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fruit trees

Drunk Neighbor Saga

Lauren Ritz

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Location: Kansas

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posted 1 year ago

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Well, technically not a saga. I suspect it could become one.

My drunk neighbor mowed part of my garden, took out my herbs, the watermelons, and a handful of my seedling fruit trees.

Six peaches, to be precise, six of the eight survivors from what I planted over the winter.

My concern is the trees. Watermelons are not even close to being a necessity. The herbs I have replacements for in the house.

What can I do to give the trees the best chance to come back from this? At this point in the season they should be sending all their energy to the roots to store for the winter, and instead they have to focus on new growth.

Any suggestions?

New location. Zone 6b, acid soil, 30+ inches of water per year.
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Douglas Alpenstock

master pollinator

Posts: 5382

Location: Canadian Prairies - Zone 3b

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posted 1 year ago

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Well, that just makes me angry. But I've made a mistake, or possibly two, so I have learned to ask questions before I saddle up and break out the Winchesters (first reflex).

Is your neighbour the sort to acknowledge a giant mistake? If not, is there a large brother/cousin who could lean in and make your case? Primate rules still apply; don't doubt it.

In future, pound a whole lot of angle iron and rebar into the ground around your trees. Whoops, did you cross the property line and your mower was destroyed? Gee, that's too bad. I guess you should be more careful.

Hope your trees survive this BS.

Lauren Ritz

pollinator

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Location: Kansas

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I certainly didn't intend to make anyone angry. He spent the next hour apologizing.

He's old, bored, and I suspect he's in the first stages of dementia. I need to get my own mower fixed so he doesn't see the need to "help."

At this point I'm more concerned about the trees.

A friend has goat poop. Foliar feeding is out because there's no remaining foliage. Fertilizer maybe, but I don't use chemicals for anything so I'm uncertain. Overdoing the feeding could be just as bad as doing nothing.

Christopher Weeks

master gardener

Posts: 4104

Location: Carlton County, Minnesota, USA: 3b; Dfb; sandy loam; in the woods

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Ouch, Lauren! I don't think I have any good advice, but I wanted to commiserate.

Hopefully they have enough root growth done to still throw up a few leaves before autumn comes.

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Anne Miller

steward

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Location: USDA Zone 8a

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I am so sorry to hear this happened to your fruit tress.

I would put something around the trees like tomato cages so you will know where the trees are at and to keep your neighbor from moving over them again.

Keep them watered this summer and hopefully next spring the trees will come to life.

Also maybe watering with compost tea would be good.

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Douglas Alpenstock

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Location: Canadian Prairies - Zone 3b

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Lauren Ritz wrote:I certainly didn't intend to make anyone angry. He spent the next hour apologizing.

He owned up to his mistake. That is honourable. I am no longer angry.

Here's hoping you can find a way to save your trees.

Jenny Wright

gardener

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Location: Zone 6 in the Pacific Northwest

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Between me, my husband, and my dad, we've all mowed various bushes and trees accidentally throughout the last decade. I've found that when/if they come back, they are very strong and healthy for it. The fact that they are seedlings is good so you don't have to worry about a graft.

The way I see it is you probably now have much more roots than trunk and branches so those roots can afford to put more energy towards new growth.

When an accident happens, I put a bunch of manure/compost down around it and mulch it heavily and I keep it well watered. And then I put a wire cage around it so it doesn't get mowed again while it's tiny. A lot of times, I'll see new sprouts within a couple of weeks and those are the ones that usually survive the year and end up thriving the following years..

Lauren Ritz

pollinator

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Location: Kansas

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posted 1 year ago

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Thanks. I put down goat manure. The ground is still pretty wet from the recent rain. I'm not seeing regrowth yet, but I'm keeping an eye on them.

Almond Thompson

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posted 1 year ago

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IDK about fruit trees but I know we had a seedling maple that got mowed over ever/every other year for about five years. He's now a 20yr old knee-high bonsai maple.

Cat Knight

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Location: Winemucca, NV

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posted 1 year ago

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Honestly, I'd hedge my bets. I'd start a few more the same way as I started the first ones. If they were purchased rootstock I'd order for delivery in spring and save the bill to submit to the neighbor. If they were seed, I'd start them now and transplant them in the spring. If it turns out all the others survived despite being mowed, then you either have extra or some to sell. I'm a fan of Mark Shepard- either they are strong plants that can handle being mowed or this is an opportunity to find some that can survive drunk neighbors.

There is madness to my method.
"Life finds a way"- Ian Malcolm
"We're all mad here" - The Cheshire Cat

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Lauren Ritz

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Location: Kansas

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They were seedlings, from my sister's dead (seedgrown) tree. Come to think of it, maybe that's why they adapted to my soil so well. She also has heavy clay.

I have a bunch of seeds in the house that I was planning to put in the ground in the fall. I'll still do that.

Four of the six are showing signs of new growth, so survival is possible!

Lauren Ritz

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Location: Kansas

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posted 1 month ago

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And once again... fences just moved up the priority list. No trees this time, at least. Horseradish and comfrey should recover without a problem, but if I want to plant anything else in that area it needs to be fully fenced.

I asked help from some friends, got the materials...all the seedling trees now have logs or big rocks beside them. The fence for that section should be finished in a few weeks.

It's partially my own fault. I have allowed him to continue mowing because he stayed in areas that are still grass. Until he didn't.

Mike Haasl

steward

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Location: Northern WI (zone 4)

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I find I'm a lot more careful about where I'm mowing after I run over a cantaloupe sized rock. Maybe some rock rings around the trees you really care about would make them more visible and give him an audible, tactile and expensive reminder when he drives over the rocks.

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