Grow Your Own Magazine

I want to plant my fruit trees here:



I'm going to use the festoon method to keep them under control.

However, the ground is full of thick bramble roots and perennial weeds. I can't really dig it over properly as my back is still quite bad. I'm running out of time to get these in the ground.

Will it be a total disaster if I plant the trees amongst the weeds?

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Can you plant through a weed suppressant membrane and then mulch it??
Might be worth spraying with glysophate first though ??

The weeds are not actively growing yet so I don't think Glyphosate will work?

I do have weed membrane so this might be an option.

Thanks

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http://www.wizer.co.uk

The bramble roots might rob the soil of what the tree's need and condense it so the tree roots won't get a good spread. Can you not rope another lottie member into digging it up for you?

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The membrane is a good idea!
I would also give huge amounts of water and a good feed across summer.

Oh, what a bugger. Bramble will keep coming up thru your plants. If you really can't dig it all out, cut off each piece as it appears. You will eventually weaken and kill it. Eventually.

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~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

thanks all.

I have just been up there and decided to slowly and carefully dig some huge holes. I will fill these with some 'clean' compost and plant into that. Hopefully this will give the trees a good start in life and then I will take your advice and just keep cutting it back until it weakens. I'm never going to totally win tho:

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Have a go Wizer, before I lived out here full time I started a tree and shrub hedge in the field which was waist high in grass and weeds. The ground was so hard and stoney that I only managed to make a small hole just big enough to get the spindly things in. I then covered the area round the 'plant' with membrane and now 6 years later the trees are 12 - 15 foot high. In the last 2 years I have gradually cleared the soil along the whole area. So I don't see why your fruit trees won't be all right until your back gets better.

Best of luck

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Gardening requires a lot of water - most of it in the form of perspiration. Lou Erickson, critic and poet

The chap who has the land adjacent to ours arrived the other day and 'poked' in a couple of fruit trees in the only bit of land that isn't wooded.
No ground preparation or membrane, just a hole ant the tree 'poked' in. The grass in the area will be waist high by June but the trees should survive.

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Gardening requires a lot of water - most of it in the form of perspiration. Lou Erickson, critic and poet

that's good to know!

i'll be planting this week, weather permitting!

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Can I make a couple of observations wizer, which you have probably already thought about.?
First of all, I presume you are planting hard fruit ie. apples, pears, cherries etc? If so, are they not a bit close to your raised beds? The roots will easily reach the beds when the fruit trees are fully established! Also, will you have enough room to get around the end of the beds? Finally, shade will be a problem, if not to you, to your allotment neighbour I would think!

Tell me to mind my own business if you like, but looking at your photograph these are issues I myself would take into account.

PS The planting through teram sounds like a good idea!

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

Your observations are very valid Snadger. I hadn't actually thought about the proximity to the raised beds. I guess the final planting position would be about 1m. hmmm have to think about this. I can push the trees back a bit because I don't actually have a neighbour on that side, the brambles go for 30ft to the site boundary.

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Hello WIZeR. I grow my fruit trees in 20inch. pots buried half into holes with gravel to give drainage, most grow to seven feet every two years I pruin back to Five feet, I aslo put small gravel onto top of pots, no weeds wish you good luck. J.tate

now THERE's an idea. Might try that, thanks!

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I think I just presumed they were on the Northern aspect of the plot- but well spotted Wizer!

I'd just stick them in that large ditch behind where you were going to plant them. Think about all the extra moisture their going to get!