Heavy applications of ferts aren’t usually called for for orchard trees so we can afford to be conservative.
I use Calcium Nitrate if I can get it cheap which I usually can’t in my area.
Otherwise Urea.
I did a test on my wood chip-based non-organically produced (with Urea) compost and I make amendments to bring the compost up to “rich soil” standards (but no more) based on that.
I visualize the pile spread out a couple of inches deep on the ground, guesstimate the square footage, apply real-chemical-name micro nutrients (Iron, Boron, Copper, Zinc in my case) in a couple of applications turning the pile over in between and then add a spade full to each tree once a week when things get really going until almost the end of growing season.
Between the Urea and the acids from the chips it’s quite acid so you have to keep on top of the soil ph. But at one shovelful at a time things don’t move too fast.
Oregon required a prescription for real Sudafed up until this year. WA takes your driver’s license and have to buy from pharmacist, not shelf to clerk. More reasonable.
But last I’d payed attention, Mexico supplied more cheap meth than could be needed. I don’t think it was economical to make meth from retail Sudafed anyway. Seems like preventing theft would be good enough.
I don’t need it often, maybe a handful of time in the last 20 years, but nothing seems as effective for symptom relief. Oregon’s law was ridiculous.
I’m sure that works in some places but in the NE it has drawbacks. Clovers attract plant bugs that often find their way to developing fruit right into harvest and cause pitting and other damage. Clovers my not release N in a manner useful to bearing age fruit trees, where you want extra N in early spring but want to dial it down during summer. N to establish trees quickly is a different matter, of course, but you still want ample N available in early spring when the soil is still cool, but also right through the growing season.
Further, if your trees rely on rain for water clover is a thirsty competitor. It also must provide pretty good cover for voles.
Potassium nitrate crystals forming in your like may be neat but ultimately pointless. If you want to harvest saltpeter you would need to bump up your game by a lot. Or you could just go to eBay and buy it by the pound, better than dealing with a bunch of stale urine.
The crystals on the pile themselves are still good fertilizer. Heck smokeless gun powder is equally great, a source of nitrogen once broken down.
hi thanks, but i’m not interested in producing or buying saltpeter.
I just commented on the post:
that it is theoretically possible to produce nitrate “green”. but in sense it was superfluous.
because it is so unproductive, and definitely not an alternative to „un-green“ production.
Even here in Germany you can buy potassium nitrate for some reason, although almost everything is forbidden here.
but the seller is obliged to report you if you are suspicious. Buying a pound you are automatically a suspect. Back in the days you could buy it everywhere as a spice and we had fun with it as kids. But the time was different then.
but seriously why does someone buy a larger amount of potassium nitrate besides for gun powder or sugar rockets. the last one is cool.
which are also forbidden in Germany to build without a license and if it flies higher than 382 ft you need a permit from the aviation authority.
if someone is annoyed about regulation, come to Germany it’s insane here.
but to stay on topic.
you can plant Elaeagnus instead of clover. it also fixes atmospheric nitrogen with the help of bacteria and produces edible fruits.
but probably has similar problems as clover
