planting trees and garden advice

[Deb2of9]

My grandson rescued about a dozen maple saplings from his yard before they got mowed over. They have such a small yard that it couldn't manage the trees and still have yard left when they grew. I on the other hand have six and a half acres with almost no trees. ( I found four young ones poking up through the tall grass towards the street, my daughter planted a fir tree last year that I didn't know about and another half dead tree closer to the house that I almost pulled last year. It has more green on it this year so I will give it a chance a little longer.) So we took the dozen or so maple saplings planted around my yard. I have two quesions. One does anyone know how long it takes for maples to grow enough that we won't mow them over or even better might give us some shade? Also is there anything I need to do besides keeping the dogs away from them and not mowing them over to help the trees get a better chance of growing. One looks half dead already, so my grandson decided not to plant it, but I planted that one today and decided it had a chance in the ground and none if we didn't plant it.

 

So anyone with experience or knowlege, what should I do to help them along besides watering them. They are where they get plenty of sun since I have absolutely no shade. I have no experience in gardening. I have tried a few times but again this year I didn't get the ground ready so I only planted three tomato plants that look sickly and two strawberry plants. My berries (Blackberry an black rasberry) that I planted last year have given fruit this year. My strawberries have a few flowers and one strawberry on them already. I also planted blueberries last year. So anything that might help them along would be helpful. I already have decided to have my garden prepared this fall so I will be ready next year. I want to get a good garden in...I just keep having problems like last year knowing I had to move and couldn't put one in.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Horseyrider]

For the maple trees, the first thing you have to remember is to never allow their roots to dry out. If they were dug up bare root and they waited until they were planted, they might not make it. The roots should always be kept moist with spagnum moss or damp soil.

 

You can put a little teensy fence around them to keep them from getting squished by dogs, and it'll help you mark them for the mower. Mulch around the trunk and keep them evenly moist, The first year you have to be very faithful about watering. If you have any good critter manure you can compost, spread that in late winter/early spring around the dripline.

 

It takes a long time to grow a tree that's so small into something that yields much shade. We used to have a strawberry patch out back, and a couple of maple seedlings got away from us. That was 20 years ago and they're probably thirty feet tall. They provide wonderful shade.

 

 

As to your garden plants, if your strawberries were just planted this year, resist the urge to let them set fruit and pinch the blossoms off. This will give them more energy to grow sturdy roots and set runners. I don't know your soil type but most people underestimate the need for acidity in blueberries, so make sure you find out your pH and if it's more than like 6.5, dig in a bunch of peat moss around them, and mulch with it on top.

 

I understand that your tomatoes look sickly; but can you provide a little more information as to exactly how they show you that? Is their color wrong? Do their leaves droop? Are they leggy or spotty?

[Deb2of9]

The tomatos are droopy and some of the leaves are pale and almost dry looking. I bought them from a discout rack, so I figure they waited longer than they should to get planted. They have been in the ground 2 weeks. They may be doing fine and I may just been expecting more as yet. I maybe need to stale them a little better. I have no idea on my soil type...need to figure out hoe to get it tested. It gets really moist withspring rains , but then drys fast with summer heat...almost cracking in sxome places. I don't think it drains well. Thanks for the advice . I will pinch off tde fruit as you suggested on the strawberries. We will just eat the wild ones this year..