Re: Decomposed granite as a mulch
- Subject: Re: Decomposed granite as a mulch
- From: y* g*
- Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 17:19:44 +0200
The fruit trees here in my part of Greece have a large clear indented circle
around each, presumably to contain precious water.
Yvonne.
----- Original Message -----
From: "M. & L. Doster" <mld@theworks.com>
To: <medit-plants@ucdavis.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2002 4:52 PM
Subject: Re: Decomposed granite as a mulch
> >For whatever reason, in FL the advice is against mulching citrus trees.
> >Look in commercial orange groves and you will see a clear areas under the
> >trees.
>
> Likewise, all the commercial orange groves I've seen in this area of
> California have bare soil.
>
> One reason is that bare soil minimizes cold damage during winter. The soil
> absorbs heat during the day and releases the heat at night (thereby
warming
> the aboveground parts of the tree). A mulch or a cover crop (including
> weeds) interfere with this process (prevents the soil warming during the
day
> and releasing heat at night). I've seen the results of a study where the
> temperature effect was measured; the bare soil resulted in the warmest air
> at night, then a mulch, and the worst was a cover crop.
>
> --Mark
> San Joaquin Valley, California
>
>
>
>
