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Our Founder and Owner of both Trees That Please and Soil Secrets Michael Melendrez is in big demand as a soil health teacher. He covers how the dynamics of soil really works, covering everything you need to know to understand how plants get water and nutrition out of the soil, why you should not use soil acidifiers on alkaline soil, and how we can use a Pre-Biotic combined with a Pro-Biotic approach to building healthy soil. Last week he was in Alamogordo New Mexico talking to Master Gardeners and a large crowd of Southern New Mexicans. Next week he will be talking in Yuma Arizona and in the Imperial Valley of California, teaching professional farm agronomists how we can fix farm soil using biomimicry doing the same Pre-Biotic Pro-Biotic process. Some of the largest independent ag fertilizer company's in North America are now using Michael's Soil Secrets products to accomplish the job of fixing the natural process of soil.

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Weed Identification: Goatheads or Stickers

Goatheads (Tribulus terrestris) are native to Southern Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Goatheads are also called stickers, sticker weed, bullhead, devil’s weed, and puncturevine. Goatheads are easily recognized by their prostrate growth form,

leaves with leaflets,

yellow flowers,

and stickers (Goatheads).

If you miss’em visually then they will stab you painfully in the fingers as you work your garden, or stick to your clothing and shoes. Goatheads are the primary reason local bicyclists must get “thorn proof” tires for riding on area trails and streets.
Goatheads have prostrate stems that radiate outward from one central point. Leaves are compound with smaller leaflets. Lemon yellow flowers form along the stems and fertilized flowers form fruits.Fruits consist of several attached structures called nutlets (Goatheads).

Each nutlet is a single seed that becomes hard or woody when mature. Each seed has two sharp spines that easily penetrate skin, clothing, and soles of shoes. This att…

Western Soapberry Tree

The Western Soapberry tree (Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii) is native to New Mexico. It grows wild from Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana westward through Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Arizona, and Mexico. The fruit of the Western Soapberry tree is a drupe.

Mature fruits are translucent, amber colored, and contain a black seed.

The mature fruit without the seed

will produce a good lather with water

and has been used as a soap substitute.

Fruits persist on the trees through winter. The Western Soapberry tree can grow 1′-2′ annually reaching 25′-30′ tall and wide making it a good sized shade tree. Fall leaf color is an attractive golden yellow. Currently, there are no improved varieties of the Western Soapberry Tree.

It grows well on the alkaline soils of New Mexico and is very tolerant of heat and drought once established. This tree is rarely affected by disease or insect pests making it an ideal specimen tree for your yard or landscape. Soapberry leaves are pinnately compound w…

Afghan Pine

The Afghan Pine (Pinus eldarica) is also known as Desert Pine, Eldarica Pine or Mondell Pine. Afghan Pineis native to low rainfall areas of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and southern Russia. In fact, when planted in areas of high rainfall (> 20” per year), it becomes susceptible to a number of diseases and rapidly declines. This problem has occurred in East Texas. The Afghan Pine thrives in heat, wind, and tolerates drought. Afghan Pine must be planted in soils with good drainage like sand. It is not suitable for poorly drained heavy clasy soils.

Afghan Pines are generally pyramidal or Christmas tree shaped in form when young
becoming more oval or irregular with age.

The leaves of the Afghan Pine are evergreen needles usually found in groups of 2 per fascicle or sheath.

Needles are shed after several years and make excellent mulch as they fall around the trees base.
It has attractive trunk bark that becomes dark and furrowed with age.

Afghan Pines can add 1′-2′ new growth per year and reach 40…

Trees That Please Nursery

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