direct seeding pioneer trees

does anyone have any experience direct seeding pioneer food trees like acacia, prosopis, parkia in a newly built swale or keyline plowing in an arid or semi arid environment?

Corey,

I have had great luck just hand broadcasting acacia and prosopsis in swales. I am in the Chihuahuan desert and the trick to growing most things is as simple as water, so getting water into the soil is the Rx.

Kevin

We've had pretty good success direct planting things like apple seeds and apricot pits into freshly finished swales, but we haven't done the pioneer species yet. They've made it through the summer and will be going into their first winter as a seedlings (we planted the seeds last fall). We'll be expanding the swale systems this spring on our homestead and will definitely be direct seeding black locust and honey locust as support species for our seedlings. We get around 24 inches of rain a year with about four months without any real moisture during the summer so... maybe simi-arid part of the year I guess.

Thanks for the responses!
Kevin:
did you do the seeding right before a rain or can you do it any time and still get lots of trees when the rain comes?

Kevin Elmore wrote:Corey,

I have had great luck just hand broadcasting acacia and prosopsis in swales. I am in the Chihuahuan desert and the trick to growing most things is as simple as water, so getting water into the soil is the Rx.

Kevin

Do you plant the seed in the base of the swale, or in the berm?

Don't know if you have particular trees in mind or just whatever seeds get brought in? I've built a couple of tree/brush seed starters that I've given to friends. I built a 2"x4" round wire cage with the same wire for a top, we set this out where we want to start the trees with a 3 gallon flat water bowl on top, birds find it in a day or so, everytime a bird takes off to fly, it poops, wherever birds congregate they concentrate pop age, after the season just leave the cage and move the water, after a year or so whatever trees they have left will be well on their way to becoming your trees. We're using this method to re-establish native trees and brush in former severely overgrazed pasture and farmland.

Corey,

I gather seeds from the natives around the house and usually just take them and broadcast whenever I have time. I don't try to time rains here because I might not be home when it rains and would rather lose some seed to animals and have it out.

Tyler,

Since I broadcast rather than "plant" they come up where conditions are favorable. I would say that more seem to sprout in the base of the swale.

Thank you!