.  Right now."  He said that he was getting the crew together, the trailer loaded, and would be back by noon.  So Dad and I got busy and got the site prepared and stakes in the ground.

The pictures above are the "before" pictures.  Dad and I mowed the area and then measured and staked where each of the trees were to be planted.


I got a call at about 12:15 p.m. saying that they were having some difficulties with the digger and would be there as soon as they could.

These pictures are of the crew digging the holes.  With the right tools and manpower, it sure goes fast!  They started at 3:15 p.m. in the first picture and the last was taken at 3:52 p.m.


The first trees arrived at 3:52 p.m. and they used the digger to unload them and drop them into the holes.

4:11 p.m. 4:11 p.m. 4:20 p.m.
4:20 p.m. 4:20 p.m. 6:35 p.m.
7:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. 7:56 p.m.
They worked until dusk and will be back at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow.

4/21/11 - The crew got here at 8:30 a.m. with the piece of equipment, dropped it off, and the boss took the trailer up to the nursery to get a load of trees.  the rest of the crew set to setting, backfilling and removing the twine from the last trees delivered last evening.  The first load for the day arrived at 9:53 a.m. and they finished up at 11:50 a.m.


4/27/11 - I ordered and today received from Lawyer Nursey, one hundred, three year old, Austrian Pine seedlings. Got them hauled to the barnyard, opened up, stood up and "banked in," and watered good.


5/6/11 - Hannah wanted to earn some money so she startred planting the second row of trees along the south field's highway frontage. She got pretty far but ended up accepting Ryan's offer to help. Then two of them ended up getting a row planted to the end of the property and along the south property line.

Note: Many of these trees were moved the following year when mature trees were installed.


Copyright © 1996 - 2022 by Dunton Family Farm