Healing Arts and Pagan Studies ~ Earth Day and Arbor Day
With both Earth Day and Arbor Day festivals falling this week, we celebrate the importance of trees. Here are tree-planting tips:
• The best time to plant trees is after the danger of frost is gone.
• To test an area for drainage, dig several narrow holes 3 feet deep. Fill with water, watch, and repeat several times. If water remains in the holes for a day or more or if it drains away in less than 3 minutes, find another site.
• Dig a bowl-shape hole three to four times wider than the tree’s root ball or container but just slightly deeper than the root ball, loosening the soil below.
• Mix in 25 percent organic matter such as compost with the soil that you dug out.
• Don’t put fertilizer into the planting hole; let the tree get a year’s growth first.
• Pull away any burlap, wires, or fibers, keeping the root ball intact.
• Place the tree in the center of the hole and shovel back mixed soil until the roots are covered. Do NOT tamp the soil with your feet.
• Water the soil with a hose at low pressure until the area is well soaked.
• Mulch, but keep it away from the base/bark to avoid encouraging pests.
• Only water trees again when the soil needs it. If you squeeze the soil and it holds together, it does not need water. Water deeply, not shallowly.
We offer free growing guides for apples, plums, pears, peaches, figs, lemons, oranges, and cherries. See fruit growing guides here.
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Courtesy of GrannyMoonsMorningFeast
Witches Of The Craft® 