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Tree Planting On Coast Sands

Categories: Fruit Growing

I wish to plant fruit trees on a sandy mesa well protected from winds

about a mile from the coast. The soil is a light sandy loam. I intend to

dig the holes for the trees this fall, each hole the shape of an

inverted cone, about 4 feet deep and 5 feet across, and put a half-load

of rotten stable manure in each hole this fall. The winter's rains would

wash a large amount of plant food from this manure into the ground. In

March I propose to plant the trees, shoveling the surrounding soil on

top of the manure and giving a copious watering to ensure the compact

settling of the soil about and below the roots. The roots would be about

a foot above the manure.



On such a light sandy soil you can use stable manure more safely than

you could elsewhere, providing you have water handy to use if you should

happen to get too much coarse matter under the tree, which would cause

drying out of the soil. If you do get plenty of water to guard against

this danger, you are likely to use too much and cause the trees to grow

too fast. Be very sure the manure is well rotted and use one load to ten

holes instead of two. Whether you kill the trees or cause them to grow

aright depends upon how you use water after planting.



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