For some of you this may be basic information, but for those who don’t know how to dig a post hole this tidbit could save you some work and frustration.

To your left are the “tools of the trade”.  The 2 go together like a bow and arrow – you need both to get the job done.

The post-hole-digger on the far left is the obvious one. I’ve seen customers at Home Depot buy fence to install and logically they grab a post-hole-digger.  But the steel digging-bar is the companion tool that together with the post-hole-digger makes things happen.

There are a couple of digging-bar types out there.  For general post hole digging I use the one that has the round tamper at one end and the dig blade at the other.

Work The 2 Tools Together

The key concept to understand here is that the digging bar does the hard digging and loosening of the earth, and the post-hole-digger basically scoops out the loose dirt.

Work layer by layer.  Use the blade end of the bar to loosen 3 or 4″ of earth and pry any stones you come across.  Now take the post-hole-digger, scoop out the loose material and rinse and repeat.  I toss the stones to the side as I dig so I’m left with a clean pile of earth to backfill with. Before long you’ll get to the depth you’re looking for.

The round tamper at the other end of the bar is to “tamp” and pack the earth as you backfill around the post you’re setting.  Make sure you do the backfilling and tamping in layers so as to get thorough compaction from the bottom to the top.

Post-hole-digging does not have to be such a nasty job.  Work these 2 tools together to show that hole who’s the boss.

These 2 tools are not expensive and make nice additions to a well-rounded tool collection. In future posts we’ll look at other ways to use these tools to make your work easier.

A Stone Fork Has Multiple Uses

It may be called a stone fork, but handling stones is only one of several things this tool can do.  The tines are spaced just the right distance apart so that it can be used to scoop all sorts of materials including: top soil, sand, stone-dust, etc.  But the spacing of the tines also allows a “sifting” ability (with a shake of the tool), which is nice when you want to separate larger particles in a pile from the smaller, finer particles.

This photo sequence shows just one use of this great tool during the very common task of grading and picking up stones and debris.

The crew has used aluminum  alloy rakes to grade the slope in preparation for sod.  The raking process produces piles of debris and stones.  In the picture to the left a stone fork is used to pick the piles up.  To use the tool correctly (and convince yourself you’ll never use a shovel for this task again), lay the tines on the ground in front of the pile so they can slide flat.  Then, push the fork under the pile of debris & stones.

Tip: Make sure your piles have been raked onto a clean graded area.  This will enable the tines to slide smoothly under the pile.

While using the stone fork to pick up the debris & stones, occasionally turn it over and use the tips of the tines to rake and gather the remaining bits of the pile.  After a while you’ll get comfortable with the fork and switch back and forth from these positions without thinking about it.  Also, you’ll see how the tool helps you avoid scooping up good soil in the process.

I’m going to be showing more tools in use and in their different applications. It’s just amazing the work you can do using the right tool for a particular task.  Let me know if you have other uses for a stone fork.  Shoot me a comment below.

Dug In Minutes

Although mechanical tree spades have been around for some time now, they’re not too common a piece of equipment for most contractors. Why? Because tree spades are specialized equipment that cost alot of money, and for most contractors it’s not something they would use often enough to justify the expense.  Landscape contractor Dave Kennedy has been transplanting trees for most of his years in the industry and has equipped himself with machines in the mid-size range. In the first picture the spade is positioned to dig a Norway Spruce.   It opens like a clam shell and closes once around the tree; all with the power of hydraulics driven by the skid steer.

The 4 metal blades are independently controlled (again by hydraulics) and are water lubricated to help them penetrate the ground.  When the blades are beneath the earth and around the root system, the tree can be safely raised.  A wire tree basket lined with burlap awaits the freshly dug tree.

To dig this tree the conventional way, i.e. “balled & burlaped” by hand, it would take two men at least 2 hours. One of my upcoming posts will show a hand-dug transplant so you can see and compare the process.

