It was the custom in the 'good old days' to grow apples, pears, plums and cherries as standard trees in a grass orchard, with sheep or cattle grazing underneath. Even today this custom is still being kept in some countries.
This means that one needs to have some other job available in the garden which one can work at while the watering is done. It is not easy to wet sawdust, but if the watering is done layer by layer, there is a much greater chance of the whole heap being sufficiently moist so that the bacteria can get to work on it.
Grass is not surface rooting. It may send down fibers 6 feet or more in search of water. A sward under fruit trees must be kept as short as a lawn, preferably by weekly mowing, unless the weather in the summer is hot and dry. Of course, when the branches come down with the fruit, mowing has to cease for a few weeks in the autumn, but when the crop has been picked, it will have to be cut again, so that it is nice and short to face the winter. It is the grass clippings thrown on to the sward which, of course, are regarded as the mulch.
The fruit grower of those days then started to use chemical fertilizers and said that he was mastering the science of fruit growing. But in spite of the so called new found skill, the apples, pears and plums showed the deficiency symptoms in their foliage.
The grass mixture that I use, with great success, consists of 8 parts Timothy S.50, 3 parts Red Fescue S.59, 2 parts white clover 5.100, and 1 part wild white clover 5.194. This mixture can be sown at the rate of oz. to the sq. yard in a garden, and at the rate of 15 lb. per acre in the case of a commercial fruit farm.
Some organic growers especially those in an area with a very low rainfall use Chewing's Fescue alone in orchards because they are satisfied that its ability to transpire moisture is negligible. When left alone the grass lies fiat on the ground like so much hair and so acts as a natural mulch. It is claimed that this compensates for any moisture loss due to the additional foliage which it is allowed. - 16035
This means that one needs to have some other job available in the garden which one can work at while the watering is done. It is not easy to wet sawdust, but if the watering is done layer by layer, there is a much greater chance of the whole heap being sufficiently moist so that the bacteria can get to work on it.
Grass is not surface rooting. It may send down fibers 6 feet or more in search of water. A sward under fruit trees must be kept as short as a lawn, preferably by weekly mowing, unless the weather in the summer is hot and dry. Of course, when the branches come down with the fruit, mowing has to cease for a few weeks in the autumn, but when the crop has been picked, it will have to be cut again, so that it is nice and short to face the winter. It is the grass clippings thrown on to the sward which, of course, are regarded as the mulch.
The fruit grower of those days then started to use chemical fertilizers and said that he was mastering the science of fruit growing. But in spite of the so called new found skill, the apples, pears and plums showed the deficiency symptoms in their foliage.
The grass mixture that I use, with great success, consists of 8 parts Timothy S.50, 3 parts Red Fescue S.59, 2 parts white clover 5.100, and 1 part wild white clover 5.194. This mixture can be sown at the rate of oz. to the sq. yard in a garden, and at the rate of 15 lb. per acre in the case of a commercial fruit farm.
Some organic growers especially those in an area with a very low rainfall use Chewing's Fescue alone in orchards because they are satisfied that its ability to transpire moisture is negligible. When left alone the grass lies fiat on the ground like so much hair and so acts as a natural mulch. It is claimed that this compensates for any moisture loss due to the additional foliage which it is allowed. - 16035
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To raise the pH of an overly acid soil, add finely ground limestone to your fruit tree garden.
