julieseward1 said:I have an acre of land. It's skinny and goes way back. I want to plant some fruit trees, berries and vegetables in areas that are too far back for the hose to reach. I though of getting a garden cart and some kind of container possibly with a hose attached. Anyone have a solution they can share?
Timing is everything. If you plant trees in the spring or fall you can reduce the amount of watering. In Oregon, we tend to favor fall, in Ohio, ask your neighbors.
First, do a drainage test. Dig a hole. Fill it up with water. If it disappears quickly, either you have sandy soil, or your hole is close to an animal tunnel and is draining down the tunnel. Dig around some more to make sure it's not a tunnel. If the water sits and sits and sits. You have to fix the drainage before planting. Add an seemingly obscene amount of mulch. The mulch may vary depending on the tree/shrubs/berries you want to plant.
I am a very wet planter. I saturate the soil. I fill the hole with water, let it drain, fill it again, let it drain. Meanwhile, the plant I'm planting is soaking in a bucket of water. When I go to plant, I place the plant in the hole, fill the hole with water again, and as the water drains, I fill in the hole. I water one more time, and then.... I walk away, never to water the plant again. I have friends who planted acres of vineyards without a single extra drop of irrigation. Look up "dry gardening" and see if that applies to your garden.
I am a big believe in mulch, bio char and mychorrizae fungi. Look them up. They should go into the hole (and against the roots in the case of the fungi) at the time of planting.
Site selection is also very important. Not only how much sun, but, almost all fruit trees that I know of, benefit from the extra drainage that occurs when planted on a mount. It isn't practical in a big orchard, but in a home garden, it is perfectly acceptable to create mounds when planting your trees.
If any of your berries are blue berries, be sure to drop plant them.
