Good News Guys, I'm starting my own conservation group................

[KDM]

An update: Good Grief this thing has taken off. I'm actually taken aback by it all. I talked to the land manager and he's given me permission to use my truck to access the blocks and water along with taking water from the local sloughs. To go along with that, I've been contacted by an individual that offered some square 250 gallon totes with hoses. A huge THANK YOU to him. So the plan now is to use one or two of those 250 gallon totes, hook up a transfer pump to a generator to fill the tank from local water sources, and construct a system where the driver can turn the water on and off as they drive along. That part hasn't been figured out yet. I have a 1/4 horse transfer pump that I have to make sure still works, but I don't have a generator yet. This is getting fun!!! The hog fence thing is out, but the land manager said those white sleeves would be fine, so that the plan for protecting the trees. He also mentioned that he might be able to buy the sleeves if I would find a way to install them. Basically, the tree protection part might come down to manpower, which would be AWESOME!! It's pretty difficult to politicize manpower. So, we're off and running with that part now. I plan on being on location at the Seth Gordon WMA on the 21st for the planting, but will keep everyone informed of any changes in case anyone wants to get involved in this.

 

[Atom]

This makes me smile.

 

[Allen]

It's people like KDM that make a difference in the world around us. Far too many are just along for the ride, including me at times.

 

[deleted]

It's people like KDM that make a difference in the world around us. Far too many are just along for the ride, including me at times.

Well said................so KDM, if you're willing to do this and one issue is the equipment to fill tanks. Would a gas powered pump be the easiest/quickest way to fill? I'll donate $50 towards a new one....hopefully others will as well.

 

[Lycanthrope]

Use a pickup and haul a decent amount of water. Also if you dont want it to evaporate quickly, inject it beneath each tree planted, shouldnt be too hard to do. Also this will benefit the trees/bushes by encouraging their roots to grow down instead of staying shallow. Also dont over water, if you water too much you can actually inhibit root growth and increase the likelihood of the tree dying during the winter or during harsh weather.Not sure if gravity would be sufficient or not, but it might be... Have you looked into tree tubes at all? They are easy to install and can be had for a buck or two each, depending how tall u want them to be.

 

[KDM]

Well said................so KDM, if you're willing to do this and one issue is the equipment to fill tanks. Would a gas powered pump be the easiest/quickest way to fill? I'll donate $50 towards a new one....hopefully others will as well.

Thanks Woodpecker. That's great. Hold that thought for a bit if you will. I don't even know where I'm at yet. I will be meeting with a generous man from Jamestown next week to try to put together the truck tank and hose setup and maybe a 12v elec pump for the tank, but I won't know 'til I get there. Once I have the tanks and hoses I'll know the gaps that need to be filled. I might need that gas pump, or maybe just a generator. We'll just have to see next week. I don't want to be a jerk here, but I don't want to take money from guys without telling them EXACTLY what I'll be spending it on and I don't want to take in more money than what I need to get the job done each year. It's way too easy for guys to claim I'm just going to buy beer with it or put it into my own personal bank account. I'd like to avoid those types of conflicts if I can. The perfect setup would be a tank truck similar to what they use for county weed control, but that's a loooooong way off. I'll be paddledrinking for the next couple days so I'll be a bit scarce, but keep those thoughts and ideas coming. I really think we can do some good here. Thanks Everyone!!!

 

[Ristorapper]

Lycan, "Also if you dont want it to evaporate quickly, inject it beneath each tree planted, shouldnt be too hard to do."

What type of soil are the trees going in. Sandy, loamy, black dirt???? will depend on how the water soaks in or should be injected....

good one Lycan

 

[KDM]

Use a pickup and haul a decent amount of water. Also if you dont want it to evaporate quickly, inject it beneath each tree planted, shouldnt be too hard to do. Also this will benefit the trees/bushes by encouraging their roots to grow down instead of staying shallow. Also dont over water, if you water too much you can actually inhibit root growth and increase the likelihood of the tree dying during the winter or during harsh weather.Not sure if gravity would be sufficient or not, but it might be... Have you looked into tree tubes at all? They are easy to install and can be had for a buck or two each, depending how tall u want them to be.

Thanks Lycan!! Never heard of such a thing in a field setting. I'll have to do some research on this water injection. Sounds like it might be some special equipment that's a bit out of my league for now. The blocks will have weed barrier fabric over them which is supposed to help with evaporation. Hopefully, the land manager and the forester will be able to provide some input as to how much water the trees need over the summer. I'm assuming these tree tubes you are talking about are the same as the sleeves the G&F mentioned. Again, I'll have to do some checking to make sure. Thanks again!!!

