Growing fruit trees without fertilization

General Fruit Growing
1

I’ve done a soil test and the soil is generally low in nitrogen, however, the in ground trees 2-4 years old seem to be growing new shoots just fine. Is it absolutely necessary to fertilize or can you grow fruit trees without any fertilization plan at all?

2

Wood chip on top is all I’ve ever used. Seems to work fine for me. Also, some say that using fertilizer increases the odds of fire blight. Don’t know if that’s true or not, maybe someone else will know more.

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3

Same experience here with woodchip. Been using it as a thick mulch around my fruit trees for a few years and they seem perfectly happy without any added fertilizer. The soil underneath has improved noticeably too.

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4

If the trees are growing and look healthy to you then no.

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5

I live in an area with above average soil. I’ve never once fertilized my trees. I would consider amending the soil if your plot was once a sharecropper farm in the SE, or in a subdivision where extensive excavation has taken place. Conditioning the soil is always better than attempting to augment soil with petro based products.

A mulch donut is useful when watering starter trees. I plan to keep all of my dwarf trees mulched with double shred hardwood indefinitely for the purpose of preventing soil moisture loss.

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Thanks for the replies. I’ll add more mulch and maybe amend with urea if they start to struggle.