It's hard to plant too high. And seldom a bad thing :-) The advantages well outweigh any disadvantages. As long as you have a layer of soil over any feeder roots, you are fine. And of course, mulch.

After it dries a bit loosen the surface compaction visible around the tree in your picture and cover it with a protective mulch. Use boards or plywood sheets to stand on the soil without causing additional compaction while working. And don't of course maul the roots while doing the loosening.

You’re probably seeing the mulch line.

Any negative effect your very young tree has on your vegetable garden will only get worse as the tree gets bigger.

root depth should be genetic ... not based on how it was planted ...

being a hardcore hosta peep ... trust me when i say oak has some of the best roots to work under ... you couldnt have made a better tree choice.. imo ...

i dont know if its a camera trick.. but the only thing that concerns me.. is that its not plumb ... if it leaning.. that can be fixed rather easy.. let us know ...

planting depth looks perfect ...

tree time is counted in decades ... not being satisfied with an oak you planted a few weeks ago .. is way premature ... water it properly for 2 years .. and worry about it in 30 or 50 years ... should you both live that long ....

and just to be clear .. other than leaf out.. and grow a few inches.. it isnt going to do much else .. in the year of transplant .. so tamp down any expectations you have in that regard ....

looks kind of tall for that trunk diameter ... it might need to be staked properly ... depending on the fence.. and usual wind patterns ... give us a pic of the whole tree ... if you want opinion on that ...

ken

Thank you all, esp Ken for anticipating my concerns and why I chose this tree to plant at the edge of the veggie garden. I wanted some tall shade for my house, garden, japanese maples that could benefit from shade. I also believe it will be beneficial for my veggie garden, maybe loosen up the soil a bit. And yes, it is not plumb, I will gently fix that. Also thanks all for setting right my expectations!

The whole patch will be mulched.

Vegetables want full sun. The pin oak grows quickly and will shade out the entire vegetable garden. They can grow to 70' tall and 40' wide.

True callirhoe123 - but, I can push it a bit higher, so shade falls further away. Also, from experience, blazing sun (as my veggie gets during peak summer) is not great for certain plants.

In the meantime you are in for a long wait before the tree is shading a very much larger area that it is right now - any plants that need more protection effective immediately (as in starting this year) will need to have other arrangements made.

Also, its roots will take water and nutrients from the garden. And the lower limbs will continually die off and have to be removed.