tree planting from seed....

Hi;
I have some carob seeds and some apple and Siberian pea and wild cherry......
Do I plant them now or wait till fall or Spring??
Is it OK to sprout the seeds and then plant them?
I have a host of deer and gophers in my 'hood.....Do I need to build wire circles and bury them, so the tap roots can establish, but the browsers don't eat them for lunch??
Also, when I build a hugel, how do I protect against gophers.......
I have heard sticking Bounce dryer sheets down the gopher holes repels them.......[they repel me!!!]...... Would they pollute the soil or is it a fair trade off???
How do I work out where to plant my trees? Do I plant lots together, or spread them out, and then plant smaller ones under the larger ones when they become established....
.Is there a good site that gives some direction here???
I am zone 9...Sierra foothills near Angels Camp....Is anyone else in the same area / zone??? If so, what have you planted that grows well??? Right now, I have 15 acres ....
about 2 acres of established pond overgrown with weed [another topic I guess, but we are hoping to set up a windmill with 2 diffusers to aerate it.....]
I have a smaller area fenced off with 9ft high wire to keep the deer out of there, and the rest is grassland with scattered oaks etc....I have a seasonal creek running through the pond and winding through the property, and a wetland area behind the pond [due to acceptable leakage?] I have planted some cypress,[screen from the neighbors] a dawn redwood, elderberry, coffeeberrry and maple in the wetland area....
I would like to create a small hotter zone where I could plant citrus or a baobab tree....Could I make a huge horseshoe hugel and leave the south facing side open??? What would I plant in the hugel. and how long would I wait to get it established before trying to plant the warmer varieties?
Sorry, a lot of questions.......... Thanks. Julie
Tried to copy pic of land but couldn't work it out!

Welcome to permies Julie
I suggest that breaking your questions down a bit into a couple of different threads will likely get you more specific answers.
I seem to remember there's been lots of talk about gophers (they don't exist here). The search function will probably turn up all sorts of stuff in addition to replies.

"I have some carob seeds and some apple and Siberian pea and wild cherry......
Do I plant them now or wait till fall or Spring??"

I don't know what climate you have there where you are, but some seeds, especially fruit trees seeds from countries which have severe winters need to be kept for long time in low temperature around 5 C or less for example for 6 months - it depends from a specie, so maybe try put them into fridge first and try to sow them in the spring.
You may try to sow some of them now and see if they grow
If yes, let me know

Regards,
Indianka

Thanks Leila...I've been covertly reading lots and lots, but finally had to "come out of the closet" and post - so hopefully I can get some answers to MY specific questions..... I am not a big chat / blogger type and so don't really know how to find my way around sites really well.....I will see if I can find info on gophers.......
And try splitting up my questions as you suggest....
I like the way you have info of your land / location under your name....I will do the same later - only have a moment now......

So Isabelle, if I manage to start - say the siberian pea [that sounds like it may be one of those plants that need a deep freeze] - Will I have no "self propagation from seed" problems if I live in a mild climate [zone 9]

Julie Dewey wrote:So Isabelle, if I manage to start - say the siberian pea [that sounds like it may be one of those plants that need a deep freeze] - Will I have no "self propagation from seed" problems if I live in a mild climate [zone 9]

I think siberian pea should grow without freezing seeds before sowing them, but you may have problems with local insects, fungus, plant illnesses which are much more numerous in mild climate and to which the siberian pea may not be proof. Just try and see Try to sow it when it will be rather cool than hot. I think siberian pea doesn't like too much heat for a start specially. Now it's very hot. It's not the perfect time for starting any pea not only siberian pea