North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Ginda Fisher <list@ginda.us>]

I’m curious what others think of what I’ve been doing recently. I have 
reasonably nice soil, but it’s full of rock of all different sizes, some 
large. So digging holes is very hard work. And I understand that it’s 
important not to bend the roots of a young plant back on itself. So I’ve been 
digging a small hole for the “core" of the plant, and spreading out the roots 
on the top of the soil, and then digging a small trench for each root, often 
with a trowel. For instance, I planted some apple rootstock that was 
basically a stick with half a dozen long thread-like roots. So I dug a star, 
and spread out each root thread in a different direction. 

It’s a lot less digging. If I hit a large rock, I can guide the root around 
it. I’ve planted tree peonies, apples, and hazelnuts this way.

Nothing that I’ve planted that way has seemed to die of it, yet. (Plants that 
died mostly did so because a deer ate the whole plant. A tree peonies 
developed some fungal disease.)  But I feel a little guilty when I do this. 

Wishing you all a safe Thanksgiving,
Ginda Fisher
eastern MA, zone 6

> On Nov 23, 2020, at 7:32 AM, Elizabeth Hilborn <ehilborn@mebtel.net> wrote:
> 
> I echo Lee's advice. I never amend holes now, I plant in soil as it lays 
> and top dress.
> 
> My first experience growing fruit trees I amended all (very big) holes. 
> They lasted about 12 years, got quite large, but when they started dying, a 
> post mortem revealed roots did not penetrate beyond the original hole 
> diameter.
> 
> On 11/23/2020 6:13 AM, Lee Reich wrote:
>>  And any material that dramatically changes the soil porosity creates a 
>> “pot in the ground” effect wherein roots stay inn the amended soil
>