 Windbreaks provide many benefits, including wildlife habitat, livestock protection, and wind erosion control. Windbreaks don't just happen. They're the result of proper planning, planting, and care. The techniques you'll learn are the result of 50 years of tree planting experience. Successful tree planting involves the proper care and handling of tree seedlings and good tree planting techniques. And the combination of these things will mean more windbreaks in the future. In the fall and early spring, tree seedlings are lifted from seedling beds and placed in cold storage to ensure that they do not break dormancy. It is essential that the seedlings not break dormancy until after they are planted. Plan ahead for your first contact with the seedlings at the nursery. If your travel time is more than four hours from the nursery to the cold storage facility, you need to arrange to transport the seedlings on a day when the weather will be cool. Arrive early in the morning when the temperatures are coolest, and as you're handling the boxes of seedlings, remember to lift with your legs. Try to keep the boxes close to your body as possible. Also avoid twisting motions. These tips will help reduce the likelihood of injury. If transporting in an open vehicle, pack the boxes containing the seedlings as tightly as possible, then cover the boxes with the tarp. Travel directly back to your cold storage facility with as few stops as possible. Immediately unload the seedlings into cold storage. Upon arrival at the cold storage facility, the seedlings may be unpacked and placed on racks. Try to maintain the temperature in the storage facility as close to 33 degrees Fahrenheit as possible. Avoid temperature fluctuation, as this may cause trees to break dormancy. It is a good idea to place sphagnum moss on the storage racks before placing seedlings on the racks. This helps ensure roots always remain moist. However, when handling sphagnum moss, be sure to wear long sleeves and gloves. This will help prevent sphorotricosis, which is a fungal disease that can affect people through breaks in the skin. A round rash or sore that doesn't heal is the most common symptom of this disease. This condition is treatable. If you develop these symptoms, contact a doctor immediately and mention that you may have been exposed to sphorotricosis. While in storage, the tree roots need to be moistened daily with a fine mist. High humidity needs to be maintained in the storage facility and can be achieved best by having a humidifier or mister. If this is not available, wetting down the floors and walls will work. Planning crews must carefully plan out each day of planting. Review the scheduled planning plans for the day so that you know how many and what species will be needed that particular day. Take only as many trees as will be needed out of cold storage. However, it's usually wise to take a few extras. The shorter the time period between seedling removal from cold storage and planting, the better the survival will be. Any seedlings left over after a day of planting need to be returned to the storage facility and used at a later date. These seedlings will experience higher mortality than seedlings not exposed to this kind of stress. The vehicle used to transport the seedlings to the planting site should provide insulated storage. An important step before planting is to confirm that the landowner has been contacted and he has prepared the seedbed for planting. If this step is left out, the planting crew may find an unprepared seedbed awaiting them. This results in wasted time or a planting which is less than optimal if the crew decides to plant the site in spite of the seedbed condition. When dealing with landowners, remember, you are representing your employer. Practice good public relations. The landowner's experiences dealing with you will be a big factor in the future success or failure of the tree planting program. The shelter belt plan and the current planting conditions must be evaluated before planting to determine if trees should be planted that day. You'll need to consider planting conditions which can cause mortality of the seedlings such as hot, dry and windy days, wet seedbeds or a poorly prepared site. Even in a well-prepared seedbed, avoid the temptation to plant when the soil is too wet. This will result in poor root-to-soil contact and increased mortality. In this example of a less than ideal seedbed, good soil-to-root contact is hard to obtain and air pockets will be present resulting in increased mortality. Planting crews need to orient the tree plant to the site where the planting is to be made. A common mistake occurs when the plant gets turned around and the rows are planted in reverse order. Be sure to determine which direction is north and orient the tree plant properly. Sometimes tree shortages occur. Substituting a different species may be necessary. However, check with a qualified planner to ensure the substitutes are suitable to the site. It is also very important to determine the plan spacing between the rows and between the trees within the rows. The row spacings are based on the equipment which will be used to keep the area between the rows cultivated. Both row markers on the tree planner need to be set to achieve the planned row spacings. After the initial preparations are made, some other adjustments need to be made to the tree planner as well. There are two basic types of planners. The mounted planner is attached to a tractor's three-point hitch and the pole-type planner which is attached to the drawbar. In adjusting the mounted planner, the turnbuckles need to be positioned so that the angle of the planner is level while planting. While using both the mounted and pole-type planners, the packing wheel should be adjusted to close the furrow while not injuring the seedling. As a safety precaution, keep in mind that one of the most dangerous things you'll encounter is the power takeoff shaft on a tractor. All power takeoffs should have a safety shield in place. Severe injury or even death can result from loose clothing or hair being caught in this device. Be careful at all times around these devices. Prior to planting, make sure that the roots aren't too long for the trench made by the tree planting machine. If the roots are longer than eight inches, prune them before planting. Use a sharp instrument, such as a hatchet or a corn knife that will make a clean cut. This will prevent J or L rooting. Seedlings planted with roots positioned this way will have lower survival than seedlings planted with roots vertically positioned. Pruning the roots will not harm the seedlings. It's important to keep the roots moist prior to planting. Dip them in a mud slurry or use a commercial root dip. However, don't leave seedlings in a dip or slurry more than two hours. Seedlings need to breathe and inundation for periods longer than this can kill the seedlings. To keep the seedling roots moist, pack wet burlap and sphagnum moss around the roots after loading seedlings into the planter. During planting, do not remove a handful of trees and expose them to dry and winds. Rather, remove one seedling at a time. Carefully watch the depth at which the trees are being planted. The root collar is the point on the stem of the tree seedling where the ground line was when the seedling was grown in the nursery. The root collar should be roughly one inch below the soil surface after planting. Avoid planting seedlings too deep or too shallow. Make sure the entire seedling is planted in a vertical position. It is a good idea to have someone walking behind the planter packing the seedlings in with their feet. Occasionally, they should pull up on a seedling to make sure that the seedlings are packed tightly and good soil to root contact has been obtained. Following these methods and minimizing the stress to the seedlings ensures that maximum survival is achieved. Remember, when transporting seedlings from the nursery, keep them covered and as cool as possible. When storing seedlings, keep them cool and moist. After removing seedlings from cold storage to be planted, don't take more than what is needed. Contact landowners prior to planting to make sure the site is ready. Review the planting plan to make sure the species to be used, the spacings between rows and the spacings between trees within the row. Check the equipment adjustments during planting and take safety precautions. Keep seedlings protected during planting and make sure that the soil is firmly packed around seedlings so air pockets aren't present. Properly planted and well maintained windbreaks can live more than a lifetime. As tree planters, you have a key role in this process. Following these steps will increase the number of trees that grow into useful plantings. You can be proud that the trees you planted will provide wildlife habitat, reduced energy cost, reduced soil erosion and make life better for us all.