Tearing down the peach orchard. Only to give way to new almond trees

Wood ash has been recognized as a valuable substance in agriculture since ancient roman times. Most importantly, it contains ash-derived potash, or potassium carbonate, a treasured nutrient for the trees.

When you burn wood, nitrogen and sulfur are lost as gases, but calcium, potassium, magnesium and trace element compounds remain in carbonate and oxide forms.

Winter spray for the remaining peach trees

Potash (for quality/size of fruit) $114/acre

Winter spray, Success (twig borer), Champ WG (leaf curl), oil (scale) $101/acre

Tearing down the peach orchard - phase I - Heart breaking, I know! This will give way to a beautiful almond orchard in future!

It's painful because these trees served us well and they have a good number of production years still remaining on them. But, considering all factors and Del Monte's guidance and outlook, we decided it's best to get out of peaches.

On a slightly positive note, this torn down orchard is assimilated into the soil as chipped wood (that's the plan, at least).

Usage overview for almonds: Urea and Potash

To assess the nutrient status of our orchard, we take leaf samples and have them analyzed.

Typically, Nitrogen is the only major nutrient that needs to be added regularly in almond orchards. Latest research indicates that applying smaller amounts of nitrogen several times during the growing season is greatly beneficial than applying one big dose.

1. Nitrogen: Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for the production of proteins, nucleic acids(DNA) and amino acids, and almond trees require an adequate annual supply for proper growth and productivity.

UN-32 (Urea Ammonium Nitrate with 32% nitrogen) is applied through the irrigation system at 220 pounds of N per acre and is split into equal applications in April, May and July.

2. Potassium: Potassium sulfate aka "potash" at 500 pounds per acre is banded along the tree row in late fall. Please note that we take away large amounts of K in the form of almonds so we have to replenish it from time to time.

Urea pellets (we don't use pellets; we apply a liquid form it via irrigation system which is more efficient):

Orchard removal logistics..

Orchard removal includes felling trees, grinding, stump removal and transportation plus land leveling.

So they put trees into a big chipper or grinder and shredding the wood into small pieces. Any wire in the trees is removed by magnets and a dirt separator is used so they end up with a clean product that is hauled off to a site where it is burned to produce electricity. The old method of pushing the trees into huge burn piles has been phased out by the Air Resources Board.

We see the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has a cost sharing program (EQIP, Environmental Quality Incentives Program) to encourage people to chip rather than burn. For orchard removal they will pay up to $75 per acre.

Fortunately for us, Lane served on the board of directors of the local resource conservation district for 10 years so he has contacts at NRCS and can find out more details. The following link is a two-page description of the program.

ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/CA/programs/EQIP/2007/AQ-Chipping_Fact_Sheet07.pdf

Here's a grinder at work:

And here's a tree removal monster machine:

Wanted: A reliable orchard removal service

So far, Lane has two referrals and Elsa one. I guess we should go ahead and get a quote from each. I will probably let Elsa carry the ball on this since she is already underway.

Based on my research, a frequent problem with orchard removal companies is constant mechanical breakdowns. The other issue is what condition they leave the property in after the removal.

Leaf sample nutrient analysis at Carpenter -- Good news and Not-so-good news!

In our area,  the key nutrients for almonds that can be limiting factors of production are Nitrogen (N), Potassium (K), Boron (B) and Zinc (Zn).

Good new is that, all of our nutrients fall within acceptable ranges except for potassium.

University of California recommended levels are as follows and the results of the two samples at Carpenter are as follows:

N -- 2.72 and 2.58% (Recommended N 2.2 - 2.5% )
K -- 1.26 and 1.29% (Recommended K 1.4%)

B -- 30 and 32 ppm (Recommended 30-65 ppm) 

Zn -- 30 and 30 ppm (Recommended Zb >15 ppm)

Not-so-good news is that the best producing orchards have levels of potassium well above the recommended level of 1.4%.  And potash is not cheap!