Planting Trees
17 March 2008
Spring time marks the arrival of the rainy season here in Kona. We
still have warm, sunny mornings but the afternoons will often be cloudy
with a good chance of rain. That means spring is an excellent time to
plant new coffee trees.
In previous years, I have either
dug the holes myself or hired a crew to
dig the holes by hand. This time the
field to be planted was a little too rocky so I hired a machine to dig the
holes for me. The little skid steer had a hydraulic jack hammer mounted
in place of the bucket. Using the hammer, the little machine could
pound its way through rock, punching a hole a little over a foot deep
wherever I had marked the ground with paint.
It was still necessary to use a pickaxe, shovel and my hands to make the hole
the right size for the trees. I like to dig the holes a little deeper
than necessary so I can add some fertilizer and lime to the bottom
of the hole. I add a little dirt on top of that so the roots don't get
burned, place in the tree and fill the hole the rest of the way wish a
few scoops of top soil (purchased by the trailer-full from the local
soil place). Even with the help of the machine, digging all the holes
and planting the trees still took several days.
The last step in the process was to post some pictures here on the website.
Emily had been sent out to help and, being the clever kid she is, she brought her
camera so she could take pictures instead of having to help dig. Some of
the pictures she took came out nice. It's difficult to take pictures and
get work done at the same time so having a photographer is helpful. Emily
also helped bring me the tools I needed, pick up the empty bags and she even
moved some rocks. This isn't the last batch of trees that need to be
planted but it's good enough for now.
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