This is a 1 year old batch of Flame willow, on of our most popular shelterbelt species.
Shelterbelt Production
Shelterbelt trees have always been a big part of our sales. It takes a year for willows, 2 for poplar, 3 for pine, and 4 for spruce to grow an acceptable 2 gallon tree.
Overall shelterbelt tree production could double over the next 2-3 years. The last two year's poplar sales have held steady, in part to lack of poplar stock. Poplar are by far the most popular shelterbelt tree. We're planting an extra 2000 this year.
Look at the history of Okanese poplar: 2014 960 ordered 860 sold as seedlings. 2015 1440 ordered 1200 sold as seedlings remainder planted 2016 2160 ordered, All sold as seedlings 2017 2400 ordered, 2000 sold as seedlings 400 planted. 2018 4000 ordered. This year I’m going to have enough to plant some for the future.
Economics of willow and poplar production
1000 trees:
Inputs:
1000 #2 pots $250 to $1200 (depends on pot type)
2000 gallons of dirt+compost at $75/1000 gal= $150 or 15 cents per pot.
12 hours labour to fill the pots @15/hour = $180
1000 cuttings -- 10 hours labour * 100 cuttings/hour @ $15/hour = $150
10 bales of flax straw $4 each. $40
10 hours applying flax mulch to pots $150
Watering:
1 liter per pot twice a week from May to October. 25 weeks * 1000 pots * 1 liter * 2/wk * 50% coverage = 100 cubic meters of water. (Our Well provides about 1 cubic meter per hour) Power is the only cost for water. The well and the plumbing are sunk costs. It takes about a kWh per cubic meter to pump water. Eight bucks for water.
5 minutes twice a week to move sprinklers. 25 weeks * 2/wk * 1/12 hr = 4 hours @ $15/hour =$60
Fertilizing
20 gm slow release fertilizer * 1000 pots = $85
Weeding.
30 seconds per pot * 1000 pots * 4 times per summer = 2000 minutes = 40 hours = $600
Total costs Cost of pot + 1.50
Sales value: $15,000 in small quantities. This gives considerable margin for discounts on large orders. (Discount by up to ⅓ for orders of 200)
To make a tree from a cutting takes 1-2 years. If you can get them as plugs, you save a full season’s growth, or you have a bigger tree to sell.
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Sherwood's Forests is located about 75 km southwest of Edmonton, Alberta. Please refer to the map on our Contact page for directions.