Hello All,
I just purchased an acre with established apple, filbert, plum and cherry trees. The trees are surrounded to the trunk with grass and we are tcurrently too short on time to strip the grass out before fertilizing (still living out of boxes!).
So I am wondering; is it ok to fertilize on the grass and try to water it in past the sod to the tree roots? Or there some other way to more effectively fertilize our trees?
Thanks!
Carter
The easiest way I've found to make your trees happy AND keep the grass back is to get as much cardboard as possible, and spread it around the trees (give them a few inches so they don't provide a space for critters to gnaw). Then cover with wood chips.
All materials are free, and if you get two people going at it, you'll be surprised how fast it goes.
Most trees prefer fungal dominated soils, which means decomposing wood or leaves. The fungi start breaking it down, and then the worms start eating the fungi, and you have some happy soil and happy trees.
If you've got established grass in your orchard, I suggest that you just mow it and maintain it short like a lawn.
It'll keep the weeds out. Mowing is easier than weeding, and it sure beats trying to keep the earth bare of growth.
It will keep the mud under control and make the orchard easier to tend in the rainy season.
The grass will keep your fruit clean if it falls to the ground. The roots of the grass decompose and add organic matter to the soil.
Lots of pastures around here have trees in them, and the trees do just fine. Grass won't hurt your mature trees. The grass uses water, but the grass also seals the moisture in the soil so it doesn't evaporate. I'd say moisture is a wash. If it is so dry that you need to water the trees, you are going to have to water them, grass or no.
If there is too much rain, the grass will draw off some of it, possibly saving your trees from drowning.
Maintain the area to the standards of the trees, not the grass. The grass won't die without a "lawn" amount of water. It might go dormant in the summer if the weather is dry and then come back when it starts to rain.
By the way, no strimming around the base of the trees. I get as close as I can and then use hand grass shears to finish off the last inch or so close to the trunk.
Your trees were living with the grass before you got there, so the grass obviously isn't harming them.
Thanks for all the helpful advice.
My small fledgling orchard is in unincorporated Oregon City (having just moved from a smaller plot in Portland). I am really happy to finally have some land to start playing with fruit trees; the One Green World catalog has become the Sears Wishbook around our house... Prior to this we have been growing some columnar apples in pots, and had some blueberries and a kiwi. Now the skies the limit...
In reading the different perspectives am I correct that you'all aren't applying fertilizer to your trees (relying on compost or ??) I picked up a bag of Nutri-Rich 8-2-4 (Stutzman's granulated) that is a poultry based non-chemical blend with the intention of digging holes in the sod around the drip line and putting 1/2-1 cup for every inch of trunk...is this not correct?
Are most people mulching around their trees out to the drip line with compost and not applying fertilizer?
Sounds like there are different methods that work for different orchards - it would be lovely to KNOW that I have done right by my trees this year!
Thanks again for your thoughts...
Carter
I've had a small orchard for seven years and have never had to do any fertilizing. I use a cover crop with dutch lawn clover and dwarf rye grass. The legume fixes nitrogen and the mowed clippings furnish valuable compost material. Actually, I have too much growth on my trees and have to prune a lot just to keep the trees to a reasonable size. I had to use lime this year to combat an outbreak of moss. I do keep the cover crop back 14 to 18 inches from the trucks to prevent winter time vole damage.
Same as green thumb. Mulch is not necessarily compost. COmpost is great but its expensive stuff! You can get chopped up trees from arborist companies for free. Just put that on top of your newspapers/cardboard, out to the drip line. If you establish a healthy soil food web, that is the nutrition that your tree needs. Too fast growth can lead to vulnerability to numerous diseases and pests. Patience is a virtue, and in gardening and investments, I like to use a balanced portfolio, so I'm not too obsessed about something maturing.
John S
PDX OR
On the fertilizer question: yes, you can just toss the fertilizer around the base of the trees and water it in. If you are in the valley, just go out and toss it around at the start of a rain storm.
I can't tell you how much to use. One cup of one brand will contain more nutrients than one cup of another brand. It will depend upon how "fluffy" the fertilizer is. There are probably directions on the package of fertilizer about how much to use.
If not, then look 8-2-4 fertilizer up on the internet. The usage will be given in pounds, not cups. So you measure out a cup of your fertilizer and weight it on a kitchen scale. Make a note on the package about how much to use so you don't have to weigh it again.
I suggest that whatever the suggested amount of fertilizer it, that you cut the amount in half and wait and watch to see if the plants want more.
My opinion is that fruit trees do better without fertilizing, unless your soil is deficient. The trees will concentrate their attention on producing fruit better, if they are not putting their energy into using the fertilizer to grow bigger. Fertilizer distracts them from their primary purpose.
If the soil is deficient in some nutrient, you will be able to tell by looking at your trees.
A good and very cheap source of fertilizer, if you have a pickup or trailer, is your neighbors with horses or llamas. They often have stacks of well aged manure hiding behind their stables. Almost anyone with horses will thank you for hauling their manure away for free.
You can spread aged manure around the base of the trees. It will feed the trees slowly and gradually break down and add organic matter to your soil.
Don't turn down fresh manure. Just pile that away from the trees and let it sit until next year. Then wheelbarrow it over to the trees.
Thanks everyone for your good information.
Having been a row cropper all my life I am new to this idea of "not fertilizing". So we have weed wacked around the trees and trusting the soil to do the rest.
This morning I noticed the some firs on our property all have bright green tips of new growth; it appears trees are more self sufficient (at least before pruning time) than something like a tomato plant!
Great forum; I have just joined the HOS with a paid membership. Thanks again!
Idyllwild
simplepress
jafar
Marsha H
Viron
John S
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