To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] mulching fruit trees
Date: Mon, 15 May 2006 20:09:59 -0500
All my fruit trees are planted in 50-foot-long strips that are 6 feet wide
and mulched with 4 inches of shredded cedar bark and wood. In the three
years I've had this little orchard, I have no problems. All the trees were
inoculated with mycorrhizal fungi when planted and the soil is naturally
fertile. I add compost and alfalfa pellets a couple times a year. The
mulch is pulled back from the tree trunks--about 2 inches--and every trunk
has a plastic tree guard to prevent rodent damage. I've never had any.
My trees are on Bud 9 and other dwarfing stock, so they won't grow more than
8-9 feet tall, hence the six-foot-wide mulch band.
I like the cedar mulch for a couple of reasons. The resin in the cedar
helps control insects. Weed and grass incursions are blatantly visible, and
I pull up the offenders immediately. The deer seem to stay away, and
rodents don't nest there. Only problem is somethings a wild turkey will rut
through the mulch looking for grubs. But, it's easy enough to rake the
mulch smooth again.