I’m not one for ‘flogging a dead horse’ when it comes to growing things in the garden. So the time finally arrived for me to admit defeat regarding my Black Doris Plum tree. I’ve been waiting about 7 or 8 years now and still no fruit – that’s long enough in my book.
So I decided it’s finally time to pull it out and try something else. I decided to try a Fuji apple.
My wife wasn’t so convinced that I should give up on the Black Doris so I compromised and told her I’d try it in a different spot – down in the bottom garden.
Most fruit trees like well drained soil so when I tested the hole with a bucket of water I could see that the clay in the bottom was going to be a problem. This is a typical problem with Auckland’s soil.
So I dug a drainage trench in a downhill direction from the hole and put a couple of inches of free draining pebbles in the bottom.
Finally the hole was ready to fill in again and to plant the new tree. I used a good quality garden mix with a bit of compost added to it to give it the best possible start, then I staked it firmly.
One of our neighbours has 2 apple trees growing on his property. They’re both different varieties and very hard to identify so I’m hoping they’ll work OK as pollinators for my new Fuji variety. Only time will tell.
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(Update: Jan 2, 2018)
This year my Apple tree has several fruit on, which is not that many so it’s a little disappointing.
I have noticed that when the tree starts putting forth it’s leaves and blossoming in the late spring the branches get this white fluffy stuff growing on them. When you rub it between your fingers it turns a red/brown colour so obviously some kind of very tiny insect infestation. The result of this is a
dis-figurement of the surface of the branch.
So far I have not sprayed the tree with any chemicals as I prefer not to if I can help it. The most I ever do is give it a squirt with a high pressure hose to get rid of the insects but they soon come back. So I'm thinking I may have no choice but to start spraying it, which I’ll probably do this year after it’s finished fruiting.
The drainage trench is a good idea. I never would've thought of that. Our veggie garden that I started from scratch in our new house is going great. The sil in this place is awesome.
ReplyDeleteWithout a doubt, the soil is critical to a successful garden. Sometimes the soil needs a helping hand though, which includes resolving drainage issues.
ReplyDeleteHow did the trench work out for you? Also, did you fill the trench with rock, or did you just put the soil back in?
DeleteHi there, The apple tree seems to be doing fine, although it hasn't really fruited properly yet. Perhaps it's not being pollenated properly. We've had a lot of rain this year so I reckon the trench must have helped to drain it off ok. I just filled it with soil. I think the layer of gravel in the trench was enough to allow the water to escape.
DeleteHello,Ive done the same drain method planting olives in the same type of Auckland soil but i mixed local soil with compost and pumas and put it back in the hole. If you plant in straight garden mix it will continue to de compose and shrink down over time.
ReplyDelete