Wherever we go, no matter what village you look at, each owner has his own garden, even if it consists of one tree. After planting a fruit tree, it requires the same care as any plant. Every year we save them from diseases, pests, and frosts, and also form crowns for greater productivity. All this is correct, but there is one more way to help fruit trees develop and bear fruit. We dig up fruit trees in the fall correctly.
The tree's roots go much deeper than those of any other plant. This is an obvious fact. In this case, it might be thought that the tree obtains its nutrients through root system independently from the depths of the earth. However, the main part of the roots is located near tree trunk circles. Therefore, near the boles, the soil is kept in a loose state.
Rules for digging and maintaining trees
- The soil around the trees should be loose. For the correct formation of the near-trunk ridge, see.
- Remove weeds.
- Cleaning up fallen leaves in the fall and placing them in special places. Leaves with signs of disease are destroyed by burning in barrels and buckets.
- In the fall (when the harvest is harvested), the soil is dug up to a depth of 18-20 cm under apple and pear trees. Near the trunks, no deeper than 5 cm. Roots up to 8 mm thick are easily restored.
- In August, the soil is not dug up or loosened. This month marks the ripening and preparation of shoots for winter.
- Watering in dry weather.
- Regular feeding.
- In spring, the soil around the trees also needs to be loosened. Using a fork, loosen the soil to a depth of 10 cm.
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Some are sure that it needs to be dug up. Others argue that grass should grow in the tree trunk circle - just like in nature. So, where is the truth? And in order to understand who is right and who is not so right, let’s define pros and cons of both methods.
Digging up the tree trunk circle, black steam
This version of digging is also called black steam. Its essence is that the soil in the tree trunk circle is dug up in the fall, and then the weeds are pulled out all summer. And so it repeats from year to year.What advantages do we get when digging:
1. Pests die. As you know, many pests overwinter in the soil. And if in the fall you shovel the tree trunk circle with a turnover of the layer, then most of the larvae will die from frost.
2. Additional area for planting appears. You can grow shade-tolerant flowers or even vegetables under trees.
What do we get from the disadvantages of this method:
1. Beneficial insects die.
2. The roots are damaged. The fact is that in many trees and shrubs the bulk of the small roots that absorb water and nutrients from the soil are located at a depth of 30-40 cm. By digging up the soil with a shovel bayonet, we injure or destroy more than half of these roots!
3. The frost resistance of the tree decreases. In winter, dug up soil freezes much deeper than undisturbed soil. The cold can kill the roots and the tree will die.
4. The quality of the land is deteriorating.
If you dig up tree trunk circles every year, over time, the earth will turn to dust and will “float” and squeak after every rain or watering. And this, in turn, will lead to oxygen starvation of the roots.
Option for a grass lawn under fruit trees
In this case, meadow grass is left under the trees.What benefits do we get from this:
1. The quality of the land is constantly improving. In an untouched area, plant roots and earthworms create a special soil structure - loose, porous. As a result, both moisture and air penetrate into it better.
2. Trees receive fertilizer. The grass that dies every autumn gradually decomposes, and this provides additional organic nutrition for the tree.
3. Plants winter better. Grass under trees and shrubs provides additional protection for the roots from frost. AND internal heat soil does not evaporate as quickly. And this is very important in snowless winters!
4. The roots do not overheat in summer. The grass perfectly protects them from the scorching sun.
5. You won’t have to do unnecessary, and labor-intensive, work. Since digging up a site and weeding are the most unpleasant and tedious tasks. And if you leave a meadow under the trees, you won’t have to strain yourself once again.
6. There will be additional space for a recreation area: Place a table and a bench on the green grass under a tree, where you can hide in the summer heat!
What are the disadvantages we have:
1. Pests and pathogens will be able to survive. They will overwinter well in undisturbed soil, and in the spring you will have to treat the plants with chemicals. But if you constantly look after the garden and do not forget about preventing diseases and pests, then this, in fact, is not a problem. In addition, beneficial insects can also survive in the soil, which will help you fight harmful ones.
2. Loss of usable area. On the other hand, no matter how much land you give to a summer resident, he will still not have enough. And the lawn under the tree can also be used for planting. For example, mark there bulbous plants: snowdrops, pushkinia, corydalis, hellebores or daffodils.
What is the conclusion: As you can see, the option when grass grows under a tree has much more benefits. So it makes sense to abandon steam in favor of meadow.
In this case in the tree trunk circle you can create a man-made lawn. These grow beautifully under trees lawn grass, like bentgrass, clover and other ground cover plants. They can be sown from spring to September and even before winter.
