| Author | Post |
|---|
chris priebe
Member
| Joined: | Sun Feb 26th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 8 |
| Mana: |  |
|
Posted: Fri May 26th, 2006 03:29 pm |
|
I am still new to tree planting so I was hoping others could help me out. We currently have a nursery of 15,000 trees and have been experimenting with different soil types. Our area is Northern Belize and most of the soil here is a mix of limestone and black clay.
I was doing an experiment on Spanish Cedar with a box where I blended four types of soil (a different type in each corner). In one corner I put sugar press (the biowaste from the sugar cane), another 50% chicken manure, another mixed limestone and black clay topsoil and the last 100% limestone).
I transplanted mahogany and spanish cedar that had been out of the ground for about 2-3 weeks.
Everything in the 50% corner of chicken manure died. Everything in the limestone corner died and all the Spanish cedar near the 100% sugar died.
The rest of the Spanish Cedar never grew more than 1" tall. However in the cross-section where there was about 30% chicken manure (which may actually be 5-10% since it is mixed with the rice hulls for the chicken bedding), 10% sugar press, and leaning towards the mixed topsoil the plants quickly grew to 4" tall and developed 6" leaves.
I quickly became a believer in the need for good soil.
Now I am working on a sampling of 1000 bags mixing varieties of black clay, limestone, ash, rice hull, sawdust, and sugar press with the species of mahogany, spanish cedar, teak and gmaligna.
Does anyone else have any results or soil types they have found effective for any of these species?
|
Fred Morgan
Sponsor
|
Posted: Sat May 27th, 2006 10:47 am |
|
Hi Chris,
A quick question - did you sterilize the soil - and what PH did you end up with?
|
Luchy
Moderator
|
Posted: Sat May 27th, 2006 02:44 pm |
|
Hi Chris! Despite the first planting distance (3.5 x3.5) = 816 trees by ha. or (3 x 3) = 1111 trees by ha. at the end you need to have arround 225 to 250 no more than that for the final harvest!!!
|
Fred Morgan
Sponsor
|
Posted: Sat May 27th, 2006 02:56 pm |
|
Lucia,
Why would it be so many? I would assume that you could keep thinning every year as long as the trees are healthy. Of course, once the trees get to a certain size, they get harder to handle.
However, the larger trees have more value, not only in volume, but in quality of the wood.
Usually, I figure final harvest to be around 120 trees per hectare - but of course, this depends entirely on many factors - especially the health of the trees. (heart rot being one of the issues)
|
chris priebe
Member
| Joined: | Sun Feb 26th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 8 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Mon May 29th, 2006 12:08 am |
|
We did not sterilize the soil. What does that mean and how do you do it?
We do not have the tool to measure the pH. How do you get that.
Very new to this industry... Chris
|
Fred Morgan
Sponsor
|
Posted: Mon May 29th, 2006 12:21 am |
|
Almost all soils have various things in them - think diseases. What you are discribing sounds like a disease problem.
There are many different ways to sterilize soil - usually you soak the soil and heat it up and cause steam. In the tropics, in the sun, you can often do this by just putting clear plastic over soil not too deep - search on soil sterilization and I am sure you will get ideas.
PH usually should be about neutral or slightly acidic. You should be able to get a PH meter - and then there is always the paper strips I guess. A PH meter is pretty cheap.
Lots of good information out there on raising seedlings in a nursery. Do a lot of reading.
One thing to beware of is if you are using too much chicken manure, you could be burning up the plants. Chicken manure is very strong.
We buy our trees as seedlings. It isn't worth the effort to us at this time to grow them because there are so many good nurseries in Costa Rica who do an excellent job.
|
Luchy
Moderator
|
Posted: Mon May 29th, 2006 05:11 pm |
|
Hi Fred and Chris!
About your final harvest questions, usually you will have different options, and as you said all will depends entirely on many factors: For example:
Option No.1. If you planted 816 at the bigining your first thinning (raleo) could be program for the 5th year (50% off), the second thinning can be around the 9th year (40% off), later the 3er thinning (33% off) arround the 13th year, and the final raleo around 18th year (25% off), now you will have for the final harvest around 123 trees. (So it sounds like the numbers that you have)....
The option No.2. Could be (40% off) arround 4th year ......
(33% off) 8th year, less (33% off) 12th year .. after it you will have around 220, so some people prefer to stop thinning here, and it was why I said no more trees than that for final harvest. But if you choose this option, you can make another thinning (25% off or 33% off) for your final harvest.
The real important thing that you need to have in mind is: between the 5th or 6th year you should have between 500 to 600 trees by ha. and close to the 12th year you should have the final harvest amount.
|
Fred Morgan
Sponsor
|
Posted: Mon May 29th, 2006 09:33 pm |
|
Lucia! Don't confuse us with options! (just kidding)
All plans have to be adapted based on the reality of your growth and, at times, market conditions. However, this will give you something to go one.
|
Current time is 12:04 am | |
|
