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donnieappleseed

more fertilizer questions

donnieappleseed
13 years ago

I feel very weak in my knowledge of soil amendments. A few specific questions:

1. I came across a few links recently that reference people in Maine and Vermont that are restoring and rejuvenating seedling apple trees in wild areas not for human consumption but to increase productivity for wildlife.....this intrigued me. One forester recommended using lime as a fertilizer the first year on these wild apple trees, let it settle in, and then maybe in a year or so use a balanced type fertilizer (like a 16-16-8 or something like that....could reference his exact rec if anyone interested). But anyway, my question is this: does it make sense to use lime to help restore some old apple trees in public spaces? Is there any science behind this?

2. Similarly, gypsum is offered in many places to break up clay soils....and some swear by the stuff....does it really do any good?

3. Finally, Saturday, someone was talking with me about soil amendments on an old orchard I work on that slopes down to a salmon stream.....she was adamant about not having much in the way of nitrogen added to this old orchard as it would hurt the salmon.....this orchard has basically had nothing added to it for years and years....any suggestions welcome to consider and think about

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