

Monitoring Soil Temperatures in the Spring
Monitoring soil moisture as we enter Spring is common, however soil temperature can be easily overlooked. Why are Spring soil temperatures important to look at in the first place? They are important to look at because root growth is typically initiated once soil temperature reaches 45° or higher. Coming out of Winter, trees are just beginning to utilize nutrient reserves left in the soil from Fall. These reserves may not always be enough to meet the demands of the tree. When it comes to applying fertilizer in Spring, knowing when feeder roots are most active can give you a more accurate indication of when roots are likely to take up nutrients. Below you can see 2 graphs showing the swing in soil temperature from night to day. Notice that we only see a big swing in soil temperature on the top 4-8 inches of soil while the other sensors stay fairly level. This is important to note because most feeder roots are found within the top 12 inches of soil.