Hi
After giving away my excess apples and pears to one and all I still have plenty left over. Does it makes sense to simply put them around the base of the trees to rot down to provide a nutrient feed or will they simply invite disease and vermin?
Thank you.
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Buckminster7
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We leave countless thousands behind in the orchards Buckminster....nature clears them pretty quickly.Buckminster7 wrote:Hi
After giving away my excess apples and pears to one and all I still have plenty left over. Does it makes sense to simply put them around the base of the trees to rot down to provide a nutrient feed or will they simply invite disease and vermin?
Thank you.
The one thing that has always puzzled me is that we never seem to get germination from the seeds and don't finish with a carpet of young seedlings.
I think that birds and other creatures must eat the seeds for their nutrient value very quickly.
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rainbowgardener
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JONA/John is the authority, so clearly you can just leave them around your trees.
However, if you just have a few trees, you have other choices that would not be very practical with acres of orchard. If it were me and I weren't going to do anything else with them, I would throw them in the compost pile with a bunch of "browns" (fall leaves, straw, shredded paper, etc) to become compost, which is a much more complete and beneficial soil amendment. (If you are not familiar with composting, check out the intro threads here: https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=35 )
And of course, pressing them for juice / cider uses up a lot of fruit.
However, if you just have a few trees, you have other choices that would not be very practical with acres of orchard. If it were me and I weren't going to do anything else with them, I would throw them in the compost pile with a bunch of "browns" (fall leaves, straw, shredded paper, etc) to become compost, which is a much more complete and beneficial soil amendment. (If you are not familiar with composting, check out the intro threads here: https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=35 )
And of course, pressing them for juice / cider uses up a lot of fruit.
Your right Rainbow...I did reply with a commercial view.
They can make a bit of a mess around a tree...especially if you mow.
One other thing...keep them away from the trees trunk, especially if the trees is young.
It's now realised that the spread of disease from ground to tree is not a major problem, that's why all commercial growers now smash their pruning up rather than collecting and burning.....even with canker problems.
They can make a bit of a mess around a tree...especially if you mow.
One other thing...keep them away from the trees trunk, especially if the trees is young.
It's now realised that the spread of disease from ground to tree is not a major problem, that's why all commercial growers now smash their pruning up rather than collecting and burning.....even with canker problems.
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ButterflyLady29
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