On May 1st, 2021 Bardenhagen Farms planted 2 blocks of new apple trees ( Gala & Honeycrisp) at a high-density spacing of 3-4 feet between trees. The above video shows the crew and equipment used to plant the block of Gala Apples at a 4 ft spacing.
The tractor is using GPS and auto-steer to keep the rows exactly 16 ft apart. As the person on the planter puts in the new apple tree, a crew goes beside the planter to hand trees to the person on the planter as 4 ft goes by very fast.
After the tree is put in the ground, then other crew members raise the tree to the right level ( 4 inches of the rootstock showing above the soil line) and then pack the loose dirt around the tree.
Later we will be putting on tree guards to protect against mice, installing the drip irrigation lines, and then installing the trellis system of poles and wires.