Tree planting tools advice

[Domeyhead]

Hello New first time poster here. I've just acquired a few acres in Wales and I'm looking to plant some conifers. If I follow advice I've read I'll be planting small 20 cm plugs every 2 metres which adds up to 2500 per hectare so quite a few holes to be dug.
Can anyone recommend a good planting tool or spade that does the job without breaking my back?
Also I have a question about the plastic guards used to protect small saplings - should the guard be short enough to allow the top of the sapling to stick out or should it totally enclose the shoot? It seems to me that light needs to get to the plant or it won't grow!
Many thanks for any advice or experience!

[splodger]

20 cm plugs won't need much digging - for mass planting of small specimens - i have found that making a hole with what i love to call a "hole pole" (heavy metal bar used to make hole ready to take fence post point) ideal for small trees etc and it's very quick - especially if one person makes the holes and person behind drops in sapling /close hole

re guards - in most circumstances they can be slightly higher than plant - and plants will grow up straight (toward the light) - but not sure i'd bother with that much planting to do

[Sparrowhatchforestry]

Best thing to do is slit/swipe plant,
push the spade in, wiggle it to create a slit, slide the plugs into the hole, heel in teh ground around it. - im sure there are plenty of pictures on the net of this.

Tree tubes are used for promoting growth and stopping predators (rabbits, voles, deer) so you need a relevant height.

There are many reports on FC trials showing the benefits of growth using tree tubes, and you will get better results if you can control the grass using spraying/ mulching.

What species are you planning on planting?

[Domeyhead]

Thanks for advice. I'm looking to plant two out of four sections (around 2.5Ha each) with Sitka spruce, to augment the natural regeneration that has already taken place from an old crop felled about 5 years ago. Amazing to me how well sitka regenerates, but it is all massed towards the centre of each section and it's the edges close to the rides I'm looking to populate and I need to do some thinning in the middles already. I will probably fringe the rides with natural species to make the overall site more appealing to man and bird. (oak, holly, birch, alder??.......)
On the other two sections I'd want to add scots pine to complement the naturally generating species (chiefly oak and birch) The site is around300m high on a south facing slope so hopefully not too cold but I need to be careful about wind protection.
I'm new to woodland and I'll be looking to get advice from experienced owners on just about everything, so looking forward to making (and meeting) some good friends here.