Hello all! I've posted once before. I'm an L.A. based permie and I have a client for whom I've planted two citrus trees, a Meyer lemon and a Blood orange. Both organic. Here's my dilemma: the area where I'm planting is on a hill. I've terraced the land. While forming the swale where I was going to plant the trees, I noticed that the earth underneath was full of, what I'm guessing, is limestone. Very chalky, large chunks. It seems to be what the hill is naturally composed of. I read that limestone is an alkalizer and that citrus trees in particular don't take kindly to this kind of soil. I informed the client and we decided to go ahead and plant the trees out anyway. I added an amendment (gardening soil from Kellogg. I know, I'll never use their product again, but it was cheap) and I used organic fertilizer under the root ball and mixed in with the soil. I planted them out about a month and a half ago and while they seem to be doing alright, there is a bit of leaf curl and some of the leaves have turned yellow and fallen off. I'm hoping this is normal transplant shock but my concern is that the limestone is going to kill them or seriously inhibit fruit growth. I believe the trees are already a year old. Are there any natural products I can be adding to the soil to neutralize the alkalizing affects of the limestone? Was it a horrible idea to plant these trees directly into the ground here? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
