Testing Soil and the Soil Analysis Report

I got my analysis back from the Soil Testing Lab at UMass a couple of weeks ago. 

The form for the test can be found here:  http://www.umass.edu/soiltest/

Every thing looks good for the perennial bed, but the vegetable garden needs some adjustment.  The report said the soil pH is 6.1 and that I should add dolomitic (magnesium rich) limestone - which I did this weekend.  The report says to add the lime as early as possible prior to planting.  Planting is still 2 months away.

 

 

 

I used 45 lbs., or 15 lbs. per 100 sq. ft. My plot is roughly 300 sq. ft.  I poured the rest of the 50 lb. bag into the other bed, which is 32 sq. ft.

 

I also need to add about 15 lbs. of 5-10-10 fertilizer to the large vegetable bed, and 4.8 lbs to all the smaller beds. I can also use this for annual flowers and roses.  See the report for details.  Should be done in early spring... now.

 

4/19/13 - UPDATE
I bought a 5-10-10 that was recommended at Sixteen Acres Garden Center, but when I got it home and started to apply it, I read on the bag that it possibly causes cancer, as well as birth defects - in the state of California! Well, I guess it would cause those problems here in the state of Massachusetts, too!  So I decided not to use it and look for some organic sources of nutrients, instead.  One thing we learned again and again in WMMGA - READ THE LABEL!!  I guess I need work on this.

Anyway, the soil report said to add 1 bushel of manure per 100 square feet.  My large garden is 300 sq. ft., and the smaller gardens add up to almost 200 sq. ft.  It turns out that a bushel of manure weighs roughly 75 pounds.  So off to Home Depot I go, and bought 12 25-lb bags of the stuff.  Again - READ THE LABEL!!!  When I got home, I discovered that only have of the material in the bag was actually manure.  The other 49% was peat moss, etc.  I used it anyway.

I also added blood meal (nitrogen), bone meal (phosphorus) and wood ash (potassium).  I used the recommendations on the UMass soil report.

I spent the last 2 days finishing the large garden bed.  I still have the smaller ones to do.  I'm taking a break because my back is breaking.

Pruning Apple Trees at Cold Spring Orchard

Today, I joined other "master gardeners" at Cold Spring Orchard in Belchertown to learn how to prune apple trees.

It was freezing!!  But, as this is the time of year to prune fruit trees, it was good experience.

This is Dr. Wes Autio, a specialist in fruit trees.  He is a professor at UMass and was our instructor today:

One of the first things we learned is that a true horticulturist only uses the best quality tools.  That goes for aspiring horticulturists like myself.  Hmm.  Guess my OSJL tools don't count.  I didn't dare take them out of the car!

Wes suggests buying our tools from Oesco (Orchard Equipment Supply Company) because they have the best tools available, and because they are a local company (Conway, MA).  I picked up one of their catalogues when I went to the blueberry pruning seminar last month.  The tools needed for proper pruning are hand-pruners, loppers and pruning saws. Some of the brands Wes highly recommends are Felco, Barnel, Pica (hand-pruners) and Silky (saws). 

In this picture, he is demonstrating how to sharpen tools.  In his right hand is a sharpener (diamond stone, "medium").  You are only supposed to sharpen the beveled side.  Run the sharpener along the bevel, against the cut itself, then turn the blade over to clean the bur (deburring) by rubbing the sharpener flat against it.

Also, it is recommended that you oil the tools with a light oil and keep them clean, either with water or WD-40 (I actually discovered that we have a can of this in the basement!).  Wes says he doesn't worry too much about disinfecting the tools, and says that it is not necessary unless you've been working with plants that are diseased.

Now, for the apple trees!

I can just picture this place when the trees are in bloom!!

We were all given a bookmark/factsheet about apple tree pruning and training:

• Sunlight turns buds into fruit buds.
• Training and pruning should maximize sunlight in the tree.
• Shade is your enemy - All parts of the tree should receive sunlight.
• Pruning Stimulates new shoots which will produce fruit buds the following year and bear fruit the next year.

There are seven rules, to be completed in order:

1. Remove 2 or 3 of the largest limbs in the top two-thirds of the tree.
2. Use the 2-1 rule (diameter-based pruning).  Remove any scaffold branch or limb that is half the diameter or larger than the central leader.  A branch of this size chokes out the leader, not allowing the tree to reach optimal fruiting capacity.  Use bevel cuts to remove these limbs.
3. Avoid heading cuts - remove the entire limb instead.
4. Avoid complex branches in the lower one-third of the tree.  As branches on lateral limbs get older they develop additional branches.  This is what we call a complex branch.  Leave the smaller pencil thick fruiting shoots.
5. Remove downward hanging branches.
6. Remove shoots that are growing straight up.
7. Leave one shoot as a central leader - do not prune it.

UMass Extension - Useful Websites

http://extension.umass.edu/landscape/
click:  Landscape message

http://extension.umass.edu/landscape/fact-sheets/fundamentals-insects-and-mite-ipm-program

Soil Test

I sent some soil samples to UMass on Thursday.  I did this last year as well; UMass sent back a report which I used when I planted my blueberry hedge.

This year, thanks to some guidance from the Western Massachusetts Master Gardener's Association, I sent several samples of soil to the lab - one for my perennial bed, one for my vegetable garden and fruit trees, and one for my blueberry hedge.

I dug about a cup of soil from different spots in each of the beds.  I put everything in plastic baggies, filled out the form to indicate the tests that I wanted ("basic" and "organic matter"), indicated what I am trying to grow, and sent it off (with a $37.00 check, for 4 tests and reports).

The only step that I didn't do was spread the soil out on a sheet and let it thoroughly dry.  I don't know how important this is - I'm hoping that it's not.

UMass Soil and Tissue Testing Lab - http://www.umass.edu/soiltest/