perennials for shallow soil
kazoonative
15 years ago
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laceyvail 6A, WV
15 years agoFrizzle
15 years agoRelated Discussions
how to fix shallow and rocky soil?
Comments (17)Scott: I can't say if you will need to irrigate an area larger than you raised bed. It depends on the size of the bed, size of tree, how much you irrigate, etc. Rainfall will eventually get the roots all thought the native soil. After all you do average 30 inches per year so the soil has to be wet at times. That will cause widespread rooting. My experience with drip is that you need quite a few emitters per tree and frequent irrigation. I never was able to grow decent fruit that way. Hence my move to flood. But my soil is deeper and better suited to large applications. I apply at least two inches once a week during the dry parts of summer. The best drip line is the one with built-in emitters. I use the 1gph emitters spaced at 24 inches. Basically with moderately permeable soil you need one emitter for every 2ft square of soil you want to wet. See below. Here is a link that might be useful: drip works This post was edited by fruitnut on Thu, Jan 3, 13 at 9:43...See MoreCan I plant a viburnum or serviceberry on shallow soil w/bed rock
Comments (6)Drought will be much more your enemy. Low winter temps will hardly be an issue with root systems; soil is a fabulous insulator. Viburnum lentago is native much farther north than zone 6b. I have purchased this species from nurseries growing in zone 4 (-30ºF). Nannyberry is much less happy with high summer soil temperatures. It performs very poorly here in central KY, where we can reach zone 5b/6a temps regularly, and I have relatively deep clay loam circumneutral soils. All that said, I don't have any good advice for a different species of viburnum to attempt on such shallow soil conditions, except...Viburnum molle. Kentucky viburnum (very similar to arrowwood, Viburnum dentatum) grows quite happily in its native haunts on shallow soils over limestone outcrops. If you can reproduce those conditions, then you may have success with one of the rarest viburnums in the US....See MoreSoil needs of shallow rooted plants
Comments (10)Actually, that is a myth :-) Water or rain does not magnify sunlight and cause leaf spotting. But watering late in the day can be risky. Water on foliage, regardless of whether intentional or accidental, that remains on the foliage during the evening and nighttime hours can lead to fungal problems - high humidity (caused by the excess water) and warm evening temps are a prime breeding ground for fungal organisms. It is better to water very early in the day (less chance of wasting water to evaporation) or even during the day if using a sprinkler or watering wand. You just want enough exposure to sunlight so that the foliage dries completely before nightfall. The best plan is to avoid water on foliage anyway - very little moisture is absorbed through leaves - and concentrate on watering at the root zone....See MoreWhich of these fruit trees would do best in shallow soil?
Comments (6)I couldn't find any sources of reasonably priced mulch when I took over this garden a couple of years ago. I did the best I could with cut grass and what not, but it just was not enough. Last year I was able to recycle a bunch of really thick (2") dense tatami straw mats we were throwing out by using them as mulch, and they worked pretty good. They are almost completely broken down now. Should be getting a bunch more in the future sometime, but not this year. The problem with berries is they have to compete with grass. The weeds grow much faster than the berries here, and get all tangled up in them, choke them out. Also, birds take quite a bit of the crop. For these reasons, I took all of the blueberries out and moved them to pots in front of the house. The peaches and grapes I have planted nearby 2 years ago in deeper soil have been low maintenance and produced fabulous crops. So I thought to get something tree a like. We do get Highwinds and typhoons here, but I guess it's a chance I have to take....See Morechristie_sw_mo
15 years agokazoonative
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