Received 150 trees yesterday from the Missouri Department of Conservation, so I finally got to try out the new dibble bar. Got a late start due to the weather, but did manage to plant 100 of the trees in the afternoon. Finishing wouldn't have been a problem but 15 persimmons were tubed, staked and had landscape material staked out. It seems like it takes forever to do that stuff by yourself. I have to say that the dibble bar exceeded my expectations. It took a little while to get the hang of it, but once a method was figured out it's fast. Last year I used the tractor with a post hole digger and that was a pain in the rear. Believe it or not, it was way easier to plant using the dibble. For reference, the ground is a heavy soil with some clay, but was wet today. Dry, hard ground would not be fun. The bar was a Jim Gem KBC Bar that I got from Forestry Suppliers (through Amazon).
I use a dibble bar as well as a plain ol post hole digger and find each more efficient than PTO auger when working by myself bill
I use the dibble bar for seedlings and auger for potted trees. I agree dibble works like a charm when you get the hang of it. I learned in 4-H many, many, many years ago. Do they still have 4-H? My son and I planted some pines when he was about 12. (1992). This past year those pines were thinned. Oh, do you think I should send him some of that money?..........
$37, so not too bad. Gets heavy by the end of the day, especially carrying it around looking for random spots to plant.
We planted about half of the first 3000 trees I ever planted with dibbles because of wet soil instead of the pull behind planter.I had good luck discing the ground as deep as I could a month or so before planting time.After it got a could rains it was just right.Do you have any trouble with fabric blowing up
Yes, it felt like I got on and off of the tractor 1000 times when I planted 300 trees last year. Always clearing the auger bit of roots or grass so it would cut or having to add down pressure.
That's a great point. Discing first would get everything loosened up. I planted some elderberry and hazelnut into an area that had been tilled and planted into milo last year and it was a piece of cake. I might try just spraying the areas a couple times with gly this year to see if that is enough to ease the planting effort and increase survival rates with less competition. No problems with fabric lifting, as I use a heavy 6" staple at each fabric corner. Gravel would probably be better but it forces me to use a truck and I didn't want to be stuck with using a truck if the weather got really wet.
Heading back out to finish the last 50. It was supposed to be a beautiful morning but we just had a little snow storm for 15 minutes. Weird, weird weather.
I have the same dibble and like it but after using the lighter version by Jim gem I want one. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
They do get heavy by the end of the day. I wish it weighed 1 or 2 pounds less since the weight really doesn't matter too much.
I have the one in the pic. I wish I didn't have to use it but with my rocks it is the only way I can plant a tree. I wouldn't be able to plant without it.
