A good hand-planting crew can average 1,000 seedlings per man-day; inexperienced crews average far less. This ranges from 600 on very poor sites to 1,200 on open fields. Most planters use a dibble bar that has a blade at least 4 inches wide and 10 inches long. Seedlings can be carried in a bucket, but a planting bag is a more efficient way for the planter to carry seedlings in the field. The planting bag is strapped around the planter's waist and will hold several hundred seedlings. Seedlings are dipped in synthetic gel or packed into the bags with wet moss. The bag protects seedlings from sun and wind. The planter removes one seedling at a time after the dibble has been used to open the planting slit. Do not allow planters to carry seedlings in hand while planting, as seedlings rapidly dry out. Two minutes of exposure to wind and sun can kill the seedlings. Always provide planting bags or buckets and insist that seedlings be kept moist at all times.
Have a supervisor at the site to insure that planting proceeds smoothly and properly. The supervisor should watch for poor practices, such as planters' stripping off roots to make planting of large seedlings easier, slow planters' discarding seedlings to "catch up" with the faster planters, shallow planting, loose packing, and carrying seedlings in hand during planting.
To insure correct spacing, frequently check distances of planted seedlings within and between rows. Proper packing is necessary to eliminate air pockets around the roots. Check by grasping several needles at the tip of the seedling between thumb and forefinger and gently try to pull the seedling from the soil. The needles should break if the seedling is firmly packed. A shovel can be used to dig around seedlings to check for "J-rooting."
See the How-To section to learn the proper method of hand planting seedlings.
