On Thu, 02 May 2013 08:32:58 +0100, Martin Brown wrote:

On 01/05/2013 15:13, Baz wrote:
What should we be doing now?

A bit of potash at the end of the season and any slow release fertiliser
you like will help them to get established. Preparation of the hole they
were put it in and staking is probably more important.


But stake low, and get rid of it after a couple of years so the roots can
establish and the trunk strengthen.

I prefer not to stake where possible, although mid- or high-grafted fruit
will certainly need it, low grafts might not in reasonably sheltered
locations.

Keep grass and weeds down at the base of the tree too.

Certainly a very important factor in establishing any young tree.
Glyphosate is your friend here, used as necessary in early spring,
because weeding can disturb delicate surface roots. (Except for the
damned buttercup, immune to the stuff). I use mulch too, but weeds and
couch do establish in it.

Hay or straw is excellent mulch for apple trees if you don't mind how it
looks. You can pile it pretty high, a fellow I knew as a child used to
pile it right up the trunks, and had great results.

We just throw some fire ash around the trees during winter, it's a good
source of potash.

-E



--
Gardening in Lower Normandy