Fertilizing 100 Plants and Fruit Trees | Subtropical Food Forest in Desert

I live in a harsh 9B desert climate and am pushing the limits with the 100+ plants I grow (subtropical fruit trees, deciduous fruit trees, flowering and ornamental). In this video, I share the fertilizers (synthetic and organic) I currently use to help my plants grow and support delicious fruit during the year. Fertilizers come in different forms; deciding what to use and when can be overwhelming. I share the fertilizers applied, their NPK ratio, the plants I apply them to, and how often.
MySoil - Soil Test Kit (mail in samples) - www.amazon.com...
Lamotte Soil Test Kit for NPK and pH (at-home) - www.amazon.com...

[@OnceUponATalita]

Thank you for sharing so much very valuable information!! I started our mini food forrest over here in Southern California/Arizona/Mexico border. I’m in zone 10 and Phoenix Az is the closest to our weather (minus the monsoons) and I’ve followed your tips and it has been working really nice. Planted a ton of Mexican sunflower too! BTW loved that Mama Mary statue 🌹🤍.

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

You are welcome! Thank you for the encouragement and kind words.

[@TucsonTropicals]

Good to know about the lychee! I was going to start feeding it soon but I guess not

[@kilgroee]

Another great video, I'm always envious of your garden and your knowledge of gardening, this one was no exception ...I saw how you're using the donations from your chickens to fertilize your trees.... only wish I had the room on my property to do the same......I'm just relying on bags of chicken manure from Loews....one thing that you did bring up and I will explore is using cuttings from a Mexican sunflower bush/tree for nitrogen supplement.... I'll see if I can purchase a plant myself.....anyway another great video.....I do enjoy and learn a lot from them

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

Thanks so much for the kind words. Pete Kanaris of Green Dreams Nursery in Florida sells authentic rooted Mexican Sunflower plants. That's where I purchased my first plants from.

[@antaniperdue3148]

hahahah fantastic videos, I have a pig named Francesca. I am a fig collector myself

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

Thanks! 😃 Happy growing!

[@TheHarjotc]

Your videos are very informative and useful. Thank you!

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

You are welcome--happy growing!

[@rbb1948]

thanks for another great video. can you tell us more about your soil testing? do you do it yourself, and if so what is the test kit you use? or do you send soil samples out to be tested, and if so by who? what do you test for, just N, P, K? from your comments it seems testing is key to your fertilizing success, and I'd like to know more about that. thank you; I love your garden and appreciate all the good tips!

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

Thanks--appreciate the kind comments. I recommend going with the mail-in professional lab analysis kit I linked in the description at least every 3 years to get a base for 13 nutrient levels including Nitrogen and pH in the main growing areas of your yard. Fall is a good time to test. They do a great job and even recommend amendments; however, it can get expensive to test multiple areas each year. I'm most concerned with NPK and pH regularly so I use a home test kit (also linked) that provides reliable results in between the lab testing. Hope that helps!

[@danielfisch655]

Great information, thank you for sharing.

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

You are welcome! Glad to hear it's helpful content.

[@RAH_youtube]

Great video! Thx, Question, How often do you repot your fruit trees?

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

Thank you! As with most things, it depends but usually no more than once a year and only if the plant has fully rooted the current container or is near that stage. Another option is keeping them in their current size container by pruning the roots and re-potting them in new media.

[@RAH_youtube]

@@EnlightenmentGarden Thanks my question was kinda of geared around soil quality, I have fruit trees that I keep small, no taller than 7 feet. I was wondering how long should I go before changing soil, I osmocote once or twice a year as well and my media is peat, compost/manure, and perlite, I'm in zone 9 my trees are figs and citrus in 15 gallon trade pots. thanks again for your feedback!

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

@@RAH_youtube From that perspective, once a year should work well for media changeout. Potentially experiment with placing the compost/manure on top of the soil versus mixing it in it. My plants do best with inorganic media around the roots and organic material on top. Hope that helps.

[@RAH_youtube]

@@EnlightenmentGarden Awsome! what's the best time of year to repot in your opinion, and Thanks again!

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

@@RAH_youtube You are welcome! For a deciduous tree, winter is best when they are dormant but I would go with early spring for an evergreen.

