Best Fertilizer for Orchard with a varieity of trees
mrsg47
9 years ago
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MrClint
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agonorthwoodswis4
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
New member with a couple of Questions viz fertilizing fruit trees
Comments (5)Yellowdirt, Despite what you've been told, the reason for cultivation between rows is not to break up bacterial colonies, but to reduce certain insect and disease inoculum (it can help reduce disease inoculum, not by breaking up bac. colonies, but by burying last season's leaf litter which can harbor disease). Clover and alfalfa, while offering a benefit of adding N, have the disadvantage of harboring stink bugs. Around here this is a big problem, but in MT, with less rain, it may not be. You're on the right track trying to reduce grass/weed competition around your trees, just don't do it with plastic....See MoreFertilizing peach tree
Comments (15)H-man: The university research I worked in for many years aimed to calibrate yield responses to applied fertilizers, not what nutrients would be mineralized and available to the crops. We also leaf tissue sampled our crops to correlate tissue levels with the yield responses and fertilizer additions. If one is interested in how much P or K to add to a soil, namely, will an addition of a specific amount lead to a desired response in a crop, one may be able to find the research or university who did the research to determine the answer. I'll use a simple example in veggies since I'm far more familiar with them in FL....should someone fertilize their bell peppers and watermelon crops in Live Oak, FL with the same fertilizers and rates and someone in Belle Glade? Answer, go to the U of FL Extension web site, an enormous amount of research calibrating yield responses to fertilizer additions has already been done and the answers to many fertility questions can be found there. Soil extraction and analytical methodologies are and should be correlated to yield responses, they don't tell what and how much of something is going to be mineralized in the soil and available to the plant, the purpose of a soil test is not to quantify those things, IMHO. We agree that a soil test is not a precise map, they are useful over time for tracking trends, however. Combining leaf analysis with soil sampling can get close to your idea of predicting what will become available as the soil results can give a measure of what's in the tank, so to speak and the subsequent tissue sample is a measure of what was actually taken from the tank. Lastly, forgive me if this is all old hat to you and you are bored to death reading it, I don't know how familiar you are with all the work the universities have to go through just to get say, a recommendation for K in mature peaches in various soils in their state....See MoreIssues with Fruit Trees from Chemical Lawn Fertilizers?
Comments (15)"Plants need to be fed" Boy, I wish I had a dime for every time I've heard that statement! And it is not particularly accurate :-) Plants manufacture their own food - that's what the process of photosynthesis does. What they DO need is access to basic nutrients to facilitate this process and depending on current soil conditions, those nutrients may very likely already be present. Remember that no one is out there in the wilds and natural areas applying fertilizer and the plants grow just fine! It is never a good idea to apply fertilizer without at least a basic soil test to determine what, if anything, may be missing or deficient. The application of fertilizer unnecessarily may cause more problems than it it solves. Gratuitous applications of fertilizer just "because" or in the mistaken belief that plants must be "fed" are fabrications of the fertilizer industry. In most cases, other than containerized plants, harvested edibles and annuals, woody plants seldom need additional fertilizer. And often the application of a good organic mulch will adequately supplement what might be required. Plants will generally tell you if they require nutrient supplementation - growth will be slow or stunted, foliage discolored or small and flowering or fruiting light. If that is the case, have a professional soil test done to determine what may be amiss. And if new to the area or gardening in general, a baseline soil test is a good idea to get you on the right track. Once you've determined that any nutrient deficiency exists, THEN you can fertilize to address that need. But fertilizing just for the belief that it is the proper thing to do is not an acceptable horticultural practice and can lead to problems. Plants that are over fertilized tend to be less cold and drought tolerant, more disease prone and overly susceptible to insect predation. btw, lots of lawn fertilizers contain phosphorus, but in relatively low percentages. Phosphorus is still an essential plant nutrient and may not be present in adequate levels in all soils, especially those with recent construction or other disturbance or removal of native topsoil. Here is a link that might be useful: the perils of over-fertilization...See MoreWhich organic fertilizer is best?
Comments (4)Agree there is no "best" and the choices you list are only a few of the many available. Fruit trees and lawns have totally different needs. So what and why do your's actually need or are you just guessing they need something? And fertilization with fruit trees in the spring is specifically timed to bud set, not just randomly applied. Check with the growers on the Fruits and Orchards forum and you'll find that in general it is not recommended. Dave...See Moreglib
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