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Post by marielouise on Feb 28, 2012 17:51:20 GMT -5
Jim planted 3 plum and an apricot last spring. He bought them from a local nursery , who had discounted them. So today while checking the trees I noticed that serveral are starting to bud and one plum has blooms already . They grew fairly well given the drought last summer--- kept them mulched and watered .
So now its time to fertilize--- I think . what do yawl recommend . Do you think well rotted manure--cow and horse--- will be enough or what? should I remove the grass and weeds that came up thru the mulch during the winter. its winter rye type grass that grows during the winter but the heat kills it off about the time the other grass starts growing. So should I remove grass and weeds and loosen the ground around the tree .
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Post by marielouise on Feb 28, 2012 17:59:20 GMT -5
Another question . My brother brought me 3 fig branches to root. They were planted in pots and kept indoors all winter, now they have started putting out leaves.
I had a fig once before and it grew a couple years---winter would kill it back to ground level and it come from roots the following spring but this past year it never grew again. It was another one I rooted from a cutting from my neighbors fig tree. Theirs has been in that yard for 50 years . I figure the extreme heat and drought did my first fig in . so what yawl think put these new babys into large pots until they are a bit larger then replant another year down the road or plant them out this spring.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 29, 2012 10:33:57 GMT -5
I'd set down some cardboard as a light block. and mostly add bark mulch. Add a little manure if it will make you feel better.
Trees eat differently from row crops (like vegetables), They work in partnership with mushrooms to get supper.
Oh every five or ten years you will want to do a soil test, and amend soil specificaly. But a trees greatest need is adaquate water not nitrogenous material.
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Post by marielouise on Feb 29, 2012 14:08:01 GMT -5
Ok sounds good to me. I wasn't sure if maybe fruit trees needed a different fertilizer than shade trees.
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Post by garrett on Mar 1, 2012 10:59:44 GMT -5
smiles
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Mar 1, 2012 14:35:18 GMT -5
And I believe I was told to fertilize trees on their drip line instead of around the trunk.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2012 14:53:31 GMT -5
Yes, both for fertilize or mulch, you want it spread out thinly over the whole area (but not touching the trunk) between trunk and drip edge of your tree.
Thank goodness somebody still has a memory. Too bad it aint--HUH?
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Post by marielouise on Mar 2, 2012 0:53:06 GMT -5
I checked the tags on my trees today and it says to fertilize early spring . Thanks for all the inputs. Blue, after reading your comment I remembered reading to do the drip line. We planted some fruit trees years ago, but they were ordered thru the mail from a large well known place and were only tiny little sticks and not suited for Texas. We planted 3 plums and one apricot--- One of the plums doesn't look or feel like its alive, but it didn't do as well as the others last summer, just didn't grow or look like the others. We shall see. Will leave it for the time being -- might trim it back and see if theres still some life left down lower. Memory--whats that??? I done forgot !
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Post by garrett on Mar 11, 2012 0:17:26 GMT -5
10-10-10
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Post by marielouise on Mar 11, 2012 5:50:47 GMT -5
The one plum is dead. We went to Canton First Monday trades day and found some trees there that are grown here in this part Texas ... Replaced the plum , have not gotten it into the ground yet. Every time i get out to plant seems like weather runs me in. hahhaha. Between the wind and rain .
I think by Tuesday its supposed to clear off---according to the weather people.
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Mar 11, 2012 8:04:23 GMT -5
Yes, both for fertilize or mulch, you want it spread out thinly over the whole area (but not touching the trunk) between trunk and drip edge of your tree. Thank goodness somebody still has a memory. Too bad it aint--HUH? Coppice, you're doing just fine. I can throw out an idea, it jogs your memory and you confirm or deny what I said. Great Teamwork, I'd say
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Post by garrett on Mar 11, 2012 8:55:43 GMT -5
huh? rotfl go team go....smiles
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2012 13:34:57 GMT -5
Trees almost can't digest this stuff. I feed just about exclusively lower number fertilizer. A little poo under something light blocking, with a buncha bark mulch on top. Apples peaches nuts etcetera every five to ten years need a soil test for micro nutrients. Once they are in production. The biota what brings trees to the dance, is mushroom families.
