[nafex] Plastic tree mats/mulch

[Bernie Nikolai <bnikolai@shaw.ca>]

Del,
        I experimented extensively with plastic mulches around my apple
trees.  I used the ordinary plastic fiber ones, the ultra heavy duty plastic
fiber ones, plus some special ones that were of plastic, allowed infared
through to heat up the soil, and also were supposed to pass water through.
In a nutshell all were more or less failures.  Firstly the water DID NOT
pass through very well.  My orchard is on a slight slope, and it drained
off, rather than passing through.  I suppose with a slow three day drizzle,
they would have worked, but we tend to get thundershower type rain, heavy,
but brief here in my semi-arid climate.  The trees did poorly compared to
non plastic mulched trees.  If you have drip irrigation under the mats, that
would probably work well.
        According to many tests at the Agriculture Canada Research Station
in Summerland BC, the very best mulch for young apple trees, 3 years and
younger from planting, IS CULTIVATED BLACK SOIL.  Apparently the roots of a
young apple tree need the extra heat.  Once they are over 3 years old,
mulches, especially organic ones, work well as the roots do well in cooler
soils, and the mulches conserve moisture and add biomass to the soil.
Plastic mulches were suggested for a maximum of three years only.
Apparantly there just isn't enough going back into the soil, and the ground
gets very compacted like  concrete after about three years, negatively
impacting growth and fruiting.  The very best mulch (again, on over three
year old trees only) was surprising shredded office paper, ink and all!  The
long ribbons of paper after being through an office shredder sort of caked
together after the first rain, and this kept it from blowing away.  There
were significant numbers of earthworms and moisture under this mulch, more
than other kinds tested.  And apparantly the inks used nowadays are not
harmful at all to plants, or earthworms.
        I also remember having a big problem eventually removing my plastic
mulches.  After a couple of years or so, the grass grew through the plastic.
The mats were then sort of cemented to the ground, and took huge, spleen
splitting janks on my part to remove small parts of the mulch.  It was a
really tough job.
Bernie Nikolai
Edmonton, Alberta (still LOTS of snow on the ground, no bare grass at all yet)


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