Tree Spade Territory

The biggest use of these machines is in the growing nurseries where thousands of plants are grown and dug for market.  Their ability to do volume work in a short time makes them the industry standard. As you would expect, mechanical tree spades need room to work.  Just the large blades themselves require a certain amount of clearance to operate.  On some project sites there is simply not enough room, or the land is too sloped, or there are underground utilities “too close for comfort”.  These are just some of the conditions where “hand-digging” would be the method of choice.

In less than an hour Dave’s mechanical tree spade had these 2 existing trees out of the ground and into wire tree baskets with burlap. The crewmen shave the excess soil off the tops of the balls, fold over the burlap and tie the upper loops of the basket in a “criss-cross” fashion to make a tight package. These trees are ready to be repositioned and replanted.

How often do you see tree removals and tree work being done with actual tree-climbers and ropes?  I have to believe every tree company out there has a climber with the equipment and skills, but it’s just not that common a practice anymore.

Why?..Because of hydraulic bucket trucks and cranes.  Alot of industries use bucket trucks, from utility companies to commercial sign installers.  It has revolutionized the tasks of working high-up, most importantly by making it safer.

Cranes have enabled tasks like tree removal and the placement of large heavy objects from point A to point B, even in some of the most precarious situations.  Cranes in the tree business allow removal of whole trees and limbs in controlled, efficient ways.  Some of this work would have been considered dangerous and next to impossible before cranes came on the seen.

Still, watching a skilled climber navigate the sky-high structure of a tree is a feat to behold.  If you’ve ever climbed a tree just for the fun of it, you can really appreciate the level of skill to do what they do.

I was on a job site the other day and the homeowner asked if her young son could have a ride on the loader-backhoe that one of the contractors was using. For days we had been noticing this kid just staring at every piece of equipment that came on the job. So of course the operator didn’t mind giving the youngster a ride. You should have seen the look on his face while the operator ran it through some maneuvers.

Seeing that kid all excited got each of us confessing our similar fascination with tools and equipment. In fact, it’s probably a good part of what got us interested in the construction business.

So for any of you that get a thrill out of heavy equipment, check out the picture below.

This is a “drilling rig,” but not an ordinary one. This machine can drill up to 100′ per hour! Just so you know…that’s pretty amazing!

The old well on the property was to be used to provide water for the cabana and the irrigation system, but it didn’t have the capacity to produce that kind of volume. We needed a new well drilled and time was of the essence.

This professional company operates several of these rigs and in no time had secured the necessary permit and was on the job. In less than a day they had drilled a new well that gave more than enough water. And yes, I was tempted to ask the operator if I could run the machine. Some people never grow up.

Older landscapes often have larger plant material that’s in relatively good condition and can be utilized in the redesign & renovation. Newer landscapes that were poorly designed and/or arranged can literally be “disassembled” quite easily and redone.

Today we still practice the conventional method of transplanting called “balled & burlap,” which you can see in the photo below. In some circumstances it is the only option you may have.

However, when the transplanting situation can accommodate a larger piece of equipment, you can accomplish the task in much less time and often at a lower cost using specialized equipment.

In this next picture you see a mechanical tree spade mounted on a skid steer machine. This particular tree spade can make a root ball up to 52″ in diameter. This could mean moving a tree that’s up to 18′ tall.

Here are some of the advantages to transplanting larger plants on these renovation projects.

• We can establish (or preserve) a substantial scale in the design or create an impressive privacy screen.
• It would normally be more costly to supply and install new plants this size than the cost of transplanting.

Yes there are real advantages to transplanting and using the larger plant material, but not without first considering the specific details of that particular move. Every transplant is different and comes with its own set of circumstances.

Once you’ve listed and realized all the logistical factors, it will be clearer to you as to whether transplanting is the right decision. It often comes down to a cost : value factor, i.e. “Is the cost worth the risk and the “real value” of the plant?

From experience you should be able to estimate the potential (or percentage) of success. You should also know the approximate cost of supplying and installing a new plant to compare that cost. This information will help with the decision and in your discussion with the homeowner/client.