| I love to soak up the gardening books. I knew absolutely nothing about plants and trees. I had no interest in them. Each year I learn a little more about the wonderment of growth. I now keep a gardening diary, and when I learn something new about the plants we currently have in our garden, I write it in the diary for the corresponding month or season. When that season arrives, I don�t even have to *think* what to do. It�s all there ~ written out for me. Here are a few of my notes for the care of fruit trees. FRUIT TREE REQUIREMENTS: PLUMS: Autumn mulch with rotted manure. Complete plant food. Winter pruning. Winter feeding. Summer - late summer feeding. RASPBERRIES: Winter - apply mulch of rotted manure. Spring - complete plant food. Beware fungus. Apply lime. STRAWBERRIES: Winter - apply mulch of rotted manure. Spring - complete plant food. Replace every year. APPLES AND PEARS: Autumn - mulch with rotten manure (blood and bone) Spring - high potassium fertilizer. Companion plants: chives, horsetail, foxgloves, wallflower, nasturtiums, garlic and onions. PEACH AND NECTARINES: Autumn - high nitrogen fertilizer. Mulch with rotted straw. Companion plants: Tansy, garlic, basil, southernwood, epsom salts. APRICOTS: Companion plants: Tansy, southernwood. LEMON AND LIMES: dolomite, cow manure, blood and bone into mulch every three months. |