Hey there! It’s a New Year full of bright new possibilities! We at Riverbend hope you are enjoying these first few weeks of 2015 and the milder temps we’ve been having this week! Today’s post is so much fun! A few weeks ago I was able to go out to our tree fields and see some of our trees being dug using the equipment! The process was so interesting; I asked a lot of questions and took a lot of pictures, and want to share all of this fun with you!
At Riverbend Nurseries, we have 500 acres of tree fields that we dig trees off of each spring and fall! We dig in the winter also when we are having mild weather and the ground isn’t frozen. We typically dig around 100-200 trees a day depending on the size of the tree and weather conditions. What this equals up to is 1000s (literally) of trees dug each year here at Riverbend! When a field is cleared, we replant new trees there and the process begins all over again! The trees you see in these pics are about 3-4 years old and are 2″ caliper (the caliper is the width of the base of the trunk in inches).
We also offer trees that are (much!) larger than these shown here.
1. So, first in the process of digging trees, is the trees are picked, tagged, and white felt is wrapped around the lower trunk to protect it further when being dug.
2. While the trees are beginning to be dug, another team of workers are preparing burlap and wire for the root balls to be set in and secured in. The digger you see here is used for trees up to 3″ caliper; we have a larger one to dig the larger caliper trees. Also, this digger takes two people to maneuver because the controls are on the outside of the digger.
3. After the tree is dug, it is set in the burlap and wire, then it is wrapped by hand and secured using a heavy duty stapler (the kind of stapler we use is originated from the automobile industry!).
4. The root ball is then secured with nylon roping to keep it from moving around- keeping the root ball secure is imperative to keeping it healthy before it is planted in the ground!
5. Then wires are cinched with a tool to keep the root ball even more secure (you’re seeing a theme here!).
6. The trees are then loaded onto our tractor’s trailer to be transported to our wholesale or retail lot for processing and purchasing!
That’s a look into the interesting process that happens before you purchase a tree from us! We are digging trees now for spring planting! Spring is an excellent time to plant before hot dry weather comes in the summer.
We’d love to assist you in picking out a tree that would work wonderful for that special spot you’re considering in your yard! What questions do you have for us?
Thanks for stopping by and sharing in the fun pics with me!