 

[gst]

Thanks Woodpecker. That's great. Hold that thought for a bit if you will. I don't even know where I'm at yet. I will be meeting with a generous man from Jamestown next week to try to put together the truck tank and hose setup and maybe a 12v elec pump for the tank, but I won't know 'til I get there. Once I have the tanks and hoses I'll know the gaps that need to be filled. I might need that gas pump, or maybe just a generator. We'll just have to see next week. I don't want to be a jerk here, but I don't want to take money from guys without telling them EXACTLY what I'll be spending it on and I don't want to take in more money than what I need to get the job done each year. It's way too easy for guys to claim I'm just going to buy beer with it or put it into my own personal bank account. I'd like to avoid those types of conflicts if I can. The perfect setup would be a tank truck similar to what they use for county weed control, but that's a loooooong way off. I'll be paddledrinking for the next couple days so I'll be a bit scarce, but keep those thoughts and ideas coming. I really think we can do some good here. Thanks Everyone!!!

As long as you don;t use it to help get liberal politicians elected......

- - - Updated - - -

We built a deal that was hooked to a water hose off a 12 volt gas pump that was basically a pipe with a sharp point on it that shot water out the bottom and lower sides thru holes we drilled to try and get the water down to the root system. the water actually helped open the soil to push the "probe" down into the dirt about 12-14 inches. It worked but it was slow and we wondered if it was washing dirt away from roots deeper into the soil or not and worth the effort so quit using it.

Plus it didn;t stop raining for three years so we kinda quit watering and the trees got large enough to have a good root system

 

[Yoby]

This was my watering set up. I think it was a 3k gallon tank couple with the 275 gallon tote. Used the trash pump to load the big tank from the river (took about 30-45 min) then load the smaller tank (took about 5 min). Gravity feed, I would have a double hose out and water each small tree for 90 seconds. the large trees took alot longer. I could water 50ish small trees with 250 gallons. Big trees (4ft or larger) I would split the tank in 1/4s or 1/8ths.

I commend you, if I still lived up here I would try to be out there with you. Good luck.

 

[deleted]

Yoby, did you load the big tank with the same pump and if so....how far did you have to push the water?

 

[Yoby]

Yoby, did you load the big tank with the same pump and if so....how far did you have to push the water?

I did. In the end, I had to use a 100ft flexible hose to push the water up the 30ft bank.

 

[Lycanthrope]

If you had someone driving the pickup and someone sitting on the tailgate you could just use a regular hose with a peice of pipe attached to the end, cut it at an angle maybe to make it easier to push in. Not sure if gravity would be enough pressure or if it would be better with a pump and an on/off valve or switch of some sort. If theres plastic and you are just dumping water on top I bet 90% would be completely wasted. But if you were able to inject the water about a foot beneath the plant, even if its off to the side, it would help MUCH more. Driver would need some kind of camera to know where to stop, maybe just something bumper mounted with a small screen on the dash.

 

[Yoby]

Something to keep in mind if you do get a larger pump, the bogo valve on the front of these totes don't allow for reverse flow. That is the reason you see I put the injection port through the breather port, also make sure you have enough pressure relief holes or you will pressurize the tank which got interesting.

Originally I had picked up one of the 115V AC transfer pumps. If memory serves, it was rated at something like 300 GPH, so to fill the tank it took an hr. and that is if it was on a level plain. So the time would increase if you had to suck it up and push into the back of a pickup (say vertical change of 8ft).

 

[Lycanthrope]

If you pull water out of a slew or pond that has white deposits around the outside, trees might not like the high mineral concentrations of that water and it could possibly kill them...

 

[CrankB8]

Yoby -"the bogo valve on the front of these totes don't allow for reverse flow"
This is only true with totes that were previously used in Ag containing Herbicides/Pesticides/Fungicides. They put a 1-way valve to prevent anyone from reverse filling with non-labeled chemicals. However, most if not all totes I personally deal with on a daily basis that are micro-nutrients or fertilizer will come with a 2 way valve that would allow for bottom filling of a tote. If you have the same set up and are looking to replace that bottom valve with one that allows for reverse flow I've got plenty.

 

[sl1000794]

When we do new apartment projects the Landscape Architects design a type of dry well about 2 feet deep beside the tree with a 2" pvc pipe from the surface into the dry well. Then you can put a hose into the pvc tube and water the tree 2 feet down. Not sure if you can do something like this, but it works out here where money grows on trees and money is no object. (I don't have a money tree tho!!!)

 

[KDM]

Thanks guys for all the info. I'll be headin over to look at some tanks and hose settups in a day or two. I'll keep everyone posted on progress and hopefully have something working on the 21st. If nothing else, I'll have a gravity fed tank and a garden hose. Either way, I'm going to get this idea off the ground and I'll improve as I go along. Thanks again for all the support.

Kirk

 

[tikkalover]

Good for you Kirk on doing this.:;:cheers Wished I was already retired to do something like this. As far as using a generator to power an electric pump, please remember how water and electricity mix, as in they don't.

 

[wby257]

How did project turn out and how many trees were plants? Did the watering of the tree's work?