Planting Trees

For the best success in planting young lucerne trees, we encourage farmers to approach their planting and management as if they were planting out a fruit orchard.  Your trees require a 2-year investment to offer you a tree-lifetime yield.

Management is key!   Clients should properly plan and prepare their lands for planting, correctly calculate tree spacing and chose the most suitable irrigation methods.  Regularly irrigate, prune & check your trees to maintain their robust growth. Do NOT graze your trees in the first 18-months to 2 years!

This planting guide covers ~

1. CALCULATE how many trees per hectare
2. PREPARE your land
3. PLANT your trees
4. IRRIGATION methods
5. PROTECT your trees
6. MANAGEMENT

1. CALCULATE HOW MANY TREES 

• 1 hectare = 100 meters x 100 meters
• 100 meters divided by 4 meters (how far apart the rows are to allow a  tractor to drive between) = 25 rows per hectare
• 100 meters divided by 2.5 meters (how far apart each tree is in the row) = 40 trees in each row
• 25 rows x 40 trees in each row = 1000 trees per hectare
• Therefore purchase at least 1300 seeds or seedlings to make up for any shortfalls.
• You may plant your trees closer together to form hedges or windbreaks. Space the trees closer by planting them about 1.5 meters apart in the row which will allow each tree to develop touching and growing into the next tree. Use the formula above to calculate your numbers accordingly.

2. PREPARE YOUR LANDS

Secure the perimeter with 20% shade cloth attached to your fences.  This will keep rabbits, buck, and other animals from entering your new lands.

1. Rip or double-plough the rows about 4 meters apart.  Create a mound for each row OR dig a 500cm to 1m-deep hole and refill with the loose soil for planting each tree at the required spacing.
2. Lay your irrigation pipes in each ripped row. Dripper pipes are very water-economical, delivering 2 litres per hour.
3. Attach your filter systems to the irrigation.
4. Wet your soil thoroughly – until completely drenched.
5. Now you are ready to plant your trees. Clients should keep their trees sheltered under shade cloth and protected in a nursery until they reach about 40cm tall before planting them out in the land. Only plant young trees into your lands once there is no danger of frosts.

3. PLANT 30 to 40cm TALL TREES

1. Dig a 500cm to 1-metre deep hole for each tree in the row and refill it with the same soil, almost to the top. Plant in the hole or mound of loose soil.  You want the tree roots to easily develop without any obstruction.
2. Add about 50g of superphosphate in each hole and mix with the soil.  Do NOT add any manure or nitrogen.  This will negatively affect the nitrogen-fixing abilities of the roots.
3. Water each hole until full of water just before you plant your trees.
4. Water the trees in their bags before you start planting. This will prevent the soil breaking off t from the roots when you take the tree out of the bag. Squeeze the bottom of the potting bag to loosen the plastic bag from the soil and roots.
5. Holding the top of the bag with the stem between your fingers, tip the bag over and wriggle the bag from the roots and soil gently, lifting the corners of the bag up and off, aiming to keep all the soil on the roots.
6. Place the root ball into your prepared hole so that the stem is level with your hole surface and gently but firmly press the soil around the tree.  You want to make the area around the roots snug and tight.
7. Create a circle in the soil around the hole with your hands to create a good basin to keep the irrigation water in. You can place mulch to cover this basin.
8. Water very well immediately.
9. Remember that lucerne trees hate to remain in wet soil for prolonged period and easily get root rot, so thereafter, only water when the soil begins to dry out.  Regularly irrigate once your trees are planted. (see below)
10. Mice can cause losses as they tend to ring-bark the tree which causes the tree to die.  Place recycled irrigation pipe around the base of young trees to protect them.  Use a fairly weak pipe which will pop off the tree as its stem grows wider.
11. Prune your growing trees once established. Keep them to about one and a half meters high. 
12. We do not recommend grazing them till they have been established in your lands for about 18 months to 2 years.

5. IRRIGATION

Irrigation is essential in establishing trees, especially where rainfall is sporadic in the heat and summer months. Lucerne trees do not like their roots sitting in wet soil for prolonged periods, so rather irrigate lightly more often than overwater them.

• Drip irrigation uses water very economically.
• Drippers we use deliver 2 litres per hour.  We run our drippers for 1 hour every 2 days during our dry season.
• Drippers are not very effective after about 1 year as the trees’ side roots have travelled quite some distance away from the drippers, which is why, once our trees are established at about 18 months, we convert our irrigation to micro sprayers to also water the grazing that grows between the tree rows.
• Micro sprayers are very effective, but irrigation requires longer spraying times than drippers.
• The benefit of micros is that your grasses develop between the tree rows and the roots are always getting water, no matter how far they have travelled.
• We have used aerial micro sprayers but these are not as effective in windy conditions, so we prefer to use micro sprayers between each tree.

• Oscillating sprayers use more water than the other methods mentioned, but the ground is quickly well soaked.

4. MANAGEMENT

• Protect the trees. Young trees are very vulnerable – everything loves to eat them! Fence the entire camp and secure the perimeter with 20% shade cloth attached to the fences.  This will keep rabbits, buck, and other animals from entering your new lands.  This method is cheaper than wire mesh fencing and the shade cloth is UV-protected, OR place mesh cages around individual trees. We place old irrigation pipes around the base of each tree stem to keep mice from ring-barking the trees.
• Prune your trees regularly to 1m to 1.5m tall which promotes side branches and dense foliage.   The tree develops a thick woody stem and sturdy main branches. You will collect copious amounts of fodder from your prunings, as much as 10 kilograms per tree off 2-year-old trees, which amounts up to 20 tons of delicious wet matter. Chip your cuttings for maximum food!
• Water regularly for the first 18 months. They mostly require light, regular watering but be careful not to over-water.
• Do NOT graze your trees in the first 2 years!  Grazing tears the young branches and stunts the growth of the trees. 
• Check regularly for snails, insects and other critters who may eat your young trees and take action!

Here are all our posts on planting ~

• Ready-to-plant trees
• Planting out Lucerne Trees
• Four month old Trees
• New Lucerne Field 8 Months Later
• Trees ready for delivery
• Only courier trees in South Africa
• What can go wrong when transplanting seedlings?

Happy Farming!

Copyright © 2012 by Myles & Nadene Esterhuizen

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