Crabapple trees on reclaimed surface mine

[Thunder]

I have a section of 5 acres on a reclaimed surface mine. The area was reclaimed 17 years ago. I'm on a slight SW slope in Cambria County PA.
Spruce and warm season grasses are growing but it's a little rough. I think they started running out of topsoil.
I'd like to plant 50 crabapple trees. What species are seeing decent results and are people using any special techniques?
I'm using a shovel to plant bare root. Mixing new screened topsoil with pea moss. Putting a 2x2 weed fabric done with crushed limestone holding the fabric. These will be tubed.
I'd like to cage them but I'm not sure of the survival rate.
I'd like to hear everyone's experience and theory if this is a good plan or needs adjusted.
I'd like to plant 200 across 15 acres. Along with other mast producing trees. I have 25 acres total on the Mine. 5 acres will be foodplots and 6 acres i want old field habitat.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

I have no experience on re-claimed mine soil. I have planted about 85 - 88 apple & crab apple trees. Our camp went with 5 ft. tall concrete re-mesh for cages, and aluminum window screen for mouse & vole protection to keep them from chewing the bark (girdling) which kills the trees. We used tubes and black, corrugated drain pipe for protection on a number of earlier fruit trees. The mice and voles LOVED those tubes and pipes. They moved right in and made hotels inside them, which made winter chewing an easy task. We lost all those trees, with the bark getting chewed off right to the tops of the tube "protection". On the next (current) apple & crab trees, we switched to 5 ft. cages and aluminum window screen with no problems. I should say I made the window screen about 24" to 30" tall to plan for deeper snow, so mice & voles couldn't walk on top of a 12" or 18" deep snow and get an easy meal.

We did the same weed mat / crushed limestone thing you're planning. Great idea - we had good results with ours. Your slight SW slope is ideal for lots of sunlight. Our camp is in NC Pa. mountains, so - same area of the country. Good luck with your plantings!

 

[bigboreblr]

No personal experience here. A coworker has a home with reclaimed mine like your on a portion of the property. Very tough growing anything there.

I'd dig down 2 feet and get soil sample. Do that maybe 10 times. Soil can be quite variable one spot to another. Find out what you got. Certain roostocks do better in certain soils. MAybe plant a dozen on the first year. M111, dolgo, antonvoka, and maybe g890 or B118 or P18.

IF you dont protect it with a cage, the critters will eat them.

I get my rootstock from mehrabyan nrsery in ithaca NY. They have every roostock listed except dolgo. Siberian crab and ranetka would be pretty good choices too.

Every rootstock will produce apples of some kind. Some might even be the type and time of year you like too.

I have been eyeing yellow river nurseries, they have red splendor seedlings for $5 each or so. That variety is spoken well of on here. Since they're seedlings, each one will be different to some extent.

IF that soil is bad, you may need to ammend a large section to make a tree viable there. IF I recall poor sand might have some insight on here. He's posted about growing things in poor soil.

Get some pictures of what is growing there. Predominate plants tell a story of the soil. If the soil is bad, you might have to do a few years of green manure. Rye n medium red clover might help things out for a few years. Sandy soil planting crimson clover in the late spring after risk of frost can be good too.

 

[Ruffdude]

Apples like rocky soil. It used to be a thing to throw a rock in the hole when planting an apple tree to help the roots anchor I suppose.
But remember the root system below ground is the engine that drives what is above ground so if your trees have difficulty rooting extensively or deeply they will not flourish above ground. To that end I would start with semi dwarf apple varieties. Amend your holes like you plan to, really put your efforts into doing that.
I would also try some Siberian crabs. They will be more shrub like and should not require a lot of rooting to survive.
I would NOT tube them as mentioned above.
Use screen or flex wrap on the trunks and cage them .
I use 4’ welded wire and lift it a foot off the ground, a bit cheaper than buying 5’ or 6’ fence and you won’t stop rabbits anyway unless you use something with a really tight mesh pattern. Lifting them also allows easy access in future for weeding, pruning, adding mulch, etc.

Profusion Crabapple I planted this Fall just for reference.

 

[Derek Reese 29]

First off, because you’re in PA, get your trees from Whitetail Crabs and BlueHill nursery. You can just run over and pick them up. They are huge, have good roots and produce early (as in crabapples producing the first year in the ground and pears the second). Well worth a couple hours drive time. Second, listen to Bows and the other guys on here. I did as he and others instructed with the weed mat, window screen and concrete remesh. I’ve planted almost 100 fruit trees in the past 5 years and lost 3, which were all my fault for not keeping the grass low around them and voles ate the roots. This will at least give your trees a fighting chance in marginal soil. Also, you can amend the soil around your trees with lime (and after 1 year in the ground), fertilizer. Would definitely get a soil test too to see what you’re working with.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

Get a soil test and add lime if needed to get the pH to 6.5. I’ve had good luck growing apples in a really sandy section (organic matter % around 1%) by adding thick layers of leaves, grass clippings, deer/animal carcasses and rotting hay around the trees. A decade of this has added over 6” of thick topsoil and the trees are doing great.

Keep aluminum screen around the trunks to prevent vole damage.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

First off, because you’re in PA, get your trees from Whitetail Crabs and BlueHill nursery. You can just run over and pick them up. They are huge, have good roots and produce early (as in crabapples producing the first year in the ground and pears the second). Well worth a couple hours drive time. Second, listen to Bows and the other guys on here. I did as he and others instructed with the weed mat, window screen and concrete remesh. I’ve planted almost 100 fruit trees in the past 5 years and lost 3, which were all my fault for not keeping the grass low around them and voles ate the roots. This will at least give your trees a fighting chance in marginal soil. Also, you can amend the soil around your trees with lime (and after 1 year in the ground), fertilizer. Would definitely get a soil test too to see what you’re working with.

^ ^ ^ ^ Good info, Derek.

Thanks for the mention in your post, Derek. The tree protection methods I've used I learned from other guys on here - some of whom don't post here anymore - and from local commercial orchard owners. I just try to pass along what they taught, and what's worked for us at camp for deer, mouse and vole protection. Caging with re-mesh, weed fabric mats, crushed limestone on those mats, & aluminum window screens have made a TON of difference for us.