Krotz grows trees with common sense

The Washington County Master Gardeners gathered for the first meeting of the new year at the County Extension Office on Tuesday, January 26th with 17 members and 10 guests present. Guest speaker Larry Krotz gave a presentation on ?Growing Trees with Common Sense.?

Krotz started growing trees in 1962 and now has 130 acres of several different varieties of hard woods. ?I really enjoy growing trees and have one purpose in mind,? said Krotz. ?Someone will harvest wood products from those trees someday.? He uses direct seeding, ultra-high density and companion planting.

Krotz estimates he has planted 1.5 to 2 million trees from seed. He said he has made a lot of mistakes over the years, but now has a system that is pretty successful. He said he studies Mother Nature and tries to replicate that system. When asked how many seeds he plants Krotz said, ?The secret is to plant one more seed than what the squirrels want to eat and you will have a tree.?

Master Gardeners held their business meeting after the presentation. Meeting dates and programs were discussed. The group voted to continue with the $500 scholarship to a Washington County resident pursuing a horticultural related degree or certificate from a college or university in the state of Iowa.

For more information on the Master Gardener program contact Washington County Extension at 319-653-4811 or e-mail nadrian@iastate.edu.