TREE PLANTING HELPKEYWORDS: TREE PLANTING HELP, tree planting guide, tree planting instructions, planting evergreen trees, planting avocado trees, tree planting memorial, tree planting tools, planting tree seedlings)TREE PLANTING MEMORIALPerhaps you are planning a tree planting memorial, and the spot you've chosen is in middle of an existing lawn. Where you can enjoy memories of your loved one every day.Or just beyond the swimming pool where we have our "Family Tree". My mum and a dear friend's ashes are buried in the roots of this Yellowwood tree. I fancy them peeping out at me between the leaves...! All the world's a bit queer bar thee and me, and I'm not so sure about thee! Can you see the pair of famed Hadeda ibis hooking crickets and earthworms out of the lawn?
Clear the jungleTREE PLANTING HELPBut perhaps you have to clear the jungle for planting avocado trees, as I have to do. It's hard work, and there will be considerable burning of the brush. Any half rotten sticks will be carefully garnished for the pit we are about to dig, or for composting with sticks and garden refuse. The alternative is a This page may give you some ideas for the larger garden... and a Compact Compost Tumbler
Having cleared the ground, plan where you want to plant your tree. Your tree planting instructions are:
MARK OUT THE SPOTSo, with plenty aforethought from your friendly tree planting help, mark out the spot, about a metre square. Three feet. And, keep in mind, ONE METRE DOWN!
Prepare youself! says your friendly Tree Planting Help guideYou are about to put your body through some pain threshholds, though the mind will be invigorated and the spirit refreshed! So keep in mind why you are doing this to yourself! The fruit that is to come. Are you planting avocado trees, as I am? Think of the blessings that will be yours in a year or two. Are you planting evergreen trees? Year-round beauty.Now you are going to bend your back! This pit will be SQUARE. One spade x one spade x one spade deep! Why square? Your tree planting seedling will almost certainly have come in a round bag, with roots in a spiral. For maximum root growth your tree planting guide says you have to persuade your baby tree to get out of that limited circular thinking. Just like we must...! The bigger picture...
The first levelTREE PLANTING HELPHaving marked out your pit for the planting tree seedlings, or whatever you have in mind, start to remove the topsoil, placing it on one side of the hole. You'll probably encounter plenty of roots, small rocks and stones. There were other surprises for me. Someone else had been gardening right here, probably a century ago... this garden was laid many, many years ago going by the size of the azaleas and the liquid amber.
TREE PLANTING HELP
Suddenly, I hit something hard and metallic. And old spade. The going is now much harder in this clay, and it serves as a reminder to be kind to my tree planting tools. I don't want to break off my spade like that long-forgotten gardener's spade. I wonder who s/he was? Thank you friend, your efforts were not in vain, and not forgotten, despite years of neglect in this jungle during the interim. We'll get it back to its former splendour. See the old spade?
The clay is now very compact; it's hard to dig and there's very limited room in the hole for me. It's heavy to spade out and, dangerously, it starts to stick to the spade. When throwing the clay the unexpected extra weight gives a nasty jerk to the shoulders and lower neck.
Clay-shoveller's fractureApparently in days or yore, clay shovellers would regularly have a fractured spinous process of C7 when a pat of clay unexpectedly stuck to the shovel.It still occurs in trauma, but in itself is not very significant. It can cause instability of course because of the affect on a powerful ligament that runs between the spinous processes, maintaining the so-called "lordosis". This view was taken in extension, so it's impossible to gauge the lordosis.
Your Tree Planting Help reminds you that the end is in sight...The last spadefuls are a devil, and I'm beginning to feel it in the small of the back. Fortunately, I have another Chiropractor living in our home! My daughter. But I did my lower back exercises faithfully this morning so all things being equal (they never are!) I'll be fine. Just a bit achey... Bernie Preston's lower back exercises on YouTube ...
This clay is very dense and difficult for the young roots of your new tree to penetrate. So go the extra mile... until the handle of the spade is below the level of the ground. You want your tree to be firmly rooted and not fall over in a storm because it's roots never went deep enough. It's worth the extra effort... and a few visits to the chiropractor! Seriously, next day my back was fine, but then I walk and cycle and do my lower back exercises EVERY day. I never miss. NEVER. I'm a big baby, and I don't like pain. I'd rather do a couple minutes of exercises every morning, and have a regular, occasional maintenance Chiropractic adjustment. Sitting at this computer and in the car, and giving a lumbar roll is what's hard on my back, not planting trees and shrubs.
