Brick wall, rubble, slabs in soil
nick1988raynor
Posts: 51
Wasn't sure weather to post this here or in fruit and veg 
but as im looking for abit of advice thought id try here. Im planting some dwarf stock fruit trees; 2 apples, a pear and a plum. Im growing them espalier along a fenceline in a bed roughly 3ft wide.I began to prepare the bed by digging up the compacted soil and removing roots and rubble, with the intention of backfilling it with some soil from the garden, with some topsoil and maybe some compost or manure mixed in to get the right height. As I dug down there are slabs and a brick wall, must be from an old structure. Im wondering if anybody knows how much unobstructed space/soil a dwarfstock needs for roots? I would say im roughly down to 20 inches so far. I can continue deeper if necessary but the less digging the better ???? i will try and add photos.
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In my opinion, 20 inches is quite enough. If you are planting bare root, even more than enough.
Dig out as much rubble as you can and if planting fruit trees dig in as much manure as you can. It will reward you in years to come.
The better you prepare the soil, the better your trees will thrive and provide fruit for years to come.
Thanks for the advice guys! The more research i seem to do the more conflicting advise there seems to be out there!! Manure, topsoil, compost, fertilizer, slow release fertilizer, dig a big hole, only dig the size of the root ball, dont use too much fertilizer...andit goes on
God knows how any trees manage to grow naturally if they supposedly need all this
Absolutely ... Do the best that you can without moving mountains, give them the best soil that you can without spending a fortune and give them the best care that you can for the rest of their lives and they'll reward you.
Don't let weeds and grass grow around them and encourage bluetits to come to your trees by hanging feeders around them and they'll remove the aphids for you.
Nature can do a lot with just the basics.
Last edited: 06 November 2017 21:50:55
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
The late great Geoff Hamilton was an advocate of preparing and nurturing the soil well before planting so the plants could get their roots down easily and get nutrients and water from healthy soil to make healthy plants and crops. He also became an advocate of organic methods and boosting soil fertility and that meant just digging once to make good soil conditions.
This involved double digging to remove rubble and weed roots and then throwing plenty of organic matter such as well rotted manure into the trench as you work forward. You never dig again, just fork or hoe the surface to remove weeds and add a mulch once a year to renew fertility. This works very well for a long narrow bed such as yours which will be permanently planted with fruit trees.
When you say 'plenty' of manure how much are we talking? Looking at it for sale around my area someones selling a full flatbed reasonably prices or someones selling 25kg bags at £1 each (well rotted) ive been told too much fertilizer can also casue problems...
If it helps the trench is about 35ft long and about 2.5ft wide. Apologies for asking so many questions
Do the sums. I'd probably use 25k per foot. If you go for the flat bed you can put a generous layer in the bottom of the trench and then a layer of soil and then more manure and mix it up a bit with a fork but it does have to be very well rotted or it will burn the roots of your new plants. You can store any excess in a corner somewhere for mulching next spring.
I am planning a new fruit cage myself and a new U shaped rose bed so will be looking for someone to deliver a farm trailer/lorry load when I'm ready.
Ok thanks again obelixx