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Post by ogemaone on Feb 6, 2017 8:06:36 GMT -6
Does anyone do it? If so what are you using and how much. Thinking about gives my norways a boost this spring as soon as snow melts and ground is wet. A local pine tree farmer says it makes a huge difference.
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Post by Freeborn on Feb 6, 2017 8:32:39 GMT -6
The pine farmer didn't comment on what he does? I wonder if he is using time release fertilizer?
I've got some Black Hills Spruce I would like to help along if it works. Did he comment if he is just broadcasting or something else?
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Post by ogemaone on Feb 6, 2017 8:40:49 GMT -6
He said he uses a tablespoon of triple 10 or triple 19 and does it as soon as snow melts and ground is soggy. He swears by it. As long as ground is wet wouldn't think you would have to worry about burning them.
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Post by Freeborn on Feb 6, 2017 9:03:41 GMT -6
Tablespoon? This must be for very small seedlings and to help them when they first get started? Hard to believe it would do much for anything but small seedlings. At one time I had the idea to try to rig up a device like a Gopher poison pellet applicator like below to get fertilizer down by the roots. I never got very far with it as I need allot more fertilizer to do allot of trees than an applicator could hold. I'm very impatient with how slow evergreens grow on my sandy soil. www.amazon.com/Yard-Butler-IGBA-1-Gopher-Applicator/dp/B00EOMCJE0
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Post by ogemaone on Feb 6, 2017 9:12:23 GMT -6
All my trees are young, 2-4 footers. I may try it if I can be up at the land when everything is soggy
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Post by smsmith on Feb 6, 2017 9:18:11 GMT -6
Bowsnbucks has posted a number of times on H-T about fertilizing his spruces. I don't recall how much or what he uses though.
I've never fertilized any evergreens, but have no doubt that doing so with the right fertilizer and amount would increase growth.
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Post by Foggy on Feb 6, 2017 9:36:25 GMT -6
Tablespoon? This must be for very small seedlings and to help them when they first get started? Hard to believe it would do much for anything but small seedlings. At one time I had the idea to try to rig up a device like a Gopher poison pellet applicator like below to get fertilizer down by the roots. I never got very far with it as I need allot more fertilizer to do allot of trees than an applicator could hold. I'm very impatient with how slow evergreens grow on my sandy soil. www.amazon.com/Yard-Butler-IGBA-1-Gopher-Applicator/dp/B00EOMCJE0I have one of those mole poison applicators as shown above. I use it all the time to poison our pocket gophers. Seems to knock them back quite effectively. I can see using this to get some fertilizer into the root zone. Good idea IMO.
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Post by badgerfowl on Feb 6, 2017 9:51:12 GMT -6
I have fertilized my white pines planted in 2013 each spring (not the planting year). They are not in a very big area, just randomly planted. They were MP45 plugs from Itasca. They are over 4 feet tall now. I planted Norway Spruce same year and Black hills spruce and have not fertilized them. They are 2' maybe. I just buy a 10 lb bag of 10-10-10 at Menards and throw it at them. So far so good. It helps the weeds grow too but the pines have gotten above them now for the most part.
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Post by sd51555 on Feb 6, 2017 13:00:32 GMT -6
I'm going to be toying with that very thing this spring. I'm spraying cleth first over the spruces I planted late last summer, then I'm planning to come behind with a little gypsum to feed some sulfur. I've got decent P&K (for trees anyway) already, and don't really want to try nitrogen just yet. I may get a little triple 10 to try it, but not large scale. I'm afraid I'll over-do it.
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Post by sd51555 on Feb 6, 2017 13:02:38 GMT -6
I think if you knock back the weeds, you'd get a decent shot of nitrogen just out of your organic matter. The big factor may be that it's not sucked up by the competing vegetation. Conservative estimate is that you'll get 20lbs of N outta each 1% OM that you've got. That's what I'm operating on for now. I figure my grassy area is about 3% average, so 60lbs N. I just gotta kill the grass that's using it.
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Post by Freeborn on Feb 6, 2017 13:54:34 GMT -6
I wonder how Milorganite would work? When my CRP planting was first done and before I got my tubes on I put 1/4 cup of Milorganite on my Plum and Crabapple trees to try and keep the deer from destroying them. It kept the deer away long enough for me to get my tubes on and did not seem to hurt the trees.
Milorganite does not have allot of Nitrogen but it is slow release and organic. I have used Milorganite on the grass in my yard and I have always been very impressed with how well the grass looks.
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Post by nhmountains on Feb 7, 2017 0:52:01 GMT -6
I have fertilized my white pines planted in 2013 each spring (not the planting year). They are not in a very big area, just randomly planted. They were MP45 plugs from Itasca. They are over 4 feet tall now. I planted Norway Spruce same year and Black hills spruce and have not fertilized them. They are 2' maybe. I just buy a 10 lb bag of 10-10-10 at Menards and throw it at them. So far so good. It helps the weeds grow too but the pines have gotten above them now for the most part. Those pines will take off this year or next when they have 4-5 years in them. Before you know it they'll be 15'.
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Post by nhmountains on Feb 7, 2017 0:56:16 GMT -6
I bet if you guys had a chipper and used the chips to mulch that would help a lot to hold moisture and prevent weed competition.
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Post by Freeborn on Feb 7, 2017 7:20:08 GMT -6
I bet if you guys had a chipper and used the chips to mulch that would help a lot to hold moisture and prevent weed competition. Doesn't wood chips pull nitrogen out of the soil? I know chipping small diameter branches is beneficial (can't remember what it is called) but particularly I understood hardwoods pull nitrogen out of the soil.
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Post by badgerfowl on Feb 7, 2017 7:47:24 GMT -6
I have fertilized my white pines planted in 2013 each spring (not the planting year). They are not in a very big area, just randomly planted. They were MP45 plugs from Itasca. They are over 4 feet tall now. I planted Norway Spruce same year and Black hills spruce and have not fertilized them. They are 2' maybe. I just buy a 10 lb bag of 10-10-10 at Menards and throw it at them. So far so good. It helps the weeds grow too but the pines have gotten above them now for the most part. Those pines will take off this year or next when they have 4-5 years in them. Before you know it they'll be 15'. They've already exceeded expectations. I'm sure they've got some decent roots established by now. As long as we don't get a horrible drought they should be good. Only concern I have is that a native white pine nearby just up and died recently. It was probably 12' tall or so. No idea why.
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