Besides
adding a jolt of seasonal color with their festive spring flowers or bright
autumn leaves, trees can perform a lot of purely practical feats around the old
homestead:
Cut your energy costs. Strategically placed
deciduous trees offer cooling shade in the summer, and then conveniently shed
their leaves in the fall, so sunlight can filter through all winter long — just
when you need it most.
Hold your soil in place. Trees’ extensive root
systems grab the ground, so the soil is less likely to wash away when the rain
just won’t stop.
Fight your pest-control
battles.
Trees offer food and shelter for birds and other critters, which feast on
destructive insects.
Boost your property value. Handsome, healthy, and
well-placed trees can increase your home’s sticker price considerably.
Most
trees can be planted any time the ground isn’t frozen. Here’s how to get ‘em
started out on the right root:
STEP 1: Thoroughly water the roots
of your tree.
STEP 2: Dig a hole that’s wide and
deep enough to accommodate the roots. Make jagged slices into the sides of the
hole, then work a handful or two of my Woody
Plant Booster Mix into the bottom of the hole:
Mix 4 pounds of compost,
2 pounds of gypsum, 1 pound of dry dog food, 1 pound of dry oatmeal, and 1 pound of Epsom salts together in a tub or
wheelbarrow. Then work a handful or two of the mixture into the planting hole
of each tree or shrub.
STEP 3: Set the tree into the hole
so the beginning of the trunk—the spot where the bark turns lighter—is above
the soil surface.
STEP 4: Refill the planting hole
about halfway, the flood the hole to the top with water, wait for it to sink
in, and finish refilling the hole with water.
STEP 5: Use leftover soil to form a
raised ring around the edge of the planting hole, then water again for about
five minutes with your hose nozzle on moderately low pressure.
1 comment:
Wow! Thanks Jerry, I am new to your blog and Thankful for all that I have read today. I have had one of your book, a very useful reference, for many years and am adding to my library today. I will tell friends to checkout your very interesting information.
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