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Post by marielouise on Mar 12, 2012 23:43:11 GMT -5
I have some horse cow poo mixed and composted --been sitting since last spring--- that I will use tomorrow ... I did have nice weather today so got the dead tree out --- had the hole fill with water but it all drained away by afternoon, so I replaced some of the old soil with new and planted my new tree this evening... It rained lots ( 7 inches) over the weekend and ground was soaked but that area drains well from experience .. Was why we moved the garden from there to new location --- was hard to keep it watered well,,, during the hot dry summers... Supposed to have another nice day tomorrow then rain again latter part of week..
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Post by marielouise on Mar 16, 2012 7:29:23 GMT -5
Trees are all grass free--- fertilized and mulched.
After removing the burmuda grass put down couple inches of the rotted manure then topped that with bunches of chopped up leaves Jim vacuumed up with his home built rolling yard vac.. I found lots of those white grub worms --huge things in the manure picked them all up and then tossed to the chickens. They had a field day with them.. Do I have spoiled chickens or what??? I pulll weeds for em whatever i clen from the flw beds or garden goes to em and now thye getting worms or grubs ... They didn't get the big ole night crawlers those I tossed back on top of mulch so the can do their job with the soil.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2012 12:27:59 GMT -5
Marielouise, now Texican clay might be mo' rugged than Ohioan clay, but Athens was a center for brick making for more than 100 years.
You really really wanna keep up with your bark mulch and keep on doin' as you have, and toss worms onto tree's mulch.
Wormy tunneling will help your soil percolate water better.
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Post by marielouise on Mar 16, 2012 22:28:52 GMT -5
Where we planted the trees is not clay, its a fairly good sandy garden type of soil needs lots of organics to help it out and hold the moisture ... We have lots of the native night crawlers and yes they do churn up the soil, I love dem big booggers --lol-- the one I found was about 10 inches long and big around as my thumb I tossed him on top of the mulch and he hid right quick !!! I think he heard me mention going fishing!!! I only fed them old grub worms to the chickens, later on these white grubs turns into june bugs.
The red clay is over on the other side of house and I don't fool with trying to grow much over there. To do any good ya have to put raised beds on top of the red clay. We do run the tiller and bust it up real and add some fine clay to the sugar sand which isn't good for growing much of anything-- its more like a really fine play sand --what peeps put in kiddos sand boxes . I plant my garden down a bit lower where the soil is a mixture of sand and a different type of soil has more ump to it. Everything is kept mulched and compost added and what ever will rot away goes onto the compost pile then into the garden or beds.
I don't have bark mulch--- use leaves from a huge varity of trees, Jim brings them up from the back 40 every once in awhile, ( wood lot) they pile up fairly deep alongside one of the fences--- some we chop up and some go on as mulch whole then I usually pile pine needles on top of those when they rot down some ---doesn't take long for leaves to deteriate in this Tejano heat ,, then later during the summer dump some grass cutting IF the grass DOES NOT have seed heads on it . Once it starts seeding we compost it in a hot pile . But since ya mention bark I might go shovel it up over where Jim cuts and splits the firewood. I noticed this evening its fairly deep over there along with the saw dust . Good idea it will last a bit longer that leaves. Its time to move the splitter back toward the woods now any way.
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Post by marielouise on Mar 16, 2012 23:11:11 GMT -5
Yeah Athens did a lotta bricks back in the day. I am closer to Atlanta which also had a couple brick places.
Back when we first bought this house , had an acquaintance stop by one day to see how our house remodel was progressing. He noticed the brick hearth then stooped down looking at one certain brick .
Where did you get this brick???
Remember the old Conner house they torn down last year.
Yes
I brought home some of the bricks from the foundation and cleaned em and thats what the hearth is made from and a flower bed .
