John Weatherstone on Paddock Tree planting
John Weatherstone gave a wonderful talk at the last Sutton Landcare meeting on April 12. The meeting was very well attended with over 25 people learning a great deal from John. Through a series of slides of his property, Lyndfield Park near Gunning, John was able to give us many insights into his highly successful tree-planting operation.
Firstly John talked about the success he has had using direct seeding of native trees. This can be with a Landcare direct seeder or just hand sowing. He prepares for seed planting by ripping across the slope using a single tyne with wide keels, preferably in February. He always does multiple riplines so there is no glazing and to give the roots an opportunity to spread out. He also uses one jet of the boom spray to control competition near the riplines. As well he now favours mulching on his farm; to better incorporate soil carbon he has changed from a slasher to a mulcher.
Although many farmers do not like planting wattles, John felt their benefits far outweighed such problems as their short lifespan. Wattles are vital for adding Nitrogen to the soil. He feels it is best to plant wattles in the middle of plantations, then they do not fall on fences when they die, plus when they break down Eucalypts quickly fill in the gaps.
When planting tubestock, John emphasized mounding is very important; it pulls in the topsoil from both sides, then inverts it. This buries the weeds seed and gives the young roots a boost with the extra topsoil. He plants tubestock on top of the mound with a saucer around each one to hold water. He always mounds on the contour to maximize catching the rain.
John said he felt there was often too much emphasis on planting trees of local provenance. He says there is a lot of work still to be done on this. In some cases, he has had failures with seeds collected very close by, yet successes with seeds collected a long way away. Often it is the local microclimate that is the most important to note when collecting trees of local provenance.
John also favors the planting of deciduous trees, as grass stays greener at the base of these trees longer than anywhere else in the paddock. He uses mounding for these trees too, favoring natives in rows outside the deciduous trees and trees such as oaks and Paulownias inside.
In conclusion John said in all his plantings he tries to build habitat value. He always has diversity in his plantings, for example prickly bushes to protect birds, and trees and shrubs flowering all year round to provide nectar for birds and insects. At the same time he avoids using chemicals whenever possible to again provide a better habitat for wildlife.
Since the 1982/83 drought John has transformed Lyndfield Park with a massive tree planting program and in the process improved its resilience to drought, its profitability, its capital value and created a beautiful landscape which we all admired in his great slides. John said his property now has at least 30% tree cover yet he has now doubled his stocking rate. This is a remarkable statistic. As well the sale of native seeds is now an important enterprise on the farm.
The meeting provided a great opportunity for those attending to benefit from John’s accumulated wealth of experience in paddock tree planting.
Jane Vincent