Hybrid hazelnuts thrive in the greenhouse at Arbor Day Farm, Nebraska City. This photo shows about 40,000 hazelnuts.

Greehouse Manager Adam Howard checks the root system and structure on a hybrid hazelnut plant. A plant that easily releases from the growing tray indicates that the roots are strong and the plant is almost ready.

A good look at a hybrid hazelnut sprouting in the greenhouse.

These hybrid hazelnuts soak up the warm afternoon sun in the greenhouse at Arbor Day Farm.

Sun streaming into the greenhouse at Arbor Day Farm illuminates the distinct look of the hazelnut leaf.

Find more information about the Arbor Day Foundation’s hybrid hazelnut program online: http://www.arborday.org/programs/hazelnuts/

Jan Bonham and Kristy Edwards work in the raised beds at Arbor Day Farm.

Are you looking to start your plantings earlier and possibly stretch your harvest date further?  Look no more than raised beds.  Raised beds are nothing more than elevating soil or mix, which allows the soil to warm faster in the spring and to cool slower in the autumn months.  In some regions, depending on climate, using raised beds lengthens the growing time by an extra month on either end of the regular growing cycle. That can be a real advantage in getting strong, healthy plants and trees.

Arbor Day Farm is currently experimenting with our own raised beds.  Our soil here is, for the most part, clay.  This hinders good root development for young seedlings and it also eliminates the possibility of lifting (that’s “greenhouse speak” for harvesting) the seedlings at maturity. The clay would tear the lateral roots, all but killing the seedlings once they went to outplanting.  With the challenge of clay soil in our area, we decided to go with raised beds as a trial when it comes to growing bareroot seedlings here at Arbor Day Farm. 

We started by choosing level ground near our current growing house operations.  We then staked out two sections, each  4’ by 30’.  We chose 4’ because it was wide enough to still access the middle of the bed from either side. We then removed all the sod out of the area and trenched a 6” wide by 6” deep area down the middle of the bed.  Next we constructed the bed walls.  We chose treated lumber (2” x 12”). We lined the bed and the wood walls with a 6-millimeter thick black plastic sheeting, which will block any leaching chemicals found in the treated lumber. 

Once the walls were up and the plastic down, we then laid 4” PVC drain pipe down the trench, and placed about 2” of river rock on top of the pipe as our bottom aggregate.  With the river rock in place, next comes the irrigation system. We put together a simple system utilizing a typical lawn irrigation computer, ¾” PVC pipe, and a major brand riser/irrigation head. Next layer: soil.

Our soil mix included yard compost, peat, sand, and vermiculite.  Once mixed, our recipe gave us the consistency we were looking for.  The yard compost was an easy choice because its readily available in our area and it is cheap. (Hey, we all have a budget, right?)  The peat is another natural organic that gives good porosity.  The sand gives the mix its compaction.  Without sand, the mix would be fluffy.  And, last but not least, the vermiculite (the round white balls you always see in purchased container plants) gives the mix great porosity and good drainage characteristics. We went heavier on the yard compost, which caused our pH to start high.  However, the pH will be adjusted during the growth of the seedlings with an acid injection at each watering. 

Once our soil recipe was fine-tuned, we filled the beds all the way to the top because we knew the soil mix would settle.  And we were right.  We finished the beds in late May and the soil has settled about two inches since then.

In our raised beds at Arbor Day Farm, we are currently trialing two shrubs and one tree species.  After sowing, we covered the entire raised bed with a shadecloth and elevated it on 5′ risers, allowing the irrigation to function correctly.  Once the shadecloth has served its purpose, we will convert it to a wildlife screen to ward off those pesky mammals, both large and small. This screen will stay on until lifting (harvesting) in the fall.  We look to lift our mature seedlings with nothing more than a pitchfork. The tines on the fork should lift the seedlings uniformly and we can then pull them out in groups and shake off the soil mix from the roots. 

This particular raised bed system is a good one to try.  We’re learning the art of bareroot growing, and this system allows us to show what we’re learning to the many visitors that come through the Tree Adventure and the Lied Greenhouse here at Arbor Day Farm.  This outreach is a direct connection to our mission: Inspiring People to Plant, Nurture, and Celebrate Trees.  We hope you’ll come visit this summer and see for yourself.

Until next time,
Adam

 Adam Howard is the Manager of Nursery Operations at Arbor Day Farm and a Certified Forester with the Society of American Foresters. He has been in the forest industry for 11 years and contributes regularly to this blog. For more information on how you can receive trees from the Arbor Day Foundation, visit arborday.org.

