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<pre>Guys,

what do you folk use as a fertiliser?

Salsi recommend Ammonium Nitrate but I need a licence for that
because people make bombs out of it.

My barber recommends Super Phosphate and he's getting lots of olives
on his trees, so he can't be too wrong.

Cow poo has been my fertiliser of choice but I really want to sit
there and watch the trees growing this year!!!

I'm open to suggestions.

Jon (Wallan, Victoria - on the southern slopes of the Great Divide)

Trees are Frantoio, Kalamata and Leccino, in a heavy clay soil
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<pre>Jon

Remember the maximum about 'going to the butcher for meat, the baker for
bread'? Ammonium nitrate can be used as a fertiliser &/or an explosive
depending on the application. Fertilisers are used to adjust a perceived
imbalance in available nutrient levels of the growing media. To discover
any imbalance a full soil test should be made. This should be coupled
with an assessment of drainage and soil texture for that specific site.
Levels of nutrients are adjusted to meet the requirements for that
specific crop. We have the science available, it is cheap, there is no
reason to not use it.

Roger Farquhar

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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<pre>Jon,

I use "worm juice" because it's liquid and convenient. Nitrogen levels
vary between 5 and 15% depending on which you buy but they all seem to have
a full range of trace elements.

Dan
Spring Gully Olives
SE Qld
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<pre>Jon,
From the Western slopes of the same range (but a bit further north!)
and with what sounds like similar soils - the ground was, before we
bought it, a wheat paddock. That means it was totally DEAD!!! with a
serious clay pan at about 200mm depth. We used the recommended crusher
dust (more for the improvement of the soil structure than for the
supposed fertilisation benefits) and Gypsum at planting. We now add a
cup of Urea after harvest and another before fruit set.


jmcdowel@csc.com.au wrote:

> Guys,
>
> what do you folk use as a fertiliser?
>
> Salsi recommend Ammonium Nitrate but I need a licence for that
> because people make bombs out of it.
>
> My barber recommends Super Phosphate and he's getting lots of olives
> on his trees, so he can't be too wrong.
>
> Cow poo has been my fertiliser of choice but I really want to sit
> there and watch the trees growing this year!!!

Vegetative growth is not necessarily a good sign. It might be making
additional woody and leaf matter to the detriment of fruit yeild. Look
to a good local, commercial level, grower or horticulturist with some
olive experience.

>
>
> I'm open to suggestions.

Aren't we all!!!

>
>
> Jon (Wallan, Victoria - on the southern slopes of the Great Divide)
>
> Trees are Frantoio, Kalamata and Leccino, in a heavy clay soil

Cheers
John Attwood
Tamworth
(Northern) NSW Aust
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<pre>Jon, you shouldn't do this to me <smile>.

I am not a barber, nor a baker or candlestick maker.....

...but I have this passion for the soil which is on the edge of conventional
and just love anyone who offers
" I'm open to suggestions." <smile some more>

Is it really important to get the growth on the trees now? Is it not proper
root establishment and overall quality that is important? The growth will
then follow when the roots are doing well. Just wondering what your
priorities really are at the moment.

Push the trees too hard and you will undoubtedly suffer pest and/or disease
problems unless the nutrient balance happens to be right. Done an
independent soil test yet?

Won't go into any more detail here but suffice to say that the good old cow
manure is slow and sure and unless you can identify the limiting nutrient,
is the most reliable method because it also nurtures the soil life which
then supports the trees. The other inputs don't do this. Anything else is
simply a shotgun approach.

Contact me privately if you would like to discuss further as I don't want to
confuse more people than I need to. <smile again>

Regards,
Gerhard Grasser
Secretary, Gippsland Organic Livestock

AgriSolutions Pty Ltd
PO Box 81
Darnum VIC 3822
Australia.

Phone/fax 03 5627 8663
Mobile 0402 213 736

*** GreenTek non-chemical weeding systems
*** Soil fertility specialists - Albrecht principles
*** Independent soil, water & foliage testing
*** Kelp, seaweeds and fish for soil, plants and animals
*** Natural farming advisory service

"A man should farm as though he would live 1,000 years but live as though he
were to die tomorrow."
----- Original Message -----
From: <jmcdowel@csc.com.au>
To: <OliveOil@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: 03 August, 2001 2:57 PM
Subject: [OliveOil] Fertiliser


> Guys,
>
> what do you folk use as a fertiliser?
>
> Salsi recommend Ammonium Nitrate but I need a licence for that
> because people make bombs out of it.
>
> My barber recommends Super Phosphate and he's getting lots of olives
> on his trees, so he can't be too wrong.
>
> Cow poo has been my fertiliser of choice but I really want to sit
> there and watch the trees growing this year!!!
>
> I'm open to suggestions.
>
> Jon (Wallan, Victoria - on the southern slopes of the Great Divide)
>
> Trees are Frantoio, Kalamata and Leccino, in a heavy clay soil
>
>
>
>
>
> To subscribe to this group:
> Send a blank message to oliveoil-subscribe @yahoogroups.com
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
> WARNING: DON'T LET HACKERS ATTACK YOUR PC OR STEAL YOUR INFO. IF
> YOU HAVE A HOME/OFFICE PC CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET BY DSL/CABLE
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>
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> line of defense for you with its NAT feature. Check it out!
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
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<pre>I would like to know if other olive growers are using worm juice or castings
on their trees and, if so, what results they are getting. The theory is that
by applying the juice your main benefit is in the increase in mircobiological
activity in the soil which makes better use of the natural nutrients in the
soil and fertilisers that are sitting there unavailable to the plant. Of
course that liquid worm castings have a degree of trace elements too. I have
just put castings around my trees in a random selection and have done the same
with the liquid worm castings as a foliar feed coming up to budding time.

