Now's the time to take foliar and soil samples from your Christmas tree fields

Not that Christmas tree growers aren’t a little busy just now, but this is a great time to take foliar samples (soil samples too, while you’re at it) so you’ll be ready to adapt your nutritional program in the spring. But why now? In a nutshell: yes, soil tests tell what nutrients are in the soil — and that’s important but foliar tests suggest what nutrients your trees actually pulled out of the soil — helping to diagnose potential health problems before symptoms appear or growth slows.

When is the best time to take foliar samples? That would be October through December for sure. So while others are putting 'find Santa’s email address' on their to-do list, well — you can put your samples in snail mail to keep Christmas' yet to come, happy and healthy for you and your trees.

Click on over to this University of Michigan website, where you’ll learn more. You can submit samples to Agro-One (aka Dairy One).

By: New York State University Integrated Pest Management Program