What a great time of the year here at Arbor Day Farm.  The soil temperature is rising, the buds are swelling, the bulbs are breaking through the ground, and the tree seedlings are heading out the door.  Our annual spring tree shipping season is upon us and I thought I’d describe what it takes to seamlessly send more than 2.5 million seedlings to all of our Arbor Day Foundation members during Spring 2011. 

As you might expect: It all starts with a great plan.

The tree shipping crew at Arbor Day Farm.

The Foundation’s tree order forms and special offers begin to arrive in our members’ mailboxes in the late winter and early spring months. About that same time the tree shipping team builds a plan to deliver all of the healthy, ready-to-grow seedlings at just the right time for your hardiness zone.  The entire plan is based on somewhat of a “right time, right tree, right place” method.  As we survey our projections of how many seedlings we believe we will ship, we begin to firm up the plan on how we will deliver the total volume of mail throughout the United States based on hardiness zones, weather, volume, etc.

With the plan in place and a target end date in mind, we begin the shipping process.  In 2011, we began on March 3rd and are targeting mid-May for finishing.

Currently we have 30 different species of seedlings that make up 40 different tree offerings for Arbor Day Foundation members.  All seedlings are stored in an on-site cooler at 38 degrees, which ensures good dormancy and keeps the seedlings fresh and the fungus threat low.  We paint a stripe across the tree stem and include a color-coded chart that helps the recipient identify the different tree varieties in the package (anywhere from five to 12 trees can be included in the same packet). After painting, the roots get inspected for health and are dipped in a water-holding gel that helps the roots retain adequate moisture during shipping.  The seedlings are then bagged, the appropriate paperwork is inserted, the bags are sealed, and the the appropriate mailing label is applied to the packet.  The packet then joins thousands of other packets of seedlings, and makes its way to your doorstep via the postal system. 

A color code system helps identify tree seedlings from the Arbor Day Foundation.

For those of you who might be near Nebraska City, this entire tree shipping process is open to the public for viewing. Stop in at the Apple House Market on Arbor Day Farm, 9am to 3pm during this shipping season (through mid-May), and you’ll find us working on what used to be known as the apple sorting floor. Feel free to watch us process lots of trees to lots of members all around the globe.

 By having a good plan, following it closely, paying attention to the weather, and inspecting the quality of theproduct, the Arbor Day Foundation tree shipping team ensures delivery of seedlings that not only you, the recipient, will be proud of, but a group of seedlings that have every chance of establishing themselves as the trees of tomorrow. 

We look forward to sending trees to you, too.

Adam

Adam Howard is the Manager of Nursery Operations at Arbor Day Farm and a Certified Forester with the Society of American Foresters. He has been in the forest industry for 11 years and contributes regularly to this blog. For more information on how you can receive trees from the Arbor Day Foundation, visit arborday.org.

Granted, we’re a small team of just three individuals, but it’s inspiring to think about the future forests that literally pass right through our hands every season.  It’s rewarding work.  We share ideas, we listen to one another, we solve new challenges, and everyone’s opinion is regarded  in the decision making process. This team approach is ingrained in the culture of our unique nursery setting.   

Speaking of the team… we thought maybe you’d like to meet us. We always look forward to visitors stopping in at the greenhouse, where we get to answer a few tree questions sometimes, or learn where our guests are visiting from. This is our chance to turn the proverbial tables, so to speak, and tell you a little bit about ourselves.  

Meet the Arbor Day Farm Greenhouse Staff (L to R): Adam Howard, Jan Bonham, and Kristy Edwards.

Kristy Edwards is originally from the Nebraska City, Nebraska, area and has been with the greenhouse operations for eight years. You might say Kristy comes by her green thumbs naturally, as she once owned and operated a landscape nursery and operates a local tree farm with her husband. She’s very much involved with the day-to-day duties of growing our crops, and she ensures that all of the Arbor Day Foundation’s Gift Tree orders are accurately processed and shipped in good health to customers around the country. In an average year, that’s approximately 300,000 to 400,000 gift trees!   

Jan Bonham also resides near Nebraska City, Nebraska, and has been with us for seven years. Apart from interacting with the other staff members, Jan says her favorite part of  the job  is helping trees mature all the way through from seed to shipping. And it’s a good thing, too, because if you’re an Arbor Day Foundation member — and there are more than one million of you — odds are very good that Jan herself has watered, propagated, and otherwise nurtured YOUR tree. As supervisor of the Membership Tree production line, Jan ensures that 3 million trees annually are processed and shipped to members and partners all over the United States, and maintains the day to day routine to grow upwards of 500,000 seedlings throughout the year.      