Urea and NPK and such like chemicial fertilisers may be cheap but do we pay
for it in the long run in all sorts of ways?

I am only new to the olive harvest game but last year sold fruit on the
organic market that had to be transported in the heat of summer without
refrigeration (good old Oz Post). I picked one lot of fruit on a Friday ,and
after not catching the post- they sat there until Monday with a few days
journey ahead of them. They arrived with a bloom and as fresh as they were-
they shrivelled instead of going rotten after some weeks(common in organic
produce). Now, at the same time I aquired some fruit from chemicially
fertilsed but very well tended trees . The fruit went rotten in three days. Is
there something in that ? Food for thought

Joanna and Dan Burnet wrote:

> Jon,
>
> I use "worm juice" because it's liquid and convenient. Nitrogen levels
> vary between 5 and 15% depending on which you buy but they all seem to have
> a full range of trace elements.
>
> Dan
> Spring Gully Olives
> SE Qld
>
>
> To subscribe to this group:
> Send a blank message to oliveoil-subscribe @yahoogroups.com
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
> WARNING: DON'T LET HACKERS ATTACK YOUR PC OR STEAL YOUR INFO. IF
> YOU HAVE A HOME/OFFICE PC CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET BY DSL/CABLE
> WITHOUT A FIREWALL YOU ARE VULNERABLE.
>
> The Linksys Router (found at http://www.sadoun.com ) builds a good
> line of defense for you with its NAT feature. Check it out!
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
</pre>
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<pre>I have been involved in organic farming for over 15 years - as an organic
grower and manager, and purveyor of organic inputs.

Let me assure you that the observation from customers (end users, retailers
and processors) that organic produce is superior is very common.

Colour, taste, the satisfying experience of consuming organic food and shelf
life are all qualities that are spoken about repeatedly.

Organic is the way to the future as you nurture the soil to provide the
goodness for the olive - not nurture the plant, forgetting about the soil
!!


Gerhard Grasser
Secretary, Gippsland Organic Livestock

AgriSolutions Pty Ltd
PO Box 81
Darnum VIC 3822
Australia.

Phone/fax 03 5627 8663
Mobile 0402 213 736

*** GreenTek non-chemical weeding systems
*** Soil fertility specialists - Albrecht principles
*** Independent soil, water & foliage testing
*** Kelp, seaweeds and fish for soil, plants and animals
*** Natural farming advisory service

"A man should farm as though he would live 1,000 years but live as though he
were to die tomorrow."
</pre>
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<pre>>
> Is it really important to get the growth on the trees now? Is it not
proper
> root establishment and overall quality that is important? The growth will
> then follow when the roots are doing well. Just wondering what your
> priorities really are at the moment.
>
> Push the trees too hard and you will undoubtedly suffer pest and/or
disease
> problems unless the nutrient balance happens to be right. Done an
> independent soil test yet?
>
> Regards,
> Gerhard Grasser


I couldn't agree more.

The health of a tree is dependent on the health of its roots. The tree will
only grow if it has a healthy root structure able to feed the foliage and
fruit. Just about all the sick olive trees I come across (and this is quite
a lot!) have problems than can be traced to poor soil drainage leading to
poor root growth and subsequent poor top growth.

Look at your soil. If the soil is right the roots should grow. If the soil
is crook, fix that first.

Regards,

Mike Wilson
Hunter Valley.
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<pre>I agree that it's useful to monitor soil nutrient conditions.
Monitoring the condition of the tree through leaf analysis is useful as
well, since you need to know whether the fertilizers you are applying
are making it to the tree (or tying up in the soil).
On Sunday, August 5, 2001, at 01:45 AM, Mike Wilson wrote:

>>
>> Is it really important to get the growth on the trees now? Is it not
> proper
>> root establishment and overall quality that is important? The growth
>> will
>> then follow when the roots are doing well. Just wondering what your
>> priorities really are at the moment.
>>
>> Push the trees too hard and you will undoubtedly suffer pest and/or
> disease
>> problems unless the nutrient balance happens to be right. Done an
>> independent soil test yet?
>>
>> Regards,
>> Gerhard Grasser
>
>
> I couldn't agree more.
>
> The health of a tree is dependent on the health of its roots. The tree
> will
> only grow if it has a healthy root structure able to feed the foliage
> and
> fruit. Just about all the sick olive trees I come across (and this is
> quite
> a lot!) have problems than can be traced to poor soil drainage leading
> to
> poor root growth and subsequent poor top growth.
>
> Look at your soil. If the soil is right the roots should grow. If the
> soil
> is crook, fix that first.
>
> Regards,
>
> Mike Wilson
> Hunter Valley.
>
>
>
>
>
> To subscribe to this group:
> Send a blank message to oliveoil-subscribe @yahoogroups.com
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
> WARNING: DON'T LET HACKERS ATTACK YOUR PC OR STEAL YOUR INFO. IF
> YOU HAVE A HOME/OFFICE PC CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET BY DSL/CABLE
> WITHOUT A FIREWALL YOU ARE VULNERABLE.
>
> The Linksys Router (found at http://www.sadoun.com ) builds a good
> line of defense for you with its NAT feature. Check it out!
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>
</pre>
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<pre>Ok, ok, I concede, I'll stick to the cow poo for now, do a leaf
and/or soil analysis in summer and correct any issues.

Thanks for all your replies.

Jon



--- In OliveOil@y..., "Mike Wilson" <mike.wilson@h...> wrote:
> > Push the trees too hard and you will undoubtedly suffer pest
and/or
> disease
> > problems unless the nutrient balance happens to be right. Done an
> > independent soil test yet?

> Look at your soil. If the soil is right the roots should grow. If
the soil
> is crook, fix that first.
>
</pre>
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