@LarisaLee … I know exactly what you mean.
I do envy @Gkight who can plant fruit trees quickly with a shovel.
I always take a shovel with me but mostly use that for adding compost and wood chips.
A shovel is useless against my red rocky clay layer. I have to use a long handle heavy duty grubbing type hoe to do most of the digging.
The amount of rock I get out of most holes requires about half a wheelbarrow of compost to compensate for volume loss.
TNHunter
@TNHunter the amount of time you spend planting is what I spend having to water constantly. My soil holds zero water or organic material basically so I may be able to plant something in less than a few minutes but I more than make up the time in watering them over their lifetime.
@Gkight … well that makes me feel better 
In a good/normal year I hardly have to water at all.
A good layer of compost and wood chips helps just enough here.
TNHunter
I mulch about a foot thick, and hopefully it will get to a point I don’t have to. But may-September I have to water twice a day usually.
So someone recommended storing over the winter in a friend’s garage, but in case that doesn’t come to fruition… What can i do to store in a zone 5b NY cabin basement/cellar?
I assume it doesnt freeze down there (asking my friend now how cold it gets).
I assume i can store them bareroot, maybe with something lightweight, like moist leaves, covering the grafted trees in a black plastic carpenter bag?
PS alot of these 1st year grafts don’t have much growth on them, pretend like 8".
I would be concerned that it won’t stay cold enough. I’ve kept mine in my attached unheated garage, where it stays 32 - 45F almost all winter. But in the spring when temps in the garage start creeping to 45-50F for a couple weeks, buds start breaking open and it’s annoying due to this being a few weeks before last frost date. I would expect a basement/cellar to be significantly warmer, and they may break dormancy even sooner? Idk.
In my limited experience storing trees bareroot for 2 to 4 months, I liked the method of putting ~20 trees bareroot into a 5 gallon bucket, and shaking in a few gallons of loose moist potting soil/peat moss. Really jostle it about to get the roots fully surounded by the peat. It’s very easy to check that it’s staying moist all winter and to water if needed. I’ve also tried keeping them in bags with moist sawdust etc, but had issues with some roots that dry out.
i think you just take the trees out early like pretend late Feb/early March before the buds open in the warmer garage maybe and not worry too much about any leftover freezes?
Where do you keep those 5 gallon buckets? I assume indoors in garage or outdoor shed since the bucket won’t have drainage and kill freeze roots from rain if outdoors?
I suppose you could try taking them out early, just pray they dont break bud in January! Zone 5 can still have some nasty temps in early march, too.
Those buckets were kept in the unheated attached garage. Just a convenient way to keep moist potting soil around a large number of trees in a small space, maintaining the ability to easily inspect and move them.
What 1st year grafted trees are you storing for winter?
My cornelian cherries that I had to store for a few weeks in the fridge are going to spend their first winter outside
I have some 1 year old grafted pears that I have been growing in grow bags that I plan to put into the ground this fall once they are fully dormant and left outside.
Given I’m in a warmer climate than you in zone 7b/8a
Just curious what grafts need protection after 1 year of growth.
a couple hundred fruit trees mostly persimmons, pawpaw and a few apples, pears, and mulberries.
they are in large fabric pots outside (like 20-40 per pot), not in ground. So im worried about the roots freezing.
My friend has a shed, but in zone 5b NY, he was saying maybe it would only protect from wind and not really the temps outside. Think thats all i would need to be worried about? (if pretend i would be keeping them crammed in 5gallon buckets or fabric pots (20-40 trees per bucket) with a little peat/soil/moist shredded leaves.
I would assume a shed would reach about the same min low temperatures as outside. In zone 5, I wouldn’t risk that.