Plant a tree and you get more fresh, clean air. That’s especially important in a city the size of Houston. More than 18 million tons of carbon dioxide are emitted in our city alone. That’s 50,000 tons per day. One tree, on the other hand, can absorb up to 1 ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Plant a tree or two in your front yard to freshen up the air around your home. Trees also increase your property value by as much as 20%. Learn how by watching this step-by-step tutorial.
Planting a tree is really not hard. Any homeowner can do a small tree themselves, and it’s very simple in the way you do it. You dig your hole properly. You dig the hole two to three inches shallower than the tree is in soil in the container, and again, as wide. Take your tree out of the container and set it on solid ground in the hole. Add your fertilizer. Any product containing atrazine will damage your tree. It doesn’t know the difference between a tree and a weed.
Back fill with your soil mixture, which is half humus, half native soil. This mixture eases the transition from the potting medium into the native soil, because it gives it a little buffer. And stake the tree properly. The trees must stay staked for approximately one year. At the end of that year you take a hold of the trunk of the tree and shake it. If the tree is solid in the hole you can safely remove the stakes.
You must deeply water the tree with a garden hose. A sprinkler system does not efficiently water a newly planted tree. Water the tree, wait a day, check the soil. Pick the soil up and feel it. If it’s too wet, soppy, back off. If it’s too dry, add a little water.
Improve the quality of the air and the look of your home by planting a tree with these helpful tips from RCW. For homeshowradio.com, I’m Tom Tynan.
Podcast: Play in new window
Subscribe: RSS
