2016 planting is (almost) done

Last week Cassie and Mike made a big push and, except for some Redwood trees which are (apparently) still in Tasmania, the 2016 planting is done. Here are the stars of the show.

Cassie came to Carmyllie as a WWOOFer earlier this year- and showed a capacity for hard work when we were clearing the central race.  We invited her to come back and help with the planting.  Good decision!

Mike is a friend of (now) very long standing - more like family really. 

We started with the planting of a 'fire break'.  If that sounds a bit strange ... the idea is that we plant trees along the edges of our plantations that are less vulnerable to the ember attack that often spreads in front of an Australian bush fire.  We've planted tagasaste, poplars, oaks and blackwoods in 4 rows.

What we've done then is plant 9 other species into spaces in a coppicing Euc. globulus plantation.  That plantation was originally planted at (I think) 1,100 stems per hectare.  If we assume that about 900 of them survived to harvest in 2010.  I would guess that then about 800 have coppiced and only a half of them have had a coppice stem that is doing well enough to retain as a possible future sawlog. 

That means we have a plantation with a stocking of about 400 trees per hectare - which I have been able to confirm with a few counts.  I would think that the average DoB (diameter at breast height) is probably around 10 cm - which means the basal area would be a touch over 30 m3 / ha.  With an absence of any canopy cover for some time ... should that be low enough to provide for establishment of the planted trees - none of which is closer than about 2.5 metres to an E. globulus tree.

Our objective is, over the next 20 years, to create a mixed species forest of saw logs.  This year we've planted (or are going to plant):

The only reason we haven't planted the Redwoods is that we haven't been able to get them from the nursery yet.  We have two spots selected and ready.

The tagasaste are a part of the ember protection barriers and will be a stock feed - as well as being a nitrogen fixer.  I ordered too many really - and even planting two to every hole .... we got sick of planting tagasaste by the end.  It will be valuable as a stock food though - high protein and available at a time when pasture growth can be a challenge.

The Blackwoods should do well on the basis that it is a tree that 'volunteers' across the property - and appears to do well.  Blackwood is one of the great furniture timbers of the world.  I am planning to have furniture made from Blackwood in the study at the new house.

Sydney blue gum, Spotted gum and Sugar gum are trees that are reputed to do well as an agroforestry crop in our region. 

Red cedar, Silky oak, Brookers gum and Yellow stringybark are trees that might do well and are worth trialing - hence we've got a few in this year.  Like everything, we will be watching what happens.

The year has been very, very wet.  The weather station at Ballarat Airport has already recorded 65% more rainfall year to date than last year (which was not un-typical of recent years) and 16% more than the long-term average.  We think of ourselves as being in 600 mm rainfall country, but not (unfortunately) for the last 20 years. 

Today as I walked through the forest the ground underfoot was wetter than it has been at any time up to now.  Water is not only lying around - its oozing out of the ground in random places.  In many places, about 30 cm below the surface, the subsoil is what one local farmer called 'spew'.  He also said that in summer the ground will be like 'rock' again.  Although perhaps not this summer.

We certainly have to be very careful about moving around with vehicles.  So far we have had the the Terios stuck once - but not too badly.  Nothing else - touch wood.