Continuing from previous post
After checking on pests and diseases, we went off to give our attention to
the trees. We removed guards around the tree pits and pulled
out competing ‘weed’ plants.
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| Photo A. Sheridan: Tree pit full of grass 'weeds' |
What is a weed you may ask? Our definition is a plant that is growing
where you don’t want it to. In this case, mainly long grass but also creeping buttercups
and dandelions with their long roots, all competing with the trees for water
and nutrients.
We wanted to keep the bulbs that had given a lovely show of flowers just a few weeks earlier. We also wanted to keep the
comfrey we had planted for its value to the orchard.
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| Photo A Sheridan: Comfrey in flower |
Why comfrey? In flower, it
attracts bees and other pollinators from late May. A number of other
invertebrates live on and among its leaves. Comfrey is regarded as a ‘dynamic
accumulator’ plant with its deep roots that bring nutrients from the subsoil
and up into the leaves. In our orchard we use the ‘chop and drop’ method of chopping
down the leaves to use as mulch around the trees and to return nutrients to the
soil.
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| Photo A Sheridan: bee on comfrey flower |
The volunteers worked hard and the trees were happy. The following photos show some of the volunteers who gave up their time. |
| Photo R. Hero |
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| Photo R. Hero |
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