Hiring My First Landscape Helper, Impossible to Find Decent Mulch Spreaders These Days

Solo landscaper here in north Georgia, finally at the point where I need help with the big mulch jobs and tree plantings. Posted ads on Indeed for someone with experience on Bobcat skid steers and basic irrigation knowledge, but the applicants are either kids with no clue or guys wanting $25/hr right out the gate. In the Landscaping Professionals Facebook group, everyone says the same: good help is gold, but screening for reliability is a nightmare. I don't want to deal with no-shows on a $5k retaining wall install. What's your process for onboarding the first hire without getting burned? Referenced a thread on r/landscaping about background checks that seemed solid.

start with a paid trial day on a small job, weeds out the flakes quick.

yeah it's brutal, i went through 5 guys last summer before finding one who knew pvc from poly pipe.

hired a newbie once, he dumped a whole pallet of pine bark wrong and i had to redo it. laugh or cry?