Tree Roots: Out of Sight, Out of Mind

 Lesson Objectives

  • Increase awareness of a breadth of topics related to soil health, including amending soils with compost, cover cropping, agricultural soil health practices, soil contamination issues, and soils for trees.

Continuing Education hours
Lecture/Activity:  1.5 hour


Lecture

  • Mike Maddox, Master Gardener Program Director
  • Note: Video is ~2 minutes long.

Activity: Get to Know Some Roots

Start by reading the following articles:

For your assignment, apply the information to a tree of your choosing in your yard or nearby park.  Post your answers to the following questions in the Tree Roots: Out of Sight, Out of Mind category of our Google+ Community. 

  • What is the species of tree?
  • What is the size of tree and critical root zone?  Follow these instructions for determining the approximate critical root zone.
  • What’s already inside the critical root zone?
  • How would you protect the critical root zone of this tree?

Share a picture, too, if you can.

image of compacted soils around mature tree