vi) Management

Manage grass and weed growth around the plants until the seedlings are established. Your seedlings will do better without competition from grass and weeds for moisture and light. Native pasture is generally easier to control than improved pasture, particularly phalaris.
Grass and weed control includes mulching, hand weeding, shielded herbicide spraying or soil scalping. It may take several years before your seedlings can fend for themselves.

Boxed section:
Direct seeding versus tubestock
Direct seeding involves drilling or sowing seed directly into the ground. With direct seeding you can sow many species at once, resulting in a more natural look. Competition allows the stronger, healthier plants to survive.
Direct seeding is generally quicker and cheaper than planting seedlings and is used extensively by Greening Australia. It is not suited to very steep or rocky areas where equipment access and operation are difficult.

Sowing rates and survival
You can collect or purchase seed for direct seeding. Some with hard coatings, such as acacia seed, will need to be heat-treated before sowing.
Be aware that survival rates for directly-sown seed are low — commonly less than 1% of eucalypt seeds sown will mature into trees. Wattles are estimated at about 5%. This clearly affects sowing rates.

Using tubestock
Tubestock are seedlings grown in long narrow containers with an open bottom.  Planting tubestock is more expensive than direct seeding but is suitable for rocky and steep sites where direct seeding may not be possible. If only a small amount of seed is available, you may want to try propagating tubestock yourself. Seed collected from existing local native trees and shrubs is ideal.
The seed from many species of eucalypts, casuarinas, melaleucas, leptospermum, callistemons, and banksias can be sown without any treatment.
However, hard-coated seeds, e.g. from hakeas and from some species will need to be treated before sowing. Place in a container, pour boiling water over them and leave to soak for up to 24 hours.
Sow seeds into tubes containing potting mix that drains freely. Try a mix of coarse river sand, loam and peat (or coconut fibre or leaf mould) in equal parts. Another option is commercial potting mixes or a home-made mix of three parts loam, two parts coarse sand and one part composted animal manure.
Cover the seeds with a thin layer of coarse river sand and water with a gentle spray. Water the tubes regularly. When the seedlings are 10–30 cm, they should be hardened off by placing them in full sun and watered less often until they are ready to plant.
Tubestock are also available from a number of local nurseries, or through your local Landcare group. Look for small hardy plants 6–9 months old and 10–30 cm high. Bigger plants in small tubes are not necessarily a better buy.

Tree guards
Tree guards can protect plants from hot and cold winds and may make a big difference to the survival rate of tubestock in the first year. Two-litre milk or juice cartons anchored with two stakes make effective tree guards and are less prone to blowing away than commercial plastic varieties.
There are disadvantages to tree guards apart from cost. The seedlings tend to have less well-developed root systems and lusher leaf growth, which may attract insects.

END boxed section