Prepping soil for trees

[ALMPARSO]

Plan to plant several varieties of trees in fields that have never been used for anything other than hay. This will happen early/mid October.

Should I prep the fields with soybean and plow the soybeans under now? Several of the local nurserymen recommend this in my area to increase nitogen. (Western part of North Carolina)


Thanks,

Mark

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

It would not hurt, but it would give short term benefit. Legumes fix N, and then you till in the green manure.

 

[Jay Banks]

Mark did you have the soil tested?

And I'd check with the SCS (Soil Conservation Service) or the NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) for a soil map of the area your field is in. The map shows the types of soils for your county. This info shows the depth to bedrock, typical soil horizons (how deep is the topsoil layer), drainage issues.

 

[Gopher]

Soil sampling in my estimation is the first order prior to planting anything of any value. I was glad to hear it mentioned. I like to put it in the category of buying a house. Would any of us purchase a house we are going to live in site unseen, and then move in for thirty years? Probably not. The trees we so like to care for ar egoing to be in their new "home" for hopefully a lot longer than that, so let's get the right one in the right home. Yes, we can alter the soil somewhat, but why not start out with a species that has the best chance?

Thank you for everyone's interest in arboriculture. It is my passion and life. (Of course, I need to make a better "living" at it someday!)

Gopher

 

[jbw]

planting

i also think it would be important to check your soil prior to planting. an old field used for planting may have built up a plowpan below the surface. also there may be nutrient deficiencies or excesses depending on previous fertilizing and/or watering procedures.

 

[Gopher]

Good comments. We need to get people thinking of soil before trees. Bedding plants; perrenials, annuals, etc., we can alter the small amount of soil they need. A tree should be around longer than the person that planted it (in most cases), so the relatively small expense for all of the soil information that is needed is warranted. Besides, the customer then has something to go by. The soil is always changing, but not very quickly, unless we amend it. It is a data sheet all of our tree planting clients should start with.

Gopher