Five steps to maximize productivity of fruit & nut trees.

1. You need to plan & prepare the soil first if you want maximum productivity. Waiting till you plant is far too late! Ideally you need to prepare the land where you plan to plant fruit or nut trees at least one year before planting. This is because it takes a year to change the soil. You need to put the appropriate fertilizers in the right quantity on the soil a year before planting as it takes the soil life a year to break down into plant food. This means you need a soil test to determine what the mineral deficiencies or excesses are, what your pH is, what the level of organic matter is etc. Once you put the fertilisers on the soil you need to do two other things to complete the preparation: (i) add lots of mulch, preferably wood chips or wood mulch;(ii) add microbes and fungi spores to increase the soil’s wildlife.
2. Two to three months before planting, put in sprinklers in an irrigation system, probably two sprinklers per tree to ensure both sides of the tree will get the essential watering it needs when there is insufficient rain.
3. Once you have acquired the young tree(s) the day you plant there is one more step to do to ensure success. You need to soak the roots in a nutrient-rich solution to promote root growth. There are many suitable solutions available on the market but a good one contains NPK, fulvic acid and a kelp solution.
4. When you plant the tree, you need to dig a hole at least twice the diameter of the container the plant comes in. Do not use a posthole digger for this, as it would compact the soil and make it difficult for the young roots to grow and spread out. When you put the plant in the hole, you only need water and no fertilizer (as you should have all the fertilizer you need from step 1).In the area around the plant you need to put very friable quality soil or peat moss so that the roots can grow outwards easily.
5. The first seven weeks after planting are crucial; you need maximum root growth to achieve the eventual maximum above ground growth and productivity. These 7 weeks determine the eventual size and productivity of the tree. All that is needed in this period if you have prepared properly is water and loving care to ensure it is not harmed by the elements e.g if it is windy, stake the tree. After 7 weeks you can start a monthly program of adding liquid fertilizers. If you want great results, you should do a leaf test after 2 or 3 months and spray on the leaves what is indicated by the leaf test as needed. Once a year do a soil test to determine what granular fertilizers are needed to replace what has been leached out or removed by the trees.
Written by Geoff Buckley, partner in Growing Healthy. For more information go to http://www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com/. (511 words).

Secrets of fertilising

Secrets of Fertilising.

Your role is to maintain the level of organic matter; mainly by supplying mulch and compost. You also feed the soil-life natural elements (eg calcium, magnesium, potassium, silicon and boron) and they convert these into plant food.

There are three ways to fertilise:

1.Granules on the ground—this is the most important and essential method. Granules have the best longterm impact in that they can affect a change in the soil balance and pH. However it may take up to a year for that impact to take effect, as the granules have to first be converted into plant food by the wild life living in the organic matter in the soil.

2.Liquid fertiliser on the ground--- this has a much quicker impact on the plant but has less longterm impact. It can be done quickly and efficiently with a fertigation system built into the irrigation system.

3.Foliar spray onto the leaves---this is the quickest way to affect the plant and the fruit or vegetable. It is almost immediate in its impact and is therefore an excellent way to improve the size and quality of the current crop. You do a leaf analysis to identify any deficiencies and can correct them straightaway.

It is therefore recommended that:
(i) a spray unit for foliar spraying of nutrients be used, and
(ii) a fertigation system be added to the irrigation system for effective and efficient fertilising with liquid fertilisers (obtainable from Nutri-Tech).

N.B. It is highly desirable to use all three of the above methods. Whilst many people only do number one, this does not take into account the fact that different crops take different elements out of the soil in varying quantities and heavy rain can leach many minerals during the year. Vegetables have a much shorter cycle than fruit trees and to save a crop or to ensure that it is good quality, size and quantity you need to keep feeding plants frequently. Like humans they benefit from regular feeding in small amounts, not large amounts infrequently.

What do you fertilise with:
What your soil test identifies as necessary
What your leaf tests identify as necessary.
Compost
Microbes and fungi.
Basic equipment needed: watering can and maybe a backpack
Desirable equipment: sprinklers and a fertigation unit.
For more information go to www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com