High Altitude Gardening - Maintaining the Forest, Reforestation

Jack uses the post hole digger to dig the planting holes. This tool creates just the right diameter hole for the 2" square root ball of each tree. We found a shovel is not as easy to dig with as the post hole digger if (as is always the case) there are any rocks and/or roots present. If the ground is too rocky for even the post hole digger, Jack makes the planting hole with the mattock, not shown in these pictures.

This photograph shows where Jack has just started digging a hole using the post hole digger. We plant the fir trees about 20 feet apart.

Jack removes the top layer of soil and grass and puts it aside as this photograph shows. Then he digs the rest of the hole about 8 inches deep. Rocks are always a challenge to digging the holes....

While Jack is digging the hole, I tip the seedling box on its side and push out a tree. I have found that a weeder like the one pictured here fits just right in the rectangular drainage hole in the bottom of the seedling box and allows me to push out the tree without damaging the root ball. I try to remove a tree just as Jack needs one to plant so the roots do not dry out.