I didn't know how successful it would be, so when I was on the back of the tree planter, I planted them as fast as I could which meant they were a metre apart. However there is plenty of time for nature to thin them out. Success rates were just as good in the 1996 planting season. Using the Chatfield tree planter, the Pauleys are able to plant up to 1000 bare rooted seedlings per hour. Although they have grown well since transplanting, Des thinks that their root systems are not so well developed.
Des buys some seedlings in pots to increase the variety of species planted.
He does not think that all species can be successfully grown in a bare rooted nursery. Des stresses that the nursery is still very much an experiment and that great care is needed in transplanting the seedlings. Wind erosion on upper slopes Wind erosion is being controlled by a system of windbreaks and planting on deep sands. The Pauleys rely on soaks for water in the upper catchments and are careful not to plant on the slopes directly above them, preferring to protect these areas with windbreaks. Most of the tagasaste is now above sheep height as the rows are only 2.5 m apart which does not allow access for machinery to slash the plants.