[Arid_gardener] Fwd: Navel orange tree

[Dick Gross]

That is great news, Carl.

 Ideally, according to the experts, feed the annual fertilizer requirements in thirds applied in March, June and September.

If the dampering effect was only 2" wide in the trench after an all night soak, the water must have been going straight down with no resistence like in sand. Could you have meant a two foot wetted band?. That would be okay but if it goes swoosh through and below the root system (feeder roots) much of the water and fertilizer will have been lost. 

In my own soil, an overnight irrigation will spread out over 3 to 5 feet  from a 15 inch trench with a half inch head of water in it.

But, if you can see the results, something was done right.

Do you use a soil probe? You can get a better feel for where and how far the water is going if you use one regularly. But, make one. Get a 3 foot length of 1/4th inch brass rod from the hardware, File a dull point on one end and drill a hole in one end of a six inch piece of a shovel handle to make a handle for the probe. Appoxy it on and you have a soil probe that will never rust.

Thanks for letting me know, Carl.

Dick
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Carl R King 
  To: rkgross3 at cox.net 
  Sent: Friday, July 07, 2006 3:34 PM
  Subject: Fw: Re: [Arid_gardener] Fwd: Navel orange tree


  Hi Dick,
  I had to follow-up with some amazing news.  There is now more new growth than old.  The BIG news is there are at least 12 blossoms.  The soaker hose treatment is just what that poor ol plant needed.  I'd say its here to stay.
  Carl
  crk12 at juno.com>
  To: rkgross3 at cox.net
  Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 07:18:49 -0700
  Subject: Re: [Arid_gardener] Fwd: Navel orange tree

  Hi Dick,
  Thanks for answering.  Doubt it makes much difference, but to answer the 2d paragraph, the tree bloomed with about 1/3rd the blossoms from the prior year despite using the same fertilizer schedule as the year prior.  Of that 3rd, about 1/2 turned into fruit buds which quickly disappeared over a 3-week period.  If anything, watering was increased slightly from the prior year due to a poor winter/spring rain.  
  I'm giving it another go.  I've strung soaker hoses around the tree out to the drip line & soaked it overnight.  The first attempt was Sat.  The result was mixed.  It soaked the ground out to 2" from the hose, nothing more.  So, I'm bringing in more hose & will try again tonight.
  Carl  

  On Fri, 16 Jun 2006 21:30:45 -0700 "Dick Gross" <rkgross3 at cox.net> writes:
    Carl, at 36 years of age, your tree is pushing against its life expectency that depends to a great extent upon the treatment it got in early life. I am 80 and comiming apart at the seams. Your tree and I are at about the same place in life. I have had a lot of hard knocks that effect my quality of life; the ability to reproduce is one of them. When a fruit tree is under stress, it may drop its fruit in an attempt to conserve energy and live longer.

    You didn't say if the tree bloomed, whether fruit set and later dropped or never set. A healthy tree will bloom profusely, set a lot of fruit but then drop what it hasn't the strength to hold without compromising its own existence. My grapefruit drops bushels from pea to golfball size but at least a thousand stay on the tree to ripen. If an unusual hot spell hits, if irrigation is lacking or not applied to the proper depth nor in the right place, any stressful condition will cause the tree to abort more fruit. Yet, I often see pitiful, sick citrus loaded with fruit making a liar of me in people's yards. That is, however, a rare exception.

    But, if you are attached to this fruit tree, I don't mean like with a noose, you may be able to resurrect it. Citrus needs deep irrigation (at least 3 feet deep) near or in the area of the drip line where most of the feeder roots are located. If you haven't done that nor applied a proper fertilizer at the same place to the same depth, your tree is undernourished meaning proper culture might nurse more life and fruit from it.

    Some years ago, I used a 1.5 inch diameter soil drill to make holes 15 inches deep every 2 feet in a shallow 2 foot wide trench its center being the drip line. I filled every hole with 21-0-0, Ammonium Sulfate, and adjusted a garden host to maintain a one inch water depth in a shallow trench for 24 hours. I usually fertilized like this in March only. (Ideally, it should be done in March, June and September.) The trees would explode with new growth. A 40 year old grapefruit has not a single flaw but grapefruit enjoys longer life than most citrus.

    In a side yard you cant make a circle. But you can do 3 sides. Use your imagination to feed and irrigate deeply.

    Now, if your tree doesn't respond to that kind of love and tenderness, I would compost it and start over.

    Dick Gross, Master Gardener Volunteer
    U of A Maricopa County Cooperative Extension
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