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Fruit plots going in this weekend


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Just got my delivery today, 6 apple trees all of different varieties, 12 blackberry bushes, and 2 elderberry trees. Rented a loader with a hoe for

The weekend, gunna get all this in as well as some clover plots down first of many improvement to come

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Have you planted trees before.

You mentioned a backhoe.  Digging them too deep is a bad thing.   Worse than too shallow.

I made 2 different plots of clover with just scrapping the ground with the loader bucket, if you got some hours left on the rental.

Protect them apple trees in the winter. The deer almost always kill unprotected young trees.  They eat all the buds.

 

This has the basics.  

https://www.arborday.org/trees/planting/containerized.cfm

 

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Elderberry are bushes...nothing wrong with making a big hole to plant your tree in..Mine are wide and deep..then the soils taken out amended and blended in a wheel barrel with lime and bagged potting soils. Then put back and tapped and watered.  More  added in a center mound tamped and watered again...I do that then go work on the  next hole while the first settles. I go and plant the first tree. I tie a long stick to the tree where the soil line should be and it holds it at the correct height until planted and firmed in..water in well..then go plant the next or dig the next hole. Don't forget to bury the support stick at the same time as preping the hole,this sets it in good and firm so it doesn't move around letting air get to the root zone.

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BTW.. I see that link says my amendments are a no no... I have been planting trees a long time and when mixing the dug soils in and I should have been specific.McDonalds hot coffee comes to mind here, you do not add a lot of lime or heavily fertilized bagged soils. a good peat mixed garden soil is good. also opening up the root ball a bit on a potted plant is important. Some of these trees are last years hold overs so if the root ball  it compact and wrapped around some root pruning may be needed .All depends on what you are seeing when removing the root ball from the pot. The link is good and has questions and answers. Remember not all soils are equal...the prep I do is due to soils and sub soils  we have a lot of shale,and acidic soils. but compacted soils do not move water thoroughly so all the water adding lets me know how long it takes to drain.  when working with clay's mixing is important but tamping and settling soil is too. Tamping ,not pounding, the soil around the root zone reduce the chance of air getting caught, air and roots is a bad thing . So I do this one layer at a time...that's where the stick tied to the tree comes in handy...

http://www.wikihow.com/Plant-Fruit-Trees

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I've read numerous times about landscapers buidling raised beds of sort on srhubs and small trees in heavy clay areas.

 

I have done this in the past with good results.   I have also had trees fail by digging them in hard clay areas.   The root end up rotting.

 

The last round of apple trees I planted 1/2 below and half above.  They did alot better.

I use peat moss and a small handful of garden fertilizer.  I do not lime, because my soil is not too bad 6.5 or so.....

 

I've only had 1 fruit tree survive without being fenced in.  They do great, but the deer eat them to death in the winter.

 

I put up 3 sticks, then wrap some string around it maybe 8 or so times.  Cheaper than fencing.....  

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Trees went in today, didn't dig the holes with the hoe, did scrape up the ground with the loader, used the hoe to dig up some rotten stumps. I will be fencing them in tomorrow am, hopefully the deer don't find them tonight, also put down a bunch of clover seed and fruit tree spikes in the area. Hopefully this works out. It was a big investment.


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I hope the chicken wire holds, on mine it did not And had to run the chicken wire inside 10 Guage wire for support

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I used heavy duty zip ties to secure it,
Should hold, if it doesn't I have a back up roll
And can alway buy goat fence if I have to


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Looks good.
Get those branches out of there.    You be surprised how much of a mess it gets.
A good quality powerful weed Wacker will mow a 1\2 acre in a little over an hour.  I use a stihl fr70.

Yea they will be going for sure, although I did put down clover seed in between the trees. Figured it would be a good way to stop weed growth and be another element to the plot


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Chief.. need to give you this heads up from experience. Chicken wire seems to attract racked buck as,at least here, but a buck lowering his head and catching a time in that wire will go a tad nuts. This equal as stripped bark and snapped off trees. Been there did that. Tractor supply runs sales on welded wire 100 ft 48 in high works well. Also if the cage isn't wide enough they will reach over to grab a bran c h and snap the top off the tree....been there,trees recovering from that. That said looks like you gotten a lot done nice job.

OH...The stakes.  Fence posts or rebar which ever is the least expensive for you..wood they will push/ snap off

Edited by growalot
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17 minutes ago, growalot said:

Chief.. need to give you this heads up from experience. Chicken wire seems to attract racked buck, at least here, but a buck lowering his head and catching a tine in that wire will go a tad nuts. This equals stripped bark and snapped off trees. Been there did that. Tractor supply runs sales on welded wire 100 ft 48 in high works well. Also if the cage isn't wide enough they will reach over to grab a branch and snap the top off the tree....been there,trees recovering from that. That said looks like you've gotten a lot done nice job.

OH...The stakes.  Fence posts or rebar which ever is the least expensive for you..wood they will push/ snap off.

 

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Seems to be looking good so far lots of rain the past few days, looks like it's going to be pretty nice and warm the rest of the week, hopefully everything starts to progress... it looks like the tinyest little clover sprouts are starting to pop out of the ground.... can't wait to see what next weekend brings


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c5631f377f1d11b7dc6434f1129d27c3.jpg

Apple trees seem to be taking well the New York trees are starting to leaf out, the Georgia trees are right behind with buds starting to open.... pics every day of deer in the clover sprouts


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  • 2 weeks later...

Looking good Chef!  Which variety of clover did you go with?  I've gotta get the stump grinder and tiller out in my plots.  Work has been crazy busy though.  Between turkey hunting and work, I haven't made time to deal with plots and cameras.  Good on you for getting your stuff in so early.

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Looking good Chef!  Which variety of clover did you go with?  I've gotta get the stump grinder and tiller out in my plots.  Work has been crazy busy though.  Between turkey hunting and work, I haven't made time to deal with plots and cameras.  Good on you for getting your stuff in so early.

Ladino, I didn't expect it to come in so well! I put it in when I put the trees in, the younger trees that they said wouldn't fruit this year are actually blooming too I'm pretty pumped deer have been hitting the clover daily. I may seed another round in a few weeks and again early September to see if I can fill in the gaps


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Yep looking good! What stock are those trees on to have blossoms so young....you'll have a well established plot in no time  at all.

I don't remember the stock they are semi dwarf and came from Cummings nursery up in the finger lakes


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