And then there’s me, Adam Howard. I’m originally from Alabama and have been the nursery operations manager at Arbor Day Farm for a little over two years.  My background is from the reforestation industry in the South where I managed a regional reforestation nursery.  Now I manage the complete nursery operations and tree shipping here at Arbor Day Farm, including our hybrid hazelnuts program.  Growing upwards of 500,000 seedlings on an annual basis and overseeing the procurement and shipping of 3 million trees is a challenge in its own right. I like the teamwork that our crew has developed in the recent past, knowing that we’re making a difference in the environment, and I enjoy the challenges that come from working in such a unique growing operation.  

So now that you know us, don’t be a stranger! We look forward to meeting and learning a little bit more about YOU on your next visit to the Tree Adventure and the growing operations at Arbor Day Farm.  

Email your hazelnut or other tree questions to Adam Howard at Arbor Day Farm.

All plants grown at Arbor Day Farm’s greenhouses are propagated from seed. During the month of May, we will sow over 250,000 seeds – Colorado Blue Spruce, White Pine, Norway Spruce, and Bald Cypress. As you might imagine, sowing a quarter of a million seeds by hand would take an enormous amount of time. So we embrace another gift – the gift of mechanization and technology – to help us keep up with the demand.

Here’s how we get growing at Arbor Day Farm…

Step 1: Preparing the Growing Trays. At Arbor Day Farm’s tree growing facilities, healthy, thriving trees start with well-prepared growing trays. Each tray is approximately 23″ x 14″ and has 160 cavities, and sterilizing them greatly reduces the bacteria and fungus that can hinder growth.

Step 2: The Importance of Peat. Each sterilized cavity in the tray is filled with peat moss, a soil-less media, that allows the perfect mix of water-holding capabilities for the seed as well as proper drainage.  Peat brings a delicate balance to the growing process, ensuring that the seed isn’t too wet or too dry. This perfect blend allows just enough air in the cavity to establish the roots to develop and breathe.

Step 3: Precision Planting. I’ve been in the tree business for 11 years, and I still find it fascinating to watch this planter in action. The planter features a set of small nozzles that are pre-set to the exact width of our growing trays. Using suction much like that of your home vacuum cleaner, each nozzle picks up a single seed and then uses a fast puff of air to place the seed in each growing cavity. Shown in this photo: the planter’s tiny nozzles grab a white pine seed, dyed red to make them easier to see. Image below: white pine seed at one month after germination.

Step 4: Just Add Water. Bring on the moisture and nutrients! Unlike natural earthen soil, the peat (see Step 2) has no nutritional value for the seed. So we compensate for that by injecting just the right amount of a feed blend through the greenhouse water lines. The seedlings take in the nutrients they need, compartmentalize and use each element as necessary, and they release or leach the built up salts and underutilized nutrients with the next watering.

By early fall, these germinated seeds will produce over 200,000 tree seedlings – seedlings that are used in the Arbor Day Foundation’s Gift Tree program, as well as the seedling you’ll receive on your next visit to Arbor Day Farm.

I invite you to stop in and get a first-hand look at the tree growing operations at Arbor Day Farm during this special time of year, and watch our mission literally come to life.

Adam Howard is the Manager of Nursery Operations at Arbor Day Farm and a Certified Forester with the Society of American Foresters. He has been in the forest industry for 11 years and contributes regularly to this blog. Contact Adam with your greenhouse questions.

A number of years ago, the Arbor Day Foundation wanted to produce a sustainable crop that would not only be a bio-fuel and a food source, but also an economical, high-yielding, widely-adaptable species that required relatively low input. That’s a pretty tall order, but after years of research, testing, and collaboration with invaluable partners, the Arbor Day Foundation established a nine-acre hazelnut orchard at Arbor Day Farm. What has grown out of this original planting in 1996 is a fascinating example of how a small idea can become reality and how that reality will continue to evolve into a sustainable program.

Currently, the Arbor Day Foundation’s hazelnut program grows more than 100,000 plug seedlings annually (like the ones shown at left) in the greenhouse operations at Arbor Day Farm. The hazelnut is a finicky species and one that requires lots of conditioning. Seed is harvested in late August and is immediately put into a moist stratification.  Through a series of warm and cold stratification cycles, the seed begins to swell and emerge. These are the seeds we use for our plantings. This process ensures that each planting has a higher likelihood of producing a viable seedling. Here at Arbor Day Farm, we plant in the winter and summer months with shipping seasons being spring and fall. All seedlings are shipped to our current hazelnut members across the United States.

I invite you to learn more about the continuing research into this fascinating species. Learn more about the members of the hazelnut consortium and also learn how you can help with hazelnut research, right in your own backyard.

Adam Howard is the Manager of Nursery Operations at Arbor Day Farm and a Certified Forester with the Society of American Foresters. He has been in the forest industry for 11 years and contributes regularly to this blog. Contact Adam with your greenhouse questions.