I’m having to remove and replace five trees that got crushed by large pine trees as a result of a tornado.
I now have a JD 1025R with a backhoe . Sure makes removing the old trees easy but I have used a variety of equipment over the last 10 years. Post hole diggers, sharp shooters ,shovels , pickax. Had a large spade for my 45 hp Tractor with frontend loader, which really did a great job on just digging holes as long as you didn’t have to remove anything . Just curious on what other people use.
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hand shovel and bare hands. They work great. leave the stumps in place and plant near them. The rotting roots will aerate the soil.
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I thought about that concept even with the backhoe it was not easy a couple of these were five year-old trees. They were healthy before they got crushed. I really have to work on my soil a great deal before I plant anything so I prefer to use the same hole. but if this ever happens to me again with large trees, I will have to either get the stumps ground or just make a new hole and treat it.
If you have rocks or thick roots that you have to cut through - nothing beats this tool
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I have around 175 trees to plant this fall.
Tool #1 Thermos of Coffee
Tool #2 Sharpshooter shovel and spade shovel
Tool #3 5 gallon bucket
Tool #4 Wheelbarrow
Tool #5 Stakes and String
Tool #6 Pruner for roots and Pruner for Tree.
Weather- a rainy week that i need to wear a light jacket or long sleeves.
I hate sweating more than just about anything.
I thought about renting an auger but i want the satisfaction of digging by hand.
I will be trimming roots and cutting most everything to just above knee high as i go and digging small holes not big holes.
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@krismoriah’s list but must also have:
Tool #7 digging/tamping bar
Tool #8 post pounder + posts
Tool #9 pliers and wirecutters +fence
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This or a mattox (depending on hole diameter) are required equipment unless there’s been a ton of rain and nothing to cut through. Unfortunately I’ve noticed chain stores don’t always carry digging bars. I assume because its an item that is rarely replaced.
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Love the mattox have used it for decades for various projects but it does not like me anymore. I never had anything but hand tools for decades but there came a time a couple of years ago that I could make all the plans but the body just could not execute with just hand tools anymore. I love the look of the slammer tool always looking for gadget to make things easier and still be able to work with my hands and do projects.
I have a mini cultivator mattock that i use for my brambles… but my next purchase will be a large one. There are some trees that i want to remove as well as some more established brambles.
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I bought this auger to help dig post holes for my greenhouse, but it has worked great for loosening up the soil to plant trees as well.
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Do you use the cultivator side? I like a pick mattock or a cutter mattock.
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Yes… this is my mini one. It is perfect for planting brambles or removing them for me.
The cultivator side you can hear the rocks go ‘ting’ when i am prepping an area to plant on the tines.
Also good for removing roots etc when removing plants.
Also my prep tool and often harvest tool for garlic and potatoes.
I use it alot.
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So you suggest having this tool shipped from New Zealand? I wonder what that would cost… right now it is sold out. Amazon is a source for something that looks a little like it but doesn’t have a wide enough blade for it to work well, it seems. Not very well rated by purchasers. Amazon.com : Root Cutting Tool, Hole Digging Tool, Tamping Bars, Garden Remover Tool for Bamboo Tree Roots Rocks Shrubs Bushes Stumps - Heavy Duty : Patio, Lawn & Garden
I’ve done a great deal of transplanting trees bare root with manual tools when they are dormant in fall or very late winter to early spring. We use a King of Spades shovel- the one with the longer blade. Sometimes that lopper suggested further up is useful if we are destroying a tree that is in the way, but only use a hand clipper when we are trying to save all but roots we can clip with that- most of this digging is done in my little nursery, so it’s for up to 3" diameter bare root trees we are planning to survive. We also use a strong standard shovel to move dirt out of the way, the spade is awful for that. Also essential for us a sturdy 4-tine gardening cultivator. .
A lot of the spade work involves digging sideways from the plant so you are much less likely to sever important roots- then you carefully use the cultivating fork to free the roots from soil… also your bare hands.
The 15" blade KS has gotten pricey and seems to be hard to find. The 13" is much cheaper from Amazon. Here is the 15"- the long handle is necessary for leverage. Other all steel spades I’ve tried have not been as strong and can more easily get “sprung”. All-Steel Nursery Spade, 15in Blade with 54in Straight Handle by King of Spades. .
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It used to be easy to get in the US. And they had a distributor. No more, I guess.
On a closely related subject, has anyone had any luck removing a Chinese tallow tree from Growing in the middle of a blueberry bush ?
Also have an oak tree (pesky squirrels ) in the sweet Olive tree in my wife’s flower bed. Thanks