Fertilizing thoughts....

[Maya]

We talked a little bit about fertilizing on another thread and I thought I'd start a separate thread. As I mentioned in the other thread, We definitely don't talk about it enough. Trees use up a lot of nutrients while producing apples and most soils do not provide all or even near what trees need for good production. To get the most out of our trees they need to get a good start at planting and also have their nutrient needs met each year. Lets see what we come up with for ideas on the topic.

Here a couple good links to get the ball rolling. One thing I did want to mention is that it should not just throw and go. Best practices show that monitoring is key. This talks about this and how fertilizing should also be done in concert w/ pruning.

https://ask.extension.org/search/all?utf8=✓&q=fertilizing+apple+trees
https://ask.extension.org/questions/280567

 

[Turkey Creek]

Here is another link to another fertilization read.

http://www.spectrumanalytic.com/support/library/pdf/fertilizing_apple_trees.pdf

 

[Bowsnbucks]

For a hunting camp orchard AND also having scattered apple & crab plantings around the property, I can safely say the members won't want to pay for regular soil & leaf analysis. Should just adding organic compost suffice for these trees ?? ( Not going to pull a " gotcha " on anyone here, just looking for a practical solution ). Or would a sprinkled circle of 10-10-10, then a top-dress of compost be better ??

Camp is remote and even with VERY regular visits by members who live close to the camp, babying will not happen. Areas around all the apple trees has been / and is cultivated and planted to food plots. Areas immediately around most of the trees is just plain grass, which I keep mowed with a riding mower.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I have about 20 apple trees planted in my orchard. It is there for the deer. The orchard is also a food plot, that is turning into just an orchard. My first couple years only applied fertilizer to the food plot, I figured the tree roots would have to grow outward to get the fertilizer. But once the trees got a few years old, I started tossing a cup of 10-10-10 onto each tree in the early spring. Fresh planted trees, I still dont fertilize though, I make them reach out into the food plot to get their fertilizer. I havent had any apples yet, but I think that is because of late frost, and not my fertilizer routine.

 

[H20fwler]

Same with my orchards, they are 99% for wildlife. My older orchard I've started doing the same with a little triple 10 just outside of dripline.

I do need to look into fertilizing better/more...I'll baby mine a little.....

 

[Peeps]

Here's the routine I have started to follow with my apple trees.

 

[Lot2Learn]

This is a helpful thread.

TC's article indicates that my 1-cup-of-fertilizer-per-young-non-bearing-tree during the late winter pruning is a little light of the recommended .1 to .25 pound of N. Particularly for my slower growing trees, I now feel comfortable giving them another cup of 16-16-16 later this month.

Thanks!

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Gentlemen - I just received an e-mail response to some fertilizing questions from the head of Penn State's fruit tree program. I had given him the soil type at my camp and he double-checked it on his soil map. I told him we are growing the apple trees primarily for deer, not commercial production, but we'll eat a fair amount as well. I also gave him our pH range where our trees are. He told me they like to see 6.2 to 6.7 for apples.

In general, he said to use the new shoot growth as a guide to how the trees are doing. On young trees, new shoot growth should total about 15" to 20" at the end of the growing season. On more mature, fruit-bearing trees, 6" to 12" is more the desired length of shoot growth each year. Also watch leaf color and if the leaves look light green or yellowish, or show some reddish tint in August or September, more nitrogen is called for. He suggested about .15 lbs. to .2 lbs. of N per tree if the leaves are yellowish or reddish at the end of summer. He also said that by the 5th or 6th year in some orchards, they stop fertilizing the trees. It depends on each orchard's situation.

I asked him about compost and he told me that spreading about 1/2" deep circle around the tree every 2 years is sufficient. Too much, he said, will cause salt problems and take N away from the trees, and he said to add the 10-10-10 anyway beside the compost.

This info is directed at my location and my soil type at camp. He said according to his soil map, our soil is well drained and moderately fertile. He told me fertility needs vary with soil type, pH, native soil fertility, OM , etc. So each of us will have to check our own soil info and get some help from our local university extension to get the best results.

I took this info right from his e-mail, so I hope it helps as a guideline for habitat needs.

 

[Turkey Creek]

Here is another neat page I found. Enter your data and it will tell you how much nutrients your crop has used.

https://www.plants.usda.gov/npk/Dis...hstring=apple&submit_crop_type=View+Crop+List

 

[St. Croix]

I use 5# give or take chicken litter per tree around the drop line post petal fall. Dual purpose fertilzer and deer repellant (for a few weeks)

 

[JFK52]

I have 28 mature apple trees on my hunting property. I have been using fertilizer spikes for the past three years on the apple trees. I do the job in early spring when the ground is soft. I simply take a spud bar and drive it into the ground at the drip line of the tree. Insert a spike and the job is done. The amount of spikes depends on the size of the apple tree. Some of the smaller ones get 4-6, while bigger trees get 8-10. These spikes dissolve slowly over a few months time, providing nutrients to the tree during it's varying stages. I get all my apple trees fertilized in about 3 hours time.

 

[FarmerDan]

You guys aren't going to like me, but fertilizing apples is a really complex subject and dependent on so many variables that it's almost impossible to offer general guidelines. A little fertilizer goes a long way. A little more fertilizer and you'll have fruit production going in the wrong direction. Not only is this dependent of the soil (fertility, structure, etc) characteristics, but also on the apple variety. Professionals use soil tests, tissue tests, pre-harvest yield estimates - and then don't often get it right.

Don't mean to be a doubter, but want to make the point that sometimes doing nothing is an acceptable alternative.

 

[Dan Wombles]

If you are using apples for personal consumption, especially cider, you want to starve the tree of nitrogen after the tree starts producing as nitrogen waterlogs the apples and dilutes the flavor. Also, when making hard cider, high nutrients inhibits the production of a quality cider.

 

[BobinCt]

Apple and Pear trees are already hard enough to maintain with the timing of the sprayings . Now after reading about the fertilizing , my head is really spinning .

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I have always read to not feed nitrogen after leaves turn green. And to keep it as a minimum or the tree will focus on growth, rather then producing apples. I give each tree 1 cup triple 19.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk