So I have lost at least my second Dunstan Chestnut tree to root rot. I bought them as 3 gallon trees and they where roughly 5 feet tall. They grow to 8,10, 12 feet...one even started to produce nuts. Then they have a bad year and then boom dead as a hammer the next. So I had one that died and I was talking to some folks and I am trying to figure out what is possibly wrong.
So yesterday I pulled the dead tree. (I did cut back as far as I could with looper looking for signs of life before I pulled the tree with no luck).
One of the things I keep seeing is this lichen type stuff that grows on the chestnut trees that die. I don't know if it is connected or not...but I don't have this on other healthy trees in the same plot not 10 yards away. And it has been present on the last to dead chestnut trees...so I am building a pretty strong case that it is connected. I am also aware the vine is poison ivy...
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Once I pulled the tree....which I was able to do with my FEL on my tractor with no digging or cutting....the root rot was obvious. The white on the bark at the soil line, that actual rot, and the last two trees that died seems to have this "club" mass that I show instead of real nice root formation....I am assuming this may be due to it being a containerized plant. IN either case...it doesn't look good.
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The other 2 pictures are of the hole I dug out and the soil from the hole. I have taken pictures of odd stuff before, but not a hole and ...dirt! Anyway I was told that root rot comes from too much moisture in the soil. Ummm...well....I dug down a good foot to 18 inches and there is no sign of red or grey clay, no sign of a high water table. You can see by both the hole and the dirt I have a coarse loam soil that tends to drain pretty well. So I am puzzled how I get root rot without excessive amounts of water. It's not in a flood plain, the area is flat and doesn't even puddle water. I am so confused!!!
For another topic... I was told saturday that I need a bigger tractor... My son had decided he was going to mow for me since I was having back issues. No he didn't roll it or get it stuck or even break it in any way. He "ran our of places to put his empty beer cans"!!! So, I am not sure if those shows a lack of experience on his part or experience on my part.
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#1 - I like the ingenuity to attach the cooler.
#2 - you don't put the empties on the "floor board" - you have an FEL (and I do) OR you can put the empties back in the cooler!! He was smart enough to not just toss them aside or run them over (he knew I would kick his behind for that)
#3 - if your going to drink beer - drink something decent...he likes that rocky mountain goat p1$$, which is bad enough...but he has also been drinking some apple flavored Busch light crap as well... Closest thing I want to fruit in my beer is a lime in my Corona.
#4 - I guess I should say something about drinking and operating equipment...I don't do it...NEVER have (seriously). But he did me a solid and he didn't break anything OR mow off half the bean field and he is 25...so he is free to make his own dumb choices I guess. I wasn't home at the time either so there really wasn't much I could do to stop him.
