They are ubiquitous: row upon row of green plastic tubes like toy soldiers on parade across once-ploughed fields now turned over to tree planting schemes; lying discarded, torn and half-buried in plantations; sometimes scattered across motorway embankments, cast loose by the wind. They are an eyesore.
The modern plastic ‘tubex’ tube was invented in Scotland in 1979 by Graham Tuley. It has three functions: to protect young tree seedlings from browsers (deer) and grazers (rabbits; sheep); to provide a favourable micro-climate for the first years of a tree’s life; and, when used with a wooden stake, to help support the tree until its roots are well-established.
Tree-planting grants often come with a built-in budget for shelters; and woodland creation schemes always specify that shelters should be removed and disposed of appropriately when they are no longer needed – after three, perhaps fives years. It seems a bit of a waste, though.
I am often asked the same three questions: are they really necessary (if you have a deer or rabbit problem, yes, absolutely)? Why can’t they be made out of biodegradable materials (they can… but)? And, how can planters use them more sustainably?
As an example of what happens when you don’t use them, I bought Thistle Wood (8 acres) a year after it had been planted in 2013. The seedlings had been ‘protected’ by clear plastic ‘rabbit’ spirals supported by bamboo canes. But about 80% of the trees had been severely browsed by deer, or blown over, or both. And I’m still finding nasty, brittle shards of old spirals. They are a poor ‘cheap’ option.
Biodegradable shelters have been around for a while. Many trials have been and are being carried out to see how well they perform. So far, finding an alternative that is as robust, cheap and effective as the ‘tubex’ has been difficult – designing a product that lasts exactly as long as needed but no longer is by no means straightforward, since it depends on site conditions and weather and the tree species. They are also much more expensive, and when you might be buying five thousand at a time, it can be a big price hike.
The solution? Well, we all know that single-use plastic is not good. So I make sure that the shelters I use have several lives. Firstly I use, if I can, recycled tubes from planting schemes where they have already done their job (my local council is only too happy to oblige). If I have to buy any new shelters, I use them for several successive phases of planting. I remove them as soon as the tree doesn’t need them any more; then, when they fall to pieces, as they do after maybe ten or fifteen years, I take them to the tip. In the meantime, I have found another good use for the slightly dilapidated tubes: I cut then into small sections and use them as open-ended pots to plant tree seeds in, packed in old baking trays: they work really well, especially for oak, hazel and beech – the larger nuts.
Until a better solution comes along, I’ll keep using them; but I’ll get as many lives out of them as I can, saving money and plastic.