HOW TO PLANT A FRUIT TREE - the Ellen White method

In this video, I´ll tell the story of a woman from the late 1800´s named Ellen White and how she came up with an idea to plant a fruit tree so it can really THRIVE. Apparently "A faster growing tree with bigger, sweeter and MORE fruit."

So I planted an avocado tree in my food forest using this method to see what will happen.

A year later we had a big wet season and the tree drowned. The clay hole acted as a dam. The tree became waterlogged. I do NOT recommend planting any tree in a deep hole if you have clay soil and lots of rain.

Try it but be careful
Weedy

#permaculture, #organic gardening, #how to garden, #growing your own food, #sustainable living, #off the grid, #grow food, #gardening, #gardening tips, #sustainability, #vegetable garden, #plant a fruit tree, #how to plant a fruit tree, #food forest, #fruit tree, #planting a fruit tree, #avocado tree,

[TheWeedyGarden]

G'day Weedy Watchers! I hope you liked the video. Thank you for watching and supporting the channel! 🙏🏼

I just wanted to let you know about the 2 exciting GIVEAWAYS I'm currently running (closing on 8th May 2025)!



For all the amazing international (+ national) supporters, I'm giving you the chance to win a trip for 2 to come and visit The Weedy Garden here in Australia! That includes flights, accommodation, car hire, meals for a week and MORE! Find more details and enter here:


Thanks again for your support and good luck!

Love and photon particles,

Weedy

[jordansbanks]

I have used the Ellen White Method before and I can speak from experience that it works. I have 3 apple trees planted in a row. One of the apple trees was not planted with this method. Its about 6 years old I would say. The other two are only 3 yrs old and they are taller and wider than the 6 yr old tree. Its amazing to me to see that this method is very different of how the traditional method of planting a tree is. Also for anyone who doesn't want to use a plastic pot in the hole; just use a cement/clay pot. I really enjoyed this video. Thanks Weedy Garden for sharing this with the world.

[prubroughton]

been planting trees for a long time and even when I dig a square hole I always deeply score the sides of the hole with my spade so when the roots start growing out they can grow into the cuts otherwise it is like planting in a pot again and the roots continue to grow round and not out

[lyndonnelly]

Wow sea water thats new to me, husband surfs every day so i am now going to task him with collecting a couple of bottles so i can give my food forest a treat

[benfox]

Awesome video. Looking to start something similar in Germany... bit colder there, but should be fun!

[MrFucius]

You are awesome mate love the video's and the message behind them.

[justlooking]

Videos like this is why i love youtube

[kathille]

My dad used to do this in Canada 40 years ago in a different way. Because the ground was heavy clay, he dug a deep hole about half a metre then filled it with maple leaves from the fall which were NOT COMPOSTED, and did layers of soil, then leaves etc with some added rabbit droppings because we owned pets and they are vegetarians. He built these layers high, about a metre from the ground and put old boards (skids) around it to hold the leaf mixture. Then the tiny lilac tree was placed on top. The hole became full of worms who composted the leaves and made the soil even richer with the worm castings. As the years passed, the leaves decomposed and the tree started to sink, until in about 3 years, it was level with the ground. The lilac tree was always lush with a ton of flowers. I do something similar today: when planting a bush or tree, I remove the clay, heavy rocks, broken brick and concrete left behind by builders and replace it with leaves, compost, hay, manure and small twigs. My emerald cedars are lush and beautiful 3 years later, while my neighbour who planted the same cedars at the same time as I did, has trees that have not grown and he has a lot of brown areas on his cedars and 2 of them even died, despite watering them way more than I watered mine, proving that creating a good foundation with proper soil preparation is key to gardening success. It was a lot of work to do the soil and hole preparation, but so worth it!

[samanthamariah]

Every tree plantings method I’ve seen shows not adding compost or enriched soil but rather use same soil back in. They say that if you use compost then the tree roots won’t grow into the outer soil because the compost is too good to them. So the roots won’t stretch out because they’re too comfortable in the compost. I getting ready to plant some trees and wondering what you think about this. Is what I wrote above a myth? Super excited to find out what you and others think!

[middleway]

Yummy episode! Cheers! Sweet artworks!

[growshakephil]

Another stunning video. I appreciate all you do.

[JACKSPARROW-iyrw]

I love the stone, makes the tree more than just something to hold onto. A stone in the ground, the roots wrapping around it and really pulling everything to earth, the stone will provide some nutrients as it slowly breaks down. You can think of it as a bronze plate, and once every 100 years a dove flys by, brushes its wings against it as it flys by. And one day its ground down to nothing. In all that time, the minerals from the stone will feed and provide this tree and you the nutrients it deserves. Some might argue the stone is not necessary but i feel it it.

[joachimlagerstrom]

This I must try. Up until now i have planted trees by first having char cole you pee on. Then a layer of bokashi compost and then the top soil. It works ok but this will be interesting. i live in Sweden so no Avocado three but I have chickens and the ocean fairly close so I will be able to get the ingridients.

[Arrica]

Yea so i thought an 18 minute video on how to plant a tree was a bit excessive when i clicked on the video, but turns out it wasn't. It was actually super relaxing

[JF-bdnp]

Nice. Hügelkultur + Terra Preta + New methods.

[Genna-br]

Seems like a long way of saying amend the soil so your plant can thrive. You basically make a cake batter of all the things good soil should have, dig an enormous hole and fill it with good soil. I'm not sure the method of layering would even matter. I daresay if you just mixed it all up into one soil and filled the hole in you would get much the same result. I'm also curious if the big rock woulnd't impede the tap root of the tree. Doesn't the tap root generally act as a keel for the tree by going straight down and deep into the soil to keep it from tipping over, if you have a big rock in the middle the tap root would have to go around or sideways and so by creating that anchor aren't you simultaneously handicapping its natural anchor?

[ollievw]

Cripes, I just microdosed truffles (might have overdone it a bit), checking out your channel for the first time. Nice vid, good info and like the special effects 😅. Btw, don’t you think biochar would be an interesting addition to the mix?

[watsanman]

"I do NOT recommend planting any tree in a deep hole if you have clay soil and lots of rain."

Old thinking:

More risk of drought - plant in hole.
More risk of flood - plant on mound.

Tree or potatoe?
Doesnt matter...

[kyfarm]

I understand that some people aren't gardeners and don't know roots will follow a square as easily as a circle. It's not the shape the roots are interested in, it's the softened soil, the path of least resistance. A plant that has to adapt to it's growing soil (unamended) early is better off than a plant that has a soft life then years later has to try to break into the real world. Another person here posted on several other problems with this method, so I will stop here.

[Serp]

Are you the decendents of 'DRAGON MAN'?