For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for June 29, 2022

Oops!

Now they’re told that?!

Always read all the instructions before you get started.

You still have a chance if the sack is porous.

Isn’t John supposed to have a bad back? Just reading this makes my back hurt.

This is why every teacher I ever had told us to read all the instructions before starting.

Doesn’t it rot away?

Wouldn’t the sack just rot away by itself??

Or is burlap non-decomposable??

Landscaping 101, guys!

Will we have three more days of “ready, set, heave!“ ?

Well, at least they’re doing things as a family which is becoming a rarity these days.

I’ve been guilty of reading directions after the fact. Whoopsie!

When all else fails…read the instructions…

Dig a hole several times bigger than the root ball.Mix some loose soil with a bale of peat moss and partially back fill the hole.Unwrap root ball and some plants should have their roots spread out a little bit especially if it’s root bound.Depending on the plant it might be a good time to apply a little rooting agent to the roots.Position root ball in the hole.Finish back filling the hole, make sure plant is positioned how you want it (not leaning, etc)For a tree that size, use stakes and ties to keep it in the right position for the first year or so till the roots are well established.Water regularly, fertilize lightly, mulch around the trunk but don’t heap it up around the trunk (no mulch volcanoes).

Kinda like the M*A*S*H episode about the Army-Navy Game, when the CIA bomb lands in the compound. Henry is reading the disarming/defusing instructions to Hawkeye and Trapper:

“Carefully cut the wires leading to the clockwork fuse at the head.”

SNIP, SNIP – They cut the wires.

“But first, remove the fuse!”

That should have been obvious. Burlap does not decompose well, and is used to keep weeds from growing. Not a great way to get roots to grow.

See, that’s what you get for reading the instructions.

My mom (RIP) would never read directions and i would get on her case for that. The obvious mom-retort….That’s why I’ve got you!

Now every guy will be checking his sack

Don’t ’arbor any grudge

This is a surprising development, since they Pattersons are in Canada. Now if they lived in “Merica” then this would be par for the course. “Instructions???? We Don’t Need No Stinking Instructions!”

There are several things wrong with this planting. The hole should be twice the diameter of the root ball. The tree crown should be at ground level. Dirt shouldn’t be mounded against the trunk.

Aw, c’mon! No one is that dumb, are they? Sadly, they probably are.

Johnny Appleseed,where are you?

They had better treat that tree well. A nursery tree that tall and mature, costs a nice bit of change.

Well yeah . . .

So much for reading direction!

They should have had the nursery plant the tree. But, of course, that would rob us of the punchline.

Mike was the only one smart enough to read the directions?SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE!

That is what happens when you think you know what to do and don’t bother with the instructions

First time right is a myth. The best of tricks are repetitive with incremental improvements.

Haha, I do the same thing, read the instructions as I go…sometimes it pays to read the WHOLE thing first!

Cannot believe, after all the years spent in this house, that they never planted a tree before. Even I, when planting my first one, knew enough to take off the wrappings and spread the roots. gack.

There have been a lot of comments about how the tree probably won’t survive. Tomorrow’s strip will be the last one on this subject and I guess we’ll never know.

A mistake they will not make again.

R. T. I. F. = Read the instructions first!

How did John manage to dig a hole that’s wider at the base than at the top?

always RTFM

I’ve done that, lol

Time for “Elly’s little helper”.

I recall a true story many years ago about a group of trees — maybe they lined a city street — that were mysteriously dying. The problem wasn’t the bags around the roots, which were biodegradable. But it turned out that those bags had been secured with nylon ties, which weren’t removed when the trees were planted. As the trees grew, the ties cut off the flow of nutrients from the roots.

As a nurseryman, NEVER remove burlap. Burlap disintegrates very quickly; even treated burlap is gone within a year. Burlap does not stop roots – they tunnel right through it.Many if not most times the burlap is the only thing holding the root ball together. If you remove the burlap the ball can fall apart, greatly increasing the chance that the tree will die.If it is not burlap on their tree, then follow the instructions given.Our large trees also have a wire basket tight on the outside of the root ball and tied to the trunk. Leave the wire basket on when you plant the tree. It holds the large root balls together and makes the tree easier to handle. Always remove any string.I sometimes will remove burlap from the top of the ball after planting if it is visible just to help the looks.

If only the root sack was easy to compost.

Are there ANY city people left out there?I’m feeling lost in the wilderness.

Uh, the time to read the instructions is at the beginning of the project, not the end!