He pointed at the brick and told us his great great granddad built owned and ran that brick factory . After 2 generations It was sold outa the family by the family heir , who didn't want to make bricks,, hated making bricks . He had seen pictures or drawings of that particular brick and heard about it from his grandfather who had wanted to continue making bricks ,, that style brick was only made the first year with that trade mark ( a star in center between 2 letters ) then he changed to another logo mark with different size star . No one in his family had one of that first year brick, they did have some of the later bricks--
I told him there might be some more out in the pile with the star and he was welcome to them if he wanted .. Yep we went right straight to the pile and started moving and rearranging and finally found 2 or 3 for him .
Strange how life plays out sometimes . he was a casual acquaintance that ya nod, smile say howdy to when ys see em up town,,, who just happened to be bored so decided go for a drive in the country and realized this is where we lived so decided to stop and say howdy.
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Post by garrett on Mar 25, 2012 17:30:23 GMT -5
ok the lil first wave of crabs appears to have survived their initial repotting. i know the soil medium aint up to spec but its got moldering leaves and hay organics in half the mix. as advised i am hoping to last till summers end into dormancy and replant this winter into final supersoil beds i am now prepping.slowly. in the interum? to maximize size? and general tree health? would a biweekly regimen of fish emulsion hurt the lil soldiers? or burn em to death?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2012 17:45:17 GMT -5
He said whistling looking around. I heard tell of a fellow who used to 'P' inna watering can and fill it up with water and water seedling and sapling trees with it...
But of course I never seen him do that...
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Post by garrett on Mar 25, 2012 17:49:35 GMT -5
rotfl
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Mar 25, 2012 18:23:24 GMT -5
why pee in the can first? Just pee on the treeline......if you don't have any nosey neighbours that is of course....
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Post by marielouise on Mar 26, 2012 4:48:13 GMT -5
supposed to keep varmints such as rabbits away too---of course I never tried it yet.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2012 6:18:52 GMT -5
On a more serious note, Baby trees don't eat like row vegetables do. If you use a soluble fertilizer, use it more dilute than directed.
So if directions are for one scoop per gallon, use it on babies at 1/3 to 1/4 that rate. Tree babies are thirsty more than they are hungry.
If your tree babies are acid-loving saplings, and you haven't used sulfer, do the same under fertilizing with Holly-Tone or Mir-Acid...
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2012 6:23:07 GMT -5
Another question . My brother brought me 3 fig branches to root. They were planted in pots and kept indoors all winter, now they have started putting out leaves. I had a fig once before and it grew a couple years---winter would kill it back to ground level and it come from roots the following spring but this past year it never grew again. Brown figs, are pretty rugged for a tropical tree. Growers as far north as Philadelphia (PA) yearly dug out half of the root-ball of their fig and laid it over and pegged it into a trench and mulched the trunk and roots. Standing the tree up yearly. I guess it depends on how much you like brown figs...
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Post by marielouise on May 18, 2012 18:38:09 GMT -5
Ahhhhh all our fruit trees are doing quite well!!! One of the plum trees has 8 plums on it , there were lots more but it sorta thinned them out . These seem to be growing and mebbe will be big plums someday. Had blooms on one other tree but none of its blooms set a fruit. All of the trees have grown more than a foot since this spring . The one with fruit has about 18 inches of new growth . The new one we planted this spring to replace the one that didn't make it thru the winter is trying to catch up.
I had some pieces of chicken wire --so bent 4 pieces in a tube shapes and placed around the bottom of each tree to keep small varmints off . Had noticed a chewed place on the one apricot tree trunk so figured rabbits had been at 'em.
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Post by garrett on May 18, 2012 20:15:42 GMT -5
awesome.get er done ml.smiles
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Post by marielouise on May 27, 2012 21:05:14 GMT -5
the 9 baby plums on the one tree are little bit bigger than a golf ball now!!!! still growing.
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Post by marielouise on Jun 1, 2012 23:33:44 GMT -5
My baby plums are beginning to show color!!!!!!
i sure hope when these trees get bigger their plums will be a bit bigger!
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Post by garrett on Jun 2, 2012 21:19:45 GMT -5
awesoooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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