Fruitnut, well, I've never been called on to install fruit trees in a former corn field to I'll defer to your wisdom here. I am called on to establish bearing age fruit trees in all kinds of soil and sometimes on sites where there's hardly any. Establishment of these trees is more problematic than planting one year trees by a long shot. This being my main experience, I tend to error on the side of caution to assure their survival, because replacement is expensive. Dry fruit farming commercially is not done in neglect and if I was installing even whips on a site where the owner wasn't going to be paying much attention, I might include some compost amending as I describe here just to help assure quick establishment, even in the case of neglect and drought. Of course growing quality fruit is a balancing act and too much vigor is the worst thing for producing high quality well colored fruit. When I started my own orchard we were in several years of consecutive or almost consecutive drought summers. I got in the habit of mulching my fruit trees every year because my well was insufficient to spare water for the trees. This is the first year where I've regretted having done that. With all the rain we've had, my enriched soil may be contributing to bland fruit this time. Even if you get the balance right for an average season, it may not be perfect for an exceptional one.

Tox, this is the non clumping kind. The clumping kind not as good. The clumping kind is a lighter weight, but these are like small particles like tiny gravel bits. The clumping kind of more like a find sand. And it seems to clump more. My cats won't use a litter box at all anymore, so I don't have a need for cat litter. But, it I was to recycle the cat litter into the garden, it would add up to way more then I would ever want. I found a site that said clay litter cannot be composed. I would not totally discourage but I would say proceed with great caution if one is really set on the idea. Here is a link that might be useful: clay cat litter anti page

Anyone who's used Al's 5-1-1 or any of the other bark-heavy container mixes knows just how excellent pine bark fines are as both a container substrate and soil amendment. One of my garden beds is situated at the foot of a steep bank that I've been trying to stabilize for a number of years using annual additions of pine bark mulch. Every winter, a good deal of the mulch is blown and deposited in the garden - probably a good 1" of finely textured mulch each year. That bed is consistently my best performer - and, when I pull a soil sample for testing - it is as close to ideally balanced as any of my beds. Having said this, I wouldn't anticipate hardwood chips to perform nearly as well. As kimmr pointed out, there's no "secret" to the system. It's simply consistent addition of copious amount of organic matter. I would add two that, since the wood chips (and I'm assuming a preponderance of conifer wood chips in Gautschi's situation) are very slow to decompose, they provide a better source of OM than some other options. Also, I would guess that the lignins and other chemical components of conifer bark would result in a high level of pure humus once it's fully decomposed.

Sand soil particles are the largest of the soil particles and have large spaces that will allow both moisture and nutrients to flow through that soil without feeding the plants attempting to grow there. There is nothing coarser then sand, although sand particles can and do vary in size some. Silt is the next largest of the soil particles, although quite a bit smaller in size then sand. Silt is most common around river beds, or where rivers once flowed. The single best thing anyone can do for the soil they have is to add organic matter and organic matter includes compost and other forms of vegetative waste. Organic matter, if enough is added to sandy soils, will fill in the pore spaces that allow moisture and nutrients to flow through and will hold them in the rhizosphere, plant root zone, so plants can utilize them. Gravel is simply a mix of sand and small stones, and is not something you would want to add to the soil you have. To get an idea of what you currently have these simple soil tests could be of some help, 1) Soil test for organic matter. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. For example, a good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. 2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drainsâ too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell, to9 a point. Too much organic matter can be bad as well. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy.