Tree lucerne, Tagasaste – dryland Hororata, Canterbury, New Zealand

Planted tree lucerne here, with water drippers in 2010 but most plants died with frost and some rabbit problems. ???? Our fault – the .22 should have come out earlier.
So this year, 20th Sep 2011, I planted 20 tree lucerne seedlings about 30 cm high, after a minor prune. This is too early given our frost challenges, so we have put boy racer tyres over each seedling, to provide a warm environment, with a pane of probably broken glass over the top. ?????? ????????
From northern end 5 were soaked in fresh cattle manure / water mix for a couple of days, then 5 in water, 4 in manure brew, and finally 6 in plain water. ???? ????????? ??????
I’ll update with how they go.