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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Low pH and fertilizer availability

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  • From: "Dennis Norton" <dmnorton@royaloakfarmorchard.com>
  • To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Low pH and fertilizer availability
  • Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2006 11:52:15 -0600

For those of you who may make your own apple cider, the apple pulp left from cider manufacture is a good source for acid loving plants. Since we manufacture about 5,000 gallons a season, we have plenty of pulp to use. We have a conveyer attached to our cider press that carries the pulp to the outside of our building and dumps the pulp into a manure spreader. We then hook up the spreader to a tractor and spread it between our raspberry plant rows. Rarely do we have to add additional supplement because the apple pulp usually does the job. We repeat this process every time we make cider every season.

Dennis Norton
Royal Oak Farm Orchard
http://www.royaloakfarmorchard.com


----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim Fruth" <jfruth@uslink.net>
To: <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2006 8:47 AM
Subject: [NAFEX] Low pH and fertilizer availability


A few weeks, or so, ago, someone proposed the hypothesis that
acid-loving plants don't need a low pH so long as sufficient nutrients are
abundantly available. I asked someone who should know as much as anyone and
here is his reply:

I would tend to agree with the pH issue, except that the acid loving plants
are not capable of taking up nutrients unless the soil pH is acidic.
I have seen a lot of blueberry plants fail because the pH was too high even
though adequate nutrients were available for good plant health of other
plants. Aluminum sulfate should probably be avoided. Ammonium sulfate as
a nitrogen source will help keep
the soil pH lower too.
Happy New Year!
Dave
-------------------------------------------------
David K. Wildung
Professor and Center Horticulturist
University of Minnesota








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