Welcome to our Farms
Springtime
Springtime means that garden centers are loaded with people and car trunks are packed with plants! Everybody has dirt on their knees, dirt under their nails, and is excited about gardening.
Installing new plants and having them grow successfully is not very difficult, nor is it as complicated as some would have you think. Is it as easy as just digging a hole and setting the plant in? Yes, it certainly can be.
Container grown plants are very easy. Before gently removing the plant from the container check the drain holes in the bottom of the container for roots that might be growing out the holes. If so cut them off so they will not make it difficult to get the plant out of the container. The easiest way to remove the plant from the container is to place your hand over the top of the container and turn it completely upside down and give it a gentle shake. The plant should slide right into your hand. Examine the root mass as you hold it in your hand. Sometimes when plants have been growing in a container for a long period of time the roots start to grow in a circular pattern around the root mass. This is not good, and you should disturb these roots before planting so you can break this circular pattern. You can take a knife and actually make about three vertical slices from the top of the root mass to the bottom. This will stimulate new roots that will grow outward into the soil. Or you can just take your fingers and loosen the roots that are circling the root mass and force them outward before
you plant them.
Let's start with a very crucial part. What kind of soil are you planting in? If your soil is heavy clay, we suggest that you raise the planting bed at least 8” with good rich topsoil. If you can't do that, install the plant so at least 2” or more of the roots are above the existing grade and mound the soil over them. Keep in mind that plants installed this way could dry out over the summer, but planting them flush with the ground in heavy clay can mean that the roots will be too wet at other times of the year.
If you can not raise the planting bed with topsoil, and are planting in clay soil, I recommend that you install the root system at least 2” above grade and backfill around the roots with the soil that you removed when you dug the hole. This is actually like building a dam to keep excess water from permeating the roots of your newly planted tree. The plant is not going to thrive in this poor soil, but at least it will have a chance to survive.
No matter what kind of soil you have, be careful not to install your plants too deep. Planting too deep is a common problem, and thousands of plants are killed each year by gardeners who just don't understand how critical planting depth is.
Staking newly planted trees is always a good idea. If your new tree rocks back and forth when the wind blows it will have a very difficult time establishing new roots into the existing soil. Stabilize the tree with a stake. You can use a wooden stake, a fence post, or for small trees I often use 1/2” conduit tubing available at any hardware store. You can secure the tree to the stake with a single wrap of duct tape. In about six months or a year the sun will dry the glue on the duct tape and it will fall off. Check the tape to make sure that it has fallen off. You don't want to girdle the tree with the tape.
What about fertilizer, peat moss, and all those other additives they are going to try and sell you at the garden center? Raise your planting beds with good rich topsoil and forget about the additives. Be very careful with fertilizers, they can do more harm than good. As far as all those other soil additives are concerned, don't get too caught up in all that stuff. The only thing that I know for sure is that they will make your wallet thinner, but I don't think you'll see a big difference in your plants.
Thank you so much for visiting and if we can assist you in any way concerning products from our farms, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Please send digital photos and recipes to: customerservice@freedomtreefarms.com
