Drought advice.

[Angus 1895]

What kind of watering plan is required for young trees in this drought condition?

I been watering about 7 gallons every third day on the younger ones. About 18 gallons on the bigger trees. I have to leave it up to a hired person in about a week, I don’t think I can expect that much water to be applied while I am away.

It is still getting 90 plus degrees. And sometimes it’s breezy. No rain forecasted of any significance.

Thanks

 

[b116757]

1 inch of rain a week would be fine. I water only once a week and only if we don’t get any rain in the previous 7 days. I’ve only watered twice this year in SE Kansas. I may very well water this weekend we haven’t had rain at the one farm for a week but I had 1.5” at the house and I’m not sure how much at the new farm but I have no trees planted there yet. I’m using an 1.5” hose out of a 400 gallon gravity fed water buffalo each tree gets 2-3sec of water. Takes two people one driving the tractor and one walking behind running the hose but we can water a lot of trees pretty fast the tractor never stops just keeps moving at walking speed. Now if one tree looks particularly dry it may get a little extra water. I’m watering somewhere around 60 fruit trees 30 Chestnuts the several hundred oaks just have to survive on their own. Be tough or die.

 

[Rit]

Option B rain dance

 

[Angus 1895]

One inch a week is fine?

That’s like 60 inches a year?……..no?

I live where we get 11 inches a year.

pictures

the neighbors wheel line….he has a earlier water right than me……but as you can see he is running out.

you can see how the grass is burning up. It’s freaking dry, but we got a lot of irrigation water mid summer, I was working out of town and didn’t get to irrigate like we would have liked.

Final picture is my watering deal.

 

[b116757]

Annual rainfall in my area of Kansas is 44-50” in normal years.

 

[b116757]

One inch a week is fine?

That’s like 60 inches a year?……..no?

I live where we get 11 inches a year.

pictures

the neighbors wheel line….he has a earlier water right than me……but as you can see he is running out.

you can see how the grass is burning up. It’s freaking dry, but we got a lot of irrigation water mid summer, I was working out of town and didn’t get to irrigate like we would have liked.

Final picture is my watering deal.

Where do you live that maybe a dry part of the country but it is beautiful.

 

[Angus 1895]

Thanks
i am hoping where cottonwood trees grow. Others can also.

but it’s all irrigation so it’s up 2 me.

 

[Wild Thing]

I usually only water fruit trees well for the first year. Oak seedlings (planted from acorns) and crabapples grown from seed get watered until they can make it on their own. One or two years, I also watered Norway Spruce trees in their first year during drought years when I could get at them, although those in the shade seemed to do fine anyway.

I berm up a "bowl" around them when I plant them so they will hold 5 gallons of water...


Sometimes I will add some Miracle Grow to the water on the young seedlings




We never got more than 2 1/2 inches of rain in any month during the growing season last year. This year we only got 1.2 inches of rain in July so I have been watering more than normally.


The watering has been effective though. I started these crabapple from seed in April 2 years ago and they are up to about 5 feet tall or more today...


I have also been removing the tubes and removing the lower branches/leaves so that the energy goes to the stem and the top of the tree...


This is a 5 foot cage

 

[Troubles Trees]

I have no idea how accurate this site is but it seemed to line up with the local data for my area. Interesting tool to check out though :)

Kansas, USA - Climate & Monthly weather forecast

Kansas - Climate and weather forecast by month. Detailed climate information - average monthly weather for all locations.

www.weather-us.com

 

[Angus 1895]

Option B rain dance

By dad gum


it worked,

 

[b116757]

By dad gum


it worked,

What exactly are the steps to this dance?

 

[Foggy47]

What exactly are the steps to this dance?

Been doing this for many years. Get yourself a canoe paddle and light a great campfire and put on your moccasins and a breech clout (If any women are present the breech clout is optional).

Now begin to chant softly hi....how....are you.......Hi.....How.....Are You.....as you gain volume start to dance around that campfire.....One hard step on your left foot followed by three little steps with your right foot and in cadence with the aforementioned chant. HI HOW ARE YOU....HI HOW ARE YOU....and alternate back and forth ad nauseam. Hold that canoe paddle at various heights....and sometimes raise it over your head for special effects.....and pull hard against the river water.


Tips and suggestions:
DO NOT under any circumstances make more than three trips around that fire without having a long pull on your beer.
You can pee later when it's raining.
Make sure you have a full cooler of beer and enough campfire wood when you get started. Put a tarp over that wood.
Bug spray can be a good idea.
Most importantly.....make certain the radar shows strong storm cells moving into the area before you get to your ninth beer.

Send rain dance checks to:
FOGGY C/O QDMA Headquarters Building 5
AKA Deertopia Proving Grounds
P.O. Box BR549
Pequot Lakes, MN 002UNZ. USA

EDIT: Above all.....do NOT send any rain dance proceeds to Art Sandburr. AKA: Lies-Through-His-Teeth.....and AKA: Art the Leech . He'hs been skimming funds from the QDAM rain dance proceeds for many a moon.....and rumor has it (according to Lindsay Thomas) that he even stole the dot at the QDMA Pequot Lakes headquarters site prior to shutting down that operation (that never was). He has also absconded with all the good cider and moonshine that was stored in building 5....and assorted other misdeeds and his JPS ways.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

The first year I will water my trees only if needed, and only enough to keep them alive. After the first year, if they really look like they will die if I do t water them, and if no rain is in the forcast, I will think about
watering them. In other words, their roots better be digging deep if they plan on surviving, because I am not making it easy for them.

