24 Ball & Burlap trees to plant (and holes to dig) - best approach?

[Dave Ogren]

We just planted 27 Green Arborvitaes that came in 10 gallon pots. I was going to use the backhoe on the BX23S, but my son got started with the Kubota U-17 Mini-X and we were done in about 2 hours. I thought that went real smooth. Good luck with your planting.
Dave

 

[fried1765]

We just planted 27 Green Arborvitaes that came in 10 gallon pots. I was going to use the backhoe on the BX23S, but my son got started with the Kubota U-17 Mini-X and we were done in about 2 hours. I thought that went real smooth. Good luck with your planting.
Dave

10 gallon pots are quite small....think one scoop on the U-17?

 

[Dave Ogren]

10 gallon pots are quite small....think one scoop on the U-17?

That is why it only took about 2 hours.

 

[jyoutz]

So that's 2 hrs to dig holes, 2 hours to play on their cell phones?

Still cheaper than other options.

 

[Flintknapper]

Still cheaper than other options.

True enough.

 

[retired farmer]

True enough.

My vote is for renting the mini X.
When I was renting hay fields the owner wanted the fence rows cleaned up. Told her it was too time consuming for me so she hired a couple lads. They showed up wearing flip flops and short pants. They stayed maybe an hour. LOL
rr

 

[junhy]

For 24 trees, I’d definitely be thinking about saving your back as much as possible! If the soil is reasonably workable, I’d probably rent a backhoe rather than trying to do all of those holes with the FEL. The loader can get you started, but getting 24 holes to the right depth and size could turn into a pretty tedious job. A small auger would also be worth considering if your soil and tree size allow it, although I’d still want to loosen and shape the holes by hand afterward rather than making a perfect drilled hole. With that many trees, the right attachment could save a lot of time.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

For 24 trees, I’d definitely be thinking about saving your back as much as possible! If the soil is reasonably workable, I’d probably rent a backhoe rather than trying to do all of those holes with the FEL. The loader can get you started, but getting 24 holes to the right depth and size could turn into a pretty tedious job. A small auger would also be worth considering if your soil and tree size allow it, although I’d still want to loosen and shape the holes by hand afterward rather than making a perfect drilled hole. With that many trees, the right attachment could save a lot of time.

Good idea(s), but if he waited 4 years to plant them, they would only be good for firewood at this point.