[@slporter722]

I live in East Mesa and have a real dilemma after this summer. I planted 6 roses in the spring and they were doing great. After this summer, with shade and water, I may have only 1 or 2 left alive. I need a tree in the area and I just don't know what to plant. It must be deciduous because I need the sun in the winter. It must have a high lift so I can walk under it or around it. The area is not very big about 15 X 15. It will be protected in the afternoon from a huge Red Push that I have on the west side of my yard but will get all eastern and high noon sun. There is not any obstacles as far as height but because of the small area I think it should be 15 to 20 feet? Any recommendations?

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

Mimosa (Albizia julibrissin) might fit that space perfectly. I have a neighbor who has one growing near my wall and can say it takes full sun, stays relatively compact, can be trained for upright growth, and will drop all leaves in winter. It's nitrogen fixing and is also known to have medicinal properties. The only downside is they are messy given they are deciduous.

[@slporter722]

@@EnlightenmentGarden thank you! I will look into it. I use the leaves dropped from my Red Push to compost in place for my Red Push. I am assuming I could do the same for this tree. Love your channel!

[@slporter722]

@@EnlightenmentGarden I just read that they are invasive with suckers popping up everywhere. I don’t mind the droppings but I had to deal with suckers from a Sissoo that went on for a year to get rid of.

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

@@slporter722 Sorry; I didn't realize it does that when stressed. Agreed; that's an issue. I don't grow jujube for the same reason. If you don't mind pruning, a Jacaranda handles summer sun, defoliates in winter, and has a spreading canopy. I have two in my yard and love them

[@-ssch]

Some tropical nursery owner recently informed me not to give any kind of nitrogen or compost to mango trees - he suggested just sulphur and mulch will do. - is this true I’m not convinced but I’ve a lot of tip burning due Rosales in my young mango trees- Dasheri (it’s in ground)

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

Most nurseries will tell you not to apply much if any nitrogen to mango trees, stating that they will burn. Like with most things, too much can cause issues. I have found that the Peters foliage special water soluble food of half the recommended concentration promotes good growth and have not seen tip burn. Osmocote also works great for many of my tropicals including the mangos. Relying on mulch alone does not make sense to me. I think the tree would not grow much without macro and micro nutrients. The most the tree would get is some worm castings once the worms break down the mulch. You could try it and see if your tree still grows and avoids tip burn. And if not, make adjustments and start feeding. Also I find shading the mango trees to be necessary for avoiding tip burn. Once I applied 70-80% shade in summer, I no longer saw that happening on the leaves.

[@-ssch]

@ Thanks for the tips. this year I’m all ready with shade cloth

[@benlabarre8072]

My yellow long neck fig is just now pushing fruit. This is it’s second fall I believe. Is that normal for honey figs? It’s between 5 and 8 feet. Depending on the branch. When I planted it, it was about 3 inches tall.

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

When I grew YLN, it ripened its first set of figs at the end of June/early July and its 2nd main crop in November. I've had similar experiences with Nixon Peace which I've been growing for the past few years. Honey figs don't usually perform well here but those varieties handle the Phoenix climate well. Your plant should produce two crops next year now that it's established.

[@benlabarre8072]

@@EnlightenmentGarden Ok thanks. I guess we have two mild summers one long summer and a fairly mild winter. No spring or fall really. I think last year I pulled all my figs off by January.

[@rolymacias932]

what is ratio or how to you apply the peter's to the soil? 1tsp per gallon?

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

1 tsp/gallon is what the product instructions call for. I apply in that ratio for everything other than the mango trees and apply half that concentration (1/2 tsp per gallon) for them to avoid burn/too much nitrogen. When the mango trees were less than 18 mos old, I only applied 1/4 the recommended concentration.

[@MrOrcslayer]

Do you think Morus Rubra(red mulberry), would be able to fruit in AZ 9b? Or is it too hot?

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

Jan Doolin in Florida is the best resource I know for mulberry trees. I know she is growing Tice (Morus rubra hybrid) successfully. You should check with her on which varieties will do best in our climate. She grows many varieties and sells quality cuttings from her trees.

[@MrOrcslayer]

@@EnlightenmentGarden I don't think Florida and AZ are that.much alike TBH.

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

@@MrOrcslayer Absolutely but she has similar low chill hours. I was thinking more from that perspective. Morus rubra tends to want high chill hours. She would know which varieties fruit even with 100 hours or less like us

[@MrOrcslayer]

Oh I see.