 

[sandbur]

Been doing this for many years. Get yourself a canoe paddle and light a great campfire and put on your moccasins and a breech clout (If any women are present the breech clout is optional).

Now begin to chant softly hi....how....are you.......Hi.....How.....Are You.....as you gain volume start to dance around that campfire.....One hard step on your left foot followed by three little steps with your right foot and in cadence with the aforementioned chant. HI HOW ARE YOU....HI HOW ARE YOU....and alternate back and forth ad nauseam. Hold that canoe paddle at various heights....and sometimes raise it over your head for special effects.....and pull hard against the river water.


Tips and suggestions:
DO NOT under any circumstances make more than three trips around that fire without having a long pull on your beer.
You can pee later when it's raining.
Make sure you have a full cooler of beer and enough campfire wood when you get started. Put a tarp over that wood.
Bug spray can be a good idea.
Most importantly.....make certain the radar shows strong storm cells moving into the area before you get to your ninth beer.

Send rain dance checks to:
FOGGY C/O QDMA Headquarters Building 5
AKA Deertopia Proving Grounds
P.O. Box BR549
Pequot Lakes, MN 002UNZ. USA

EDIT: Above all.....do NOT send any rain dance proceeds to Art Sandburr. AKA: Lies-Through-His-Teeth.....and AKA: Art the Leech . He'hs been skimming funds from the QDAM rain dance proceeds for many a moon.....and rumor has it (according to Lindsay Thomas) that he even stole the dot at the QDMA Pequot Lakes headquarters site prior to shutting down that operation (that never was). He has also absconded with all the good cider and moonshine that was stored in building 5....and assorted other misdeeds and his JPS ways.

Just send the money to me and forget about that scoundrel, foggy. It is all a story as he never makes it past the third beer and is in danger of falling in the fire.

I make good use of the money and just ration it to him.
;)

By the way, foggy and I have been arguing about this in a good natured way for years. I suspect he is finally catching on after years of my guidance. I have spent hours drinking his beer and coaching him. ;). He just can’t seem to get the amount of rain right!
;)

In all truth, I think I have had one beer in the last month.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Angus 1895]

What exactly are the steps to this dance?

It’s easy…..

just leave stuff outta the barn u don’t want to get wet.

then stumble around the stuff ……..acting too busy to put it away.

another option is before u dance

spray half a tank of weed spray!

 

[Angus 1895]

I am torn about keeping them thirsty.

Them long hot days if supplied ample water will produce really good growth.

Good growth produces size and maturity

Size and maturity produces adult tree characteristics

Such as drought tolerance

 

[Angus 1895]

I usually only water fruit trees well for the first year. Oak seedlings (planted from acorns) and crabapples grown from seed get watered until they can make it on their own. One or two years, I also watered Norway Spruce trees in their first year during drought years when I could get at them, although those in the shade seemed to do fine anyway.

I berm up a "bowl" around them when I plant them so they will hold 5 gallons of water...
View attachment 45179

Sometimes I will add some Miracle Grow to the water on the young seedlings
View attachment 45180

View attachment 45181

We never got more than 2 1/2 inches of rain in any month during the growing season last year. This year we only got 1.2 inches of rain in July so I have been watering more than normally.
View attachment 45182

The watering has been effective though. I started these crabapple from seed in April 2 years ago and they are up to about 5 feet tall or more today...
View attachment 45183

I have also been removing the tubes and removing the lower branches/leaves so that the energy goes to the stem and the top of the tree...
View attachment 45184

This is a 5 foot cage
View attachment 45185

Thanks for the photos

one thing I do differently is add a generous layer of cedar mulch around and over the dirt bowl I make.

 

[Wild Thing]

I am torn about keeping them thirsty.

Them long hot days if supplied ample water will produce really good growth.

Good growth produces size and maturity

Size and maturity produces adult tree characteristics

Have to agree Angus. I have made a concerted effort to water my tubed trees this year due to the drought conditions being even somewhat worse than normal (1.2" of rain for the entire month of July). I have also put in extra effort to prune the bottom leaves and branches while the trees are in the tubes and I have noted that my trees seem to have put on more growth than normal.

Such as drought tolerance

Thanks for the photos

one thing I do differently is add a generous layer of cedar mulch around and over the dirt bowl I make.

I have never used any mulch on my trees but I am sure it probably would make a difference.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

Last summer was about as dry in my area as I can ever remember. I have about 30 apple trees, and I never watered any of them last year, and I never lost a tree. Did they get set back from my lack of watering? Maybe, but they survived, I survived, and a lot of deer survived to live until the hunting season, so my lesson I learned was, let them do their own thing, they will be stronger for it. If they learn there is no easy water in the top few inches of soil, the roots grow deeper, and you end up with a stronger tree. At least that is my therory.

 

[Angus 1895]

That is totally agreeable.

Thats why I am changing my thinking to very Deep watering, 20 gallons or so. Less frequently. I got the trees in post hole dug holes with soil amendments below the tree. Trying to encourage them to seek deeper water.

I only get 11 inches per year of natural precipitation . I gotta rely on tap roots……IMO