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Vine Tree & Shrub Paste is a traditional organic/biodynamic product used to heal, strengthen and protect the outer surface of woody perennials, especially after pruning, but also to heal damage from machinery, storms or even fire.
This is the time of year for orchard, vineyard and garden pruning. It is best to make or obtain a suitable paste to treat the pruning wounds.
The paste offers more than just a barrier – it nourishes the plant indirectly through the cambium layer just under the bark. This practice extends the logic of foliar feeding to the non-leaf parts of the tree, vine or shrub, enhancing vitality from the outside in.
Vine Tree & Shrub Paste ingredients are relatively simple to access, although to be made biodynamically, one or two biodynamic preparations are required, namely horn manure (500), the compost enhancers (502-507) and fermented Equisetum (508), the latter to act as a fungicide.
A standard recipe consists of the following ingredients: cow manure, bentonite clay (very sticky, but builders clay is also suitable), crushed eggshells, basalt dust, linseed oil (to help adhere to the bark), and water (preferably in the form of nettle liquid manure).
Preparation of bark before application can be carried out with a wire brush to remove moss and lichen, and as much dirt and dead bark as possible. The paste is usually made quite thick, so that it can be applied with a brush or gloved hands to trunk, lower branches and even out to the twigs. However, it can be diluted to go further, and can even be fully liquified, filtered and sprayed all over the plant.
It’s unwise to apply tree paste just before rain, as it readily washes off before drying and hardening. A bonus from using tree paste is that over time it not only benefits the tree as a ‘cambium fertilizer’, but eventually washes off, where it works as a soil fertilizer.
Diluted Vine Tree & Shrub Paste can also be used as a root dip for bare rooted roses, vines, shrubs and fruit trees to aid healthy establishment.
Also see John’s short video on how to use.
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