# How many trees can a man plant in a day?



## poorcountrypreacher (Feb 3, 2009)

Guess I ought to rephrase that - how many trees can a Mexican plant in a day? 

I've got to plant 4000 bicolor plants and I've got a crew of 3 men that are as old and lazy as I am. I need to be able to set a goal for this project, and don't really have a clue of what is reasonable. I want to be able to tell them, "If a Mexican can plant X number in a day, you ought to be able to plant at least a half X."

We are planting with dibbles in plowed ground. Thanks for any help.


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## win280 (Feb 3, 2009)

If you figure 1 minute per man that would be 180 per hour, 22.22 hours later ,you should be done.
Take out time for water, food, bathroom, cell phone calls, laughing, cutting up and having fun and it could take a while longer. depending on your friends


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## poorcountrypreacher (Feb 3, 2009)

Thanks win280. I've watched Mexican crews at work, and I'm pretty sure they can beat 1 per minute. No idea what their actual speed is, but I'm sure ours will be waaaayyyy slower. 

I can plant 10 in 3 minutes, and I can keep up that pace for about 5 minutes, maybe. 

I think 100 per hour is a reasonable goal, and with 4 of us, that should get it down to 10 hours of actual work. Since we've got 3 days to do the job, I remain hopeful. I may be in for a rude awakening; its been over 20 years since I planted anything with a dibble.


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## rip18 (Feb 3, 2009)

A good planting crew can average 3000 seedlings per person per day with the best planters putting in over 5000 seedlings per day.  Now, those are some long days - basically starting at "can" and stopping at "can't".  

I've hired some local guys to try to plant small projects - like bicolor strips, hardwood mast/cover blocks, and small pine thickets, and they usually average around 1,000 seedlings per day.

The best I've ever personally done was just north of 3,200 seedlings in one day - and I was in my mid-20's then.  I almost bit off more than I could chew on that personal project in the time we had allotted, so I ended up just bearing down & getting it done.


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## poorcountrypreacher (Feb 3, 2009)

Thanks rip18, that's just the info I needed.


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## Vernon Holt (Feb 3, 2009)

When planting tree seedlings, bicolor, or whatever, one should always place quality of planting job over speed.  Almost without exception, emphasizing speed will result in poor planting results.

What constitutes a satisfactory planted seedling??  Plants should be planted to the same depth as grown in the nursery.

Care should be taken to spread roots evenly in all directions.  This will allow the root system to develop in a more natural pattern, as opposed to having the roots clustered in one or two directions.

The final step in properly planting a seedling involves packing the soil firmly around the plant.  Stepping on the loose soil next to the newly planted seedling is sufficient, but it does consume some time.

Well planted seedlings will have a better survival rate and will show early vigor.

1000 properly planted seedlings per 8 hour day with a dibble is excellent production.



















































































































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## poorcountrypreacher (Feb 3, 2009)

Thanks Vernon - that was more good info. Trust me, this group ain't gonna emphasize speed.


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## Russ Toole (Feb 3, 2009)

Pay them per tree planted and watch them fly!   Appeal to their motivation.  Money is a great motivator.


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## Vernon Holt (Feb 4, 2009)

Pay them by the trees planted and they will bury half of them in stump holes.  Not a very good idea.


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## poorcountrypreacher (Feb 4, 2009)

I'm paying them by the day; these guys are all good friends so I won't be too hard on them. But I will hold that guy that plants 5000 a day over their heads and berate them when they don't come close. 

Thanks for the replies. I'll report back on how we did. Got to do some burning too.


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## Woody17 (Feb 5, 2009)

Most mexicans plant about 5 acres a day with about 500 trees to the acre. Go ahead & rub some bengay on your back now!!!  Good Luck! I ended up in the hospital for 3 days after I planted some this past wkend.


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## poorcountrypreacher (Feb 8, 2009)

>>>>I've hired some local guys to try to plant small projects - like bicolor strips, hardwood mast/cover blocks, and small pine thickets, and they usually average around 1,000 seedlings per day.<<<<

Rip and others were right on the money with this estimate.  Planted most of Thursday, then spent Friday doing a prescribed burn, then finished the planting Sat morning. Even though the ground had been turned with a turning plow, there were still places where it was extremely hard to get the dibble all the way into the ground. The land was rough, and the plow just bounced along sometimes when it got covered with roots.

I don't see how those Mexicans can plant in an area where they do nothing to prepare the ground. They are lots tougher than me, but then we already knew that. 

Thanks for all the help.


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## michauxii (Feb 8, 2009)

Guys..
Listen to what Mr Holt tells you!!
It's a quality/quantity thing. Quality, whether it is a rifle,prep for a fishing trip, etc., wins every time.

You'll be well served to do a Cadillac job instaed of a "shamwow" job.

Unless you're real, real lucky.


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