Now for the compost and small decayed branches.Take it from Tree Planting Help, this is the easy part and shouldn't take long. Just fill in your hole about half way up with dead leaves, twigs and branches, well-rotted manure, compost, kitchen waste... the more decomposed the better because not much aerobic composting will occur two feet down.
AshTREE PLANTING HELPThen cover your compost material with the sub-soil, perhaps add more compost and then if you have it, I added a couple shovelfuls of ash, left over from burning back the jungle. It's rich in minerals... but you certainly don't have to have it. If you're not fanatical about organic, like I am, then chuck in some fertilizer.
First the subsoil @ TREE PLANTING HELPTwit, I omitted to take a photo, but first replace the sub-soil and then above it the topsoil. Mound it up about 6 inches above the ground, it'll soon settle.
GRAVE DIGGER?TREE PLANTING HELPIf everybody starts doing my lower back exercises, riding their bikes and walking to the store instead of getting in the car, and eating our authentic hummus recipe, fish soup and chicken bones stock (wonderful for healthy cartilage), and I find myself without a job, I could always be a grave digger! Fortunately there are still horses and vacuum-cleaners, motor cars and staircases... they provide a steady income! Those poles are to shade the young tree from the fierce African sun, and protect it against the first few winter frosts.
GROWING AVOCADO TREES
Avocados are very high on my agenda. The oil is very high in mono-unsaturated fats, the good stuff that coats all your nerves. But avos bear in alternate years. So this year, this devious chiropractor gave She-who-must-be-obeyed an Avocado tree for Christmas! Rationale? It's good for her nerves too! Using your trusty tree planting implement, the spade dig out a small hole in the centre of your mound. Peel off the bag in which your tree came, sacrifice the bag, trying not to disturb the roots, and carefully slide it into the hole. Get the height of the soil in the bag the same as that of the surrounding soil. Tread down the soil firmly and pour a couple buckets of water over it. Two years and we'll have our first avo...
Plant a lemon tree
FROM THE CHIROPRACTIC COALFACEWhen do you rush off to the doctor or chiropractor, and when do wait a few days and see how things progress? It's a hard call frankly.If you have pain in the chest, don't wait. You might be dead in an hour. Likewise, if you KNOW you've done yourself a mischief then it's best to get to the chiropractor quickly. A saw a lady this morning for her third consultation. 80% better. Five days ago she had a sharp stab in her low back which passed in 2-3 minutes. The next day she was vacuuming... and the sharp stab didn't pass. She was crippled with pain and in her own words, she KNEW she had done something. She arrived two hours later in severe pain, unable to drive, and having difficulty walking. All the orthopaedic tests pointed to a lumbar disc herniation at the lowest level. L5-S1. Slump test was strongly positive. There was no pain in the leg. Yet. Six months ago she had a severe sciatica for several months. The next day, after the first treatment she felt 40% better. Today 80%, and she could bend without pain, and the Slump test was negative. Reducing a herniated disc before the swelling and inflammation sets in, usually means that nothing much comes of it. We have started with the rehab exercises, and she understands that despite having little pain, she will have to be sensible for six weeks. Two weeks ago, her sister's horse fell on her, smashing her pelvis... horses and vacuum cleaners, and don't forget there's a rail running down next to the staircase. It's there for a very good reason...!  Custom Search USEFUL LINKS @ TREE PLANTING HELPReturn from Tree Planting Help to MAKING A COMPOST PILE …Go from Tree Planting help to BERNARD PRESTON home page … MONTHLY NEWSLETTER @ TREE PLANTING HELPBACK ISSUES... (PS. If you find them boring, one click will de-list you.) TREE PLANTING HELPDid you find this page useful? Then perhaps forward TREE PLANTING HELP to a fellow bookworm. |
MAKING A COMPOST PILE ...
Composting with sticks, alternatively a Compact Compost Tumbler
BROCCOLI OSTEOARTHRITIS ...
GROWING CHICKPEAS ...
GROWING BUTTERNUT SQUASH ...
Growing and cooking green beans
TREE PLANTING HELP ...