‘Dig’ The Earth

Ever since I was a little girl I have loved trees.  My father’s house is on a four acre lot that was pretty much naked when he bought it save for the house and the barn.  He had a pond put in and over the years has planted hundreds of trees.  Evergreens like Blue Spruce and White Pine have been a staple of his plantings.  He had planted 2 rows of beautiful Green Ash trees to the north side of the property that made a pretty walking path in the summer and fall.  Near the pond he planted hybrid Poplar and Weeping Willows and a couple rows of fruit trees.

At the request of my mother he planted a Privet hedge along the whole south side of the property.  it was nice to have because once it was big enough – which didn’t take long – it kept out prying eyes of nosy neighbors and the occassional creepy weirdo that would stop and want to watch my brother and I play.   If you think you only get that in the city, try living out in the middle of no where.  Creepy cretans find a way to hide themselves.   But I digress, all the different trees made it a very pretty place to live as we were growing up.  I’d like to give the same thing to my children.

No, we don’t have four acres to play with, but we still have a long skinny lot that runs right next to a busy road.  There are no neighbors across the road, but the thought of having a hedge there appeals to me because of the traffic that goes down our road and the fact that it will act as a barrier for the children leaving the property and crossing over to the canal.  Yeah, the ditch across the road from us is an old canal – very deep, very dirty and always filled with water.  Not kid friendly. Not car friendly either, but that’s a different story.  The existing trees were poorly placed, little cared for and some were dying.

There were a few that had to be taken out soon after we moved in because their presense precluded the survival of surrounding trees.  They didn’t look good either.  One Sugar Maple in the back yard had to be cut down this year because it’s invasive roots had destroyed our septic tank.  An apple tree in our back yard had split and was not doing well so it came down.  There was also a very short row of Arborvitae that was poorly placed and turning brown that had to come down the first year we were here.  Needless to say we have many stumps to remove and some space to fill.

When I received an offer for membership to the National Arbor Day Foundation I scrounged together my pennies and sent in the fee.  They give deep discounts on trees and shrubs of many kinds and give detailed information on how to care for the trees that are planted.  They offer in their catalog some trees I had not been able to locate anyplace else.  For instance, I’ve always wanted a Pecan tree and a Black Walnut.  According to their USDA planting zone charts I live in US Zone 6 where both these trees are hardy. Yay!  They sell fruit trees, small shrubs, flowering plants, flowering trees, shade trees and evergreens all in the name of conservation.  Not only will filing my property look beautiful, increase the value of my lot and provide shade and privacy and maybe some fruit, but it will also lend to worldwide conservation efforts and combating the greenhouse effect.  These sound like pretty good reasons for me to join.

If you are interested in learning more and possibly getting some free trees go to arborday.org.

It is always nice to see a beautifully manicured lawn with a selection of ornamental and shade trees to accent the landscape. It is also equally frustrating to see a lawn where no consideration has been given for mature plant and tree size. The landscape looks more like a deformed jungle with half dead and unhappy plants. Unfortunately, the latter is the landscape which was thrust upon us when we moved in our house. Plants placed willy-nilly and trees placed too close to the house and too close to each other to look good.

When buying trees for your landscape and choosing the proper location for placement consider the following:

• Is the tree best suited for placement in full sun or will it do well in woodland type conditions?

Think about the light conditions on your property.  What existing tall trees are there?  Which side of the house gets the most sun?

• What are the water needs of the tree?

This can go hand in hand with the light requirements of the tree.  Depending on where the tree is placed it could dry out faster or get water logged.  Is your property prone to flooding or marshy conditions?  Do you live in a more arid area that would require watering by other than natural means?  Think about how much work you are willing to put into the tree to get it established in your yard.

• What is the mature size for the tree? How long will it take to get to that size?

It will be very important to know the height as well as the spread of the canopy of the tree. The tree will be equally large below ground as it is above ground. Keep this in consideration when deciding the placement of the tree near major features of your property – the house and foundation, the septic tank, poured walkways, the property line and any outbuildings.

A tree that looks beautiful near the house when it is young can become a severe maintenance headache once full grown.  Also, don’t forget to think about this when considering placing the tree in a grouping or near other trees.  There is nothing less attractive than to see a tree’s canopy with a depression in it because it was placed too close to other trees.

• How dirty is the tree?

Does the tree drop a lot of leaves, not only in the fall, but year round? What about in the spring – will the blossoms turn in to a brown, mushy mess when they fall from the tree?  What about shedding bark and branches?  If you like being outdoors and don’t mind yard cleanup then these will not be issues for you.  If you like to have your yard clean without an excess of work you would do well to research these points before you buy a tree.

Fruit such as peaches, plums and nectarines are considered stone fruits. These are easy to collect since you just eat or cut away the fruit, pull out the stone, wash it, let it dry and voila – a seed. One thing you should consider before collecting these from store bought fruit is that they may be hybrid. Meaning that it is a cross of two different varieties and the resulting tree may not produce fruit like the one you ate, but one like a parent of that fruit, if it fruits at all.

So, unless you are absolutely sure that your fruit is an heirloom variety or you are aware of the characteristics of a hybrid’s parents and are OK with that you may want to stick with buying a seedling. Though there is nothing wrong with trying.

The resulting tree could still be very pretty.

When the avocado fruit has turned black and is ready to eat you can remove the seed. Take a knife and half the fruit from stem end to bottom twisting gently to separate the halves from each other and the seed.  Use a sturdy smooth blade kitchen knife to whack into the side of the seed and give it a turn to release it from the meat of the second half.

Wash it well in cool water.  Don’t store these too long or they may not sprout.  Usually, you just stab 2 or 3 toothpicks into the sides of the seed to suspend it over a glass of water. Make sure that the water covers the bottom half of the seed at all times.

On a side note, I learned something very interesting the other day on Alton Brown’s Good Eats program on the Food Network.  The avocado fruit will not ripen until it is removed from the tree.  This allows farmers an almost unending harvest season as long as the weather holds up!