On Mar 13, 8:50�pm, wrote:
Hi - I would like to fill my 5 acres of dirt with trees. *I was going
to start with seeds.
Instead of trying to plant the whole 5 acres and haul water all over
the place, what do you thing of planting everything in tight rows to
begin and then transplanting later. *The rows would be wide enough for
a rototiller, but the seeds would be very close (1 or 2 feet). *This
would give a manageable area to maintain until the trees are a foot
tall. *Any thoughts? *Thanks.

You'd need to be extremely young if you plant seed. It'll be like ten
years before a seed goes from seed to a 1"-2" caliper wanna-be tree...
and that's for most trees worth growing. Without knowing where your
land is located it is difficult to offer more meaningful advice other
than a lot of wild speculation. It would be helpful to know where but
also very helful to know what, like what exactly do you want to
accomplish... an evergreen forest, hardwoods/nut n' fruit, wildlife
refuge, specimen plantings, etc.... plus what kind of soil and
moisture availability exists. All other parameters aside, I strongly
recommend you forget the planting trees from seed concept, not for
five acres. I know I couldn't, the wildlife would make quick work of
those seeds. I recommend sapplings but still you will need to fence
them or they won't be there 24 hours later... I know any I planted
would be eaten by deer that first evening.
If they'll grow in your zone I think softwoods are your best bet...
Norway and blue spruce make a nice mix, with some dogwood peppered
about. Other trees will be planted by wildlife dropping seed,
especially birds... the trick is to get a habitat forest started
quickly, then the progression will take care of itself.