Trees for Survival Best Practise

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Best Practice or 'what I should be looking for in my plants'

Producing a strong healthy seedling that will survive and grow into a mature plant begins with the very first steps of your project.

Guidelines and suggestions in the Instruction Manual are there to assist you in achieving the best plants possible..

Fundamental considerations like siting the shadehouse in full sun, having a reliable source of water, ensuring the seedlings are irrigated as they need, what sorts of potting mix to use as well as techniques for sowing and growing your seedlings are all described in the Instruction Manual.

Although there is a wide range of pests and diseases found at times on plants and seedlings, there are only two or three that more commonly occur in the Trees for Survival shadehouses.

We have included these as well as some others that you might observe from time to time with notes on controls should you require some treatment.

It is very important to remember that although you are producing as good a quality plant as possible, it is not desirable to be attempting to totally eliminate any and all insects and diseases unless they pose a serious threat to the good health of your crop.

Indiscriminate use of chemicals is bad for ourselves and our environment and should only be used when no alternative exists. N.B. Always follow the instructions on the packet label and use protective clothing to avoid skin exposure.

ready to plant

click on this image for a larger photograph

Why Should We Concern Ourselves With 'Best Practice' In Growing Our Seedlings?

a healthy plant with clear
and vibrant leaves, is disease free, and has a well connected system of roots
to hold the soil in place

Besides the personal satisfaction gained from a job well done, there are a number of important reasons for maintaining best practice and quality assurance in the production of your crop.

Once planted out in their final location the seedlings rely on their root systems and foliage to provide all their water and nutrient needs extracted from the soil.

They will most likely not be watered or fertilised again once planted. This means they must leave your shadehouse with a strong root system that has a straight tap-root and a healthy cover of foliage to cope with unpredictable conditions in the outdoors. Weak and diseased plants will not survive. Seedlings with twisted or 'J-formed' root systems will die after 12 - 36 months.

Seasons in Australia are strongly infuenced by rainfall and temperature. Most groups involved in planting tubestock only do so in March to April (Autumn) or late August to September and early October (Spring). To plant at other times is too risky in terms of the survival of the tubestock thus wasting the significant investment of time and money involved in planting out.

Your seedlings need to be ready within this timeframe, thus the time for sowing the seeds is critical. Seed needs to be sown in September - November to be ready to plant out the following Autumn, or in February to be ready for planting out in September - October. See 'Annual Planner and Deadlines'.

The following pictures illustrate seedlings that are healthy, strong and ready to plant, as well as others with deformed root systems from incorrect transplanting and unthrifty specimens from insufficient care over the growing cycle.


	deformed roots from incorrect planting out - these plants will die after 18/36 months	Unthrifty due to insufficient feeding over the growth cycle

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