Craig went down to Aurora and purchased about 250 noble fir seedlings. Over the last several years as the previous owner of our farm aged, there were very few seedlings planted so we are trying to bring it back up to higher production. These seedlings are called 1+1, as they are two years old, having spent their first year in a tray in a greenhouse and their second outside in the ground. They are sold in large bags (we bought 2 bags) of bare root trees that have been kept at very cool temperatures to remain dormant until they are replanted.
We were told of some of the trickier aspects of planting nobles, such as how important it is for the hole to be dug deep enough so their roots will be loose and straight down into the soil, rather than balled up under the seedling, which tends to cause death a couple years down the road. Craig got to work in the rain, digging and planting sometimes up to as many as 30 in a day. It was a lot of work and we have heard that mortality can be very high, especially if the summer is very hot and dry. In the end Craig planted about 220 of the baby trees and we will be happy if we get at least 50 or so that mature successfully. Time will tell and no matter what happens, we will have learned a lot from our first year of planting.
