permaculture

["Don Titmus" <ujgs2@4dirs.com>]

Okay here's my twopence worth...

Okay to leave cut fruit tree branches under your trees

unless they are diseased, or harbour a pest in your area in them....

Don

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Paul Wheaton" <paul@richsoil.com>
To: "permaculture" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Friday, May 11, 2007 1:32 PM
Subject: Re: [permaculture] fruit tree branches under the trees


> So ... nobody here knows of any problems with doing this I take it?
>
> Toby?
>
> --- Paul Wheaton <paul@richsoil.com> wrote:
>
> > I've been meaning to ask this question here for a while, but keep 
> > forgetting ....
> >
> > When caring for fruit trees, I grant you that you MUST keep all fruit 
> > picked up from
> > under the tree.
> >
> > But what about the branches?
> >
> > I know that for some confiers, it is wise to cut at certain times of the 
> > year .... or
> > ...
> >  perhaps more accurately ....  to NOT cut at certain times of the year, 
> > as the smell of
> > the freshly cut cambium attracts the insects that love to feed on the 
> > standing trees.
> > But I think that might all be specific to just a few species of conifer.
> >
> > So this winter when pruning, I found that if I took an extra moment to 
> > cut the branches
> > in to smaller pieces (or to have my son go crazy with the loppers) that 
> > the remaining
> > pieces would lay rather flat.  This appeared to help the tree combat the 
> > grass that
> > wants
> > to grow under the tree and compete with the tree.  (I try to then lay 
> > some smothering
> > hay
> > under the tree and thow down some guild seed with a little soil on top of 
> > the hay)
> >
> > Since the branches and twigs are laying flat on the ground, they will 
> > decompose fairly
> > quickly and thus, eventually, feed the tree.  A sort of mini-hugelkultur 
> > if I toss the
> > hay and soil on top.
> >
> > So I can see plenty of up sides of doing this - but I worry about a 
> > possible downside
> > of
> > attracting insects that think that this tree is yummy.
> >
> > Are my concerns foolish?
>
>
>
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