Apricot myth??

Medbury Gardens · September 17, 2012

There's a debate going on within a New Zealand gardening forum about whether taping copper nails into Apricot trees helps stop leaf curl or not,is it a myth or is there something in it??

Darren Abbey · September 17, 2012

There's a range of copper-related myths going around:
Copper wire through tomato stem, bent down at both ends, supposed to limit foliar disease...
Copper bracelet, supposed to improve human health.
etc.

Generally I'd ignore them unless someone is doing a nice controlled study.

That said, Copper is a trace element needed/used by many living things. Attaching a copper bolt/nut to your compost turning fork will introduce all the copper your garden/trees/etc will ever need as the copper atoms are scraped off the fork into the compost you spread around.

But doing even just this may introduce too much copper depending on soil chemistry and preexisting levels... Trace elements are only needed at trace levels and generally become toxic at levels which make more sense to your general intuition about fertilizers.

A copper nail into each tree would be massive overdose, and potentially toxic to the trees depending on how much gets transmitted into the tissues.

dipchip2000 · September 17, 2012

Not a good idea methinks
ron

http://www.ehow.com/info_7929706_cop...ils-trees.html

coloken · September 18, 2012

nutrition expert at my ag university said that the best way to get your copper was to drink tap beer run through copper tubeing. ----course that was 60 years ago............
A pot grower tells me that a nail through a pot plant stunts it and raises the strength....
OH! the things you learn in along life....KennyP

Worth1 · September 23, 2012

If you put copper nails in your trees.
You will invite many copper thieves.
But it wil do nothing for the curling of the leaves.

Worth

Rockporter · September 27, 2012

LOL Worth, just gotta love your rhymes. he he.

September 17, 2012	#1
Medbury Gardens Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Medbury, New Zealand Posts: 1,881	Apricot myth?? There's a debate going on within a New Zealand gardening forum about whether taping copper nails into Apricot trees helps stop leaf curl or not,is it a myth or is there something in it?? __________________ Richard

September 27, 2012	#6
Rockporter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Texas Coastal Bend Posts: 3,205	LOL Worth, just gotta love your rhymes. he he. __________________ In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~

September 17, 2012	#2
Darren Abbey Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Minnesota Posts: 586	There's a range of copper-related myths going around: Copper wire through tomato stem, bent down at both ends, supposed to limit foliar disease... Copper bracelet, supposed to improve human health. etc. Generally I'd ignore them unless someone is doing a nice controlled study. That said, Copper is a trace element needed/used by many living things. Attaching a copper bolt/nut to your compost turning fork will introduce all the copper your garden/trees/etc will ever need as the copper atoms are scraped off the fork into the compost you spread around. But doing even just this may introduce too much copper depending on soil chemistry and preexisting levels... Trace elements are only needed at trace levels and generally become toxic at levels which make more sense to your general intuition about fertilizers. A copper nail into each tree would be massive overdose, and potentially toxic to the trees depending on how much gets transmitted into the tissues.

September 17, 2012	#3
dipchip2000 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Muskogee, Oklahoma Posts: 664	Not a good idea methinks ron http://www.ehow.com/info_7929706_cop...ils-trees.html

September 18, 2012	#4
coloken Tomatovillian™ Honoree Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: NE Co Posts: 303	nutrition expert at my ag university said that the best way to get your copper was to drink tap beer run through copper tubeing. ----course that was 60 years ago............ A pot grower tells me that a nail through a pot plant stunts it and raises the strength.... OH! the things you learn in along life....KennyP

September 23, 2012	#5
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	If you put copper nails in your trees. You will invite many copper thieves. But it wil do nothing for the curling of the leaves. Worth