Soil Restoration

[Lew222]

I am in
> the process of reclaiming some blocks of land previously planted to
> Christmas trees, some of whom got too large and were or soon will
> be cut. Some of these blocks were cut about three years ago and
> one of them was replanted last Spring. I have done a lot of
> reacting to opportunities and wish to temper that with some science.
>
> The reacting has been the following:
> 1. Running out of places to plant or replant and forced to clear
> plots with marginal or overgrown trees or brush.
> 2. Discovering that stump grinding did not make an area plantable.
> 3. Finding out just how extensive the root system is in a tree
> 12 to 30 feet tall is even after being cut for 2 or three years.
> 4. Purchasing a backhoe and 6' tiller for my tractor. The
> backhoe is used to pull stumps and roots which are then removed from
> the field.
> 5. Spreading lime and horse manure on the block and tilling it
> in before planting.
> 6. Planting conservation mix with a high concentration of white
> clover around the trees (mostly Balsam Fir transplants) after they
> were planted.
> 7. Having the clover choke out weeds the first season without
> choking the trees. I had some mortality at planting but otherwise
> the trees seem to have done well but of course they are under a
> couple or three feet of snow now.
> 8. I am approaching the Spring planting season and am
> considering repeating the process on other plots but have thought of
> improving the soil still further by gathering leaves and spreading
> them on the area to be tilled. This process would be feasible by
> purchasing a leaf sucker to go on my dump trailer. However if there
> will be minor value, it wouldn't be worth the $2000+/- to purchase
> and mount the leaf sucker much less all of the time and fuel to do it.
>
> This is where you come in. What guidance, contacts, references,
> experience, scientific studies, web sites, forums, etc. can you
> point me toward, specifically toward the benefit of tilling hard
> wood leaves or other waste products into the soil and generally how
> to reclaim and improve soil? Are there leaves with toxicity? What
> about wood chips? I have a chipper and could add those if useful?
> Are hardwood chips better than soft wood?
Your thoughts and experience please.