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[EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

I wish you could see this, but since you can't, I'll try to describe..

        x2      x3              


                X1/x4


        
                x5

Key:
West is at the top, North is to the right, this is a full sun area.
x2 is my asparagus bed, 4x10, or thereabouts
X3 is an Old Fashioned Red Delicious tree, 25 feet tall with about a
12-25 foot spread.
X1/X4 is an underground spring
X5 is my newly planted Kanza Pecan 'stick' tree.
The distance between X3 and X5 is about 35-40 feet, with the spring
being near center, but slightly closer to the pecan than the apple.
During rainy weather, when we get 3 inches or so of rain, water comes
bubbling out of the ground in that area and makes the western half of my
garden a soggy mess.  Long term, the pecan should suck up some of that
water, but short term I was thinking of planting a corkscrew willow
almost directly over the spring to suck up as much as possible.  The
willow will be short lived compared to the pecan, and of course, I could
always cut it down 15 or 20 years from now if it becomes a problem.  I
checked and these willows get 30-35 feet tall and have about a 20 foot
spread, so once mature, it's possible that the willow branches will
touch the apple tree branches.  Oh, the whole area has a slight slope to
the East, and the garden is to the east of this area, in fact, the Pecan
is inside the garden fence.
Does anyone see any problem with planting a willow on the spring, with
the assumption that I would be eventually cutting it down as the pecan
reached puberty?  Would it shade the apple too much?  In my experience,
and to my knowledge, these willows are more like weeping willows in that
as trees go, they are relatively short lived, falling victim to
lightning, wind damage, etc.
I clipped some willow branches and have rooted them over the winter in a
bucket in the greenhouse, so I'm ready to plant is y'all think it is an
acceptable idea.

Bev


                
--
Bevanron of EarthNSky Farm   Sleep well tonight, for somewhere in the
ocean's depths, MY son is protecting YOUR freedom.