The nail idea seems good
In small quantities copper can be a good thing
I spray for fireblight in the spring with copper. Hopefully everyone is aware it can also be a bad thing since its technically still a heavy metal. My opinion is nailing copper nails in a tree will kill it if you do enough of them. Its not an exact science. That pesky elm tree sprout crowding your apple tree - copper nails - #4 by clarkinks
“Near the base of the target tree, hammer in a copper nail at a slight angle pointing downward. There is no standard as far as size goes when choosing copper nails, but generally, the more surface of nail in terms of both length and width, the more effective the treatment. Also, a longer nail means deeper penetration, which translates to a higher chance of the tree becoming diseased. Continue hammering nails in a ring around the tree, about one-half inch apart. Doing so will damage an increased number of growth cells as well as increase the concentration of copper in the tree. This higher concentration is better because that will increase the chance of the metal oxidizing, which poisons the tree. The idea that one copper nail will kill a tree is only true for very small trees, such as saplings. Larger trees can tolerate a single nail without issue and will simply grow over the nail in time with no ill effects. Cover nail heads with mud, if necessary? The purpose of covering copper nails with mud is to conceal the nails. Copper has a tendency to show quite plainly in the trunk of trees due to its bright coloring. Covering the nails makes the process less obvious with a casual glance and can preserve the look of a yard as the tree starts to die. Using mud to cover them, though, will not completely hide the fact that something has been done to the tree. After the tree is dead, remove the nails before removing the tree. Otherwise, the nails could fly out and injure someone or they could damage the machinery being used to remove the tree since there are many nails.”
2 Likes
Just as a side note heavy metals eg. “arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, copper, lead, zinc” may currently be used or exist in the soil or may have been used in your orchard or garden in the past. You might be interested in this New report finds heavy metals like arsenic and lead in 45 packaged fruit juices - CBS News
There is really no such thing as an expert in these situations. We try to limit our exposure to heavy metals as much as possible but certainly we all have some heavy metal exposure. Weigh the risk and educate ourselves is all we can do and then apply what we need to in order to have fruit and vegetables. As a child i made bullets and sinkers from lead. I sucked on copper pennies, pumped fuel with lead in it and house paint was lead based. Dont think it did me any favors but i dont want the next generation repeating our mistakes unecessarily.
2 Likes