- In winter you really need a pair of thick socks, good wellies and gardening gloves too keep your feet and hands warm and dry all through the day. When the grass is wet all but the best walking boots just don’t hack it!
- It really helps to have someone who can read the planting plan and knows what they are doing to lay out the whips, in species clusters of about 20, at the right spacing in advance. Volunteers can then just concentrate on planting.
- Also vital is to have someone demonstrating planting technique to volunteers as they arrive. A bit of friendly checking-up as the day progresses also minimises correcting mistakes later.
- We had the grass in our field mowed for hay late in the summer to make the planting easier.
- When we revisited later in the year to weed we noticed that there was a lot less grass growing up inside the tubes, choking the young tree, where planters had screefed. So kicking or scraping the grass away with your boot before making your planting hole is definitely worthwhile.
- It’s both fun and effective to work in teams of two or even three. One person screefing and cutting the hole and popping in the tree, another hammering in the stake and a third can also help by offering up the tube and tying it in place.
- Regular breaks for biscuits and hot drink and a chat, along with a reviving bowl of steaming soup for lunch, keeps energy levels up and speeds the day along.
- Some volunteers put in the whole weekend and others an hour or two but together many hands do really make light work of it.
8 things we have learnt about planting trees
