Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Gloria Baikauskas <gcb49@flash.net>]

Re the volunteer trees.....Last year my health was really bad.....so I was only able to maintain one bed.....and that started mid summer.  So....the seedlings grew.  For whatever reason my tree seedlings get tall very quickly.   One hackberry tree just the other side of the house grew as tall as the house in two years.  Now at 4 years old it is taller than the house and rather full <canopy>.    The only exception to that are the ones that grow under the denser canopies of larger trees.  It may even be 5 years old now.  I have lost track.  It's initial growth was startling to say the least. 

 

Fukuoka says that trees grown from seed grow a minimum of 2 feet a year.  Here that is definitely the case.   The ones I dug out were babies I didn't even notice last fall.  I still have 2 larger ones...ones at least my heighth....to dig out.  They don't have much in the way of branching.    I could leave the roots in the ground and just cut off the trunk at ground level....but I am betting I would just get new growth that way. 

 

I have a bad back myself with a degenerating spine.  You are quite correct in saying that stretching is vital in order to maintain the back.  I say you must also do crunches.  Whenever I have been in therapy for my back both the PT and the dr. say the same thing.  They spend lots of time on their feet which often affects their own backs.  They always do crunches to tighten the stomach muscles to support the back.   I do them as often as I remember to do them.  It does make a difference. 

 

Gloria, Texas