if your planting trees in an area larger than 3x3, youll need to use mfr upgrades to adjust their range. for planters, harvesters and fertilizers, +1 = 5x5, +2 = 7x7, +3 = 9x9, etc. beware the larger you make the planting/harvesting area, the slower it takes for the machines to scan and do their thing. for a rubber tree farm, +1 upgrades and this layout works fantasticly:
DXDXD
XXXXX
DXDXD(H)
XXXXX
DXDXD
where h = harvester, d= dirt, x = air or anything else not dirt, with the planter underneath the center dirt block. the spacing prevents trees from popping saplings next to them, which happens all the time with ic2 rubber trees.
if you want to accelerate tree growth, make a cow holding area, say 9x9 with a sewer on the center block of the floor. put a +4 upgrade in the sewer, drop about 10 cows into the pen, run a liquiduct from the sewer to a composter attached to an mfr fertilizer, like this:
Code:
DXDXD
XXXXX
(C)(F)DXDXD(H)
XXXXX
DXDXD
(bleh, cant get spacing right with code block, just assume the dirt/air is all on the same 5x5 area
)
the composter will dump industrial fert straight into the fertilizer machine. prepare for massive amounts of rubber