It is the “Season of Giving” and our Mandarin Tree was loaded with beautiful little orange gifts to give! I talked to the kids about what kind of gifts we can give back to our trees to say “Thank You”. Fruit trees might not like bicycles and legos, but they sure like soil amendments and mulch!
I split the students into three groups: diggers, mulchers, and waterers. First, I taught the diggers how to make a “double-berm” around the tree so water is retained but also protected from the trunk, so it doesn’t get soggy and vulnerable to infection. Once they thought of it like a moat around the castle, they got right to work!
At this stage, I added some yummy soil amendments all around the base of the fruit trees: humic acid and azomite. This is quite a treat for the trees and sure to make them happy and healthy!
Next, we had the watering crew give the trees a great big drink of water, allowing the nutrients to dissolve into the soil and become available for the roots.
Lastly, we got the mulchers to collect all the dead leaves around the garden – and there were plenty. We talked about mulch being like a blanket for the fruit trees, regulating temperature and moisture. What kid doesn’t like to crunch and throw leaves around?!
After all that work we were ready to receive our gift of delicious and tangy mandarin oranges! Happy Holidays to all!