When the fruits are collected, the plants send waste substances into the foliage, thereby cleansing their body. Fruit buds are being laid. Plants reduce the water content of their tissues, significantly reducing sap flow. If in summer time garden plants were in active growth, then in the fall they experience ripening of wood and thickening of the bark on young shoots.
Plants thus prepare for wintering. But what if, suppose, the wind came and tore off the already weakly sitting, but not yet yellowed foliage?
Or the gardener, out of inexperience, carried out formative pruning of the crowns, and it rained all autumn - and the young shoots continued to grow. In addition, the trees were attacked by herbivorous mites, aphids, wasps, butterflies and beetles - an ever-present headache gardener As a result, the plants were incorrectly or insufficiently prepared for wintering, or even turned out to be unprepared for it.
And in the spring we will see black branches beaten by frost, cracked bark, frostbites, dried fruit buds, rampant ticks, flies, aphids, moths, butterflies and other uninvited guests.
If this happens to wild trees and bushes, for example, to a wild apple tree, blackthorn, or rowan somewhere outside the site, many will not even pay attention. But on garden plot this is striking and indicates the reluctance or inability of the garden owner to handle his pets. We live in a risky farming zone and therefore are simply obliged to carry out the entire annual cycle of activities to care for our garden.
To survive the cold
Very important question– decrease in the intensity of sap flow in tissues. If the wood is wet, then when the water freezes sub-zero temperatures At night, longitudinal cracks will form on it. Sometimes these cracks can penetrate very far and deep, dooming the trunks to splitting and the plant to death. If the bark is strong, it prevents the wood from splitting, but the tender cells of the cambium freezing under it with the onset of heat are quickly affected by fungi - wet areas are formed,
shafts, and the bark itself is cracking. Looking ahead, we note that any cracks and frost damage are cleared to healthy tissue, covered with varnish and covered with burlap or matting.
But it's better not to allow this. Potassium (K) helps reduce sap flow. It is entered in the form potash fertilizers or stove ash into the root circle, that is, onto the surface around the trunk, for most plants limited by the projection of the crown onto
Don't let it dry out
Any living organism, including plants, in the process of vital activity releases so-called dissimilation products, called toxins. In humans and animals, they are constantly excreted and only a small part of them is deposited in the tissues. In plants, almost all dissimilation products with the exception of oxygen and water are waste products. A very small part of them is removed by the root system. And the bulk goes to the aging foliage. Moreover, it has been noted that the loss of chlorophyll, that is, green pigment, by leaves is precisely associated with the accumulation of slag substances in it.
If the foliage has dried out or been damaged by mites, it turns yellow, turns brown and dries out even before the plant sends a current of waste into it. That is, the gardener is faced with the task of preserving until a certain time. green color foliage. This is not difficult to do. Dryness can be removed by regularly irrigating the crown with a fine spray of water. Naturally, they do this in the absence of rain and in the evening hours. Regular watering at the root also helps preserve the leaves.
Formative pruning of crowns is carried out after the leaves fall. Autumn pruning is preferable, since the plant does not need to feed and prepare a large volume of crown for wintering. 4-5 fruit buds are left on the branch. Sections larger than 1 cm in diameter are covered with garden varnish, RanNet, and green oil paint or red lead. Normally, the branch is cut approximately 5 mm from the fork - so that the remaining bark will eventually grow over the wound. But when autumn pruning Such a low cut contributes to freezing of unprotected wood. Therefore, in the fall, a stump about 5 cm long is left, and in the spring it is cut off closer to the fork.
Treatment of the garden with drugs
Black, gray or red spots on the foliage indicate fungal infection. If there are only a few such leaves, they are picked by hand. Otherwise, the crown is treated with fungicidal preparations.
The fight against insects and mites is carried out using special pesticides. You just need to remember that insecticides - poisons for fighting insects - do not destroy mites; acaricides should be used to combat them.
On labels, the drug classification is written in small print somewhere near the commercial name or active substance. Important: drugs with different sonorous commercial names may contain the same active ingredient.
If the pesticide is of the insectoacaricide class, then it is simultaneously effective in the fight against both insects and mites. If different insecticidal and acaricidal preparations are used, they should not be mixed. It is better to space their use over 1-2 days.
Plants should be treated in the evening in dry weather. Green soap or another saponifier must be added to the working solution to promote good wetting of surfaces. Treatment should be carried out after harvesting before the first night frosts at intervals of 1 time every 2 weeks.
Don't forget about fruit trees!
I start the autumn season in the garden by clearing leaves under the trees. By doing this, I prevent the pest pupae from overwintering and continuing their destructive actions in my garden.
After all the foliage has been collected and placed in compost, I carefully dig up the soil under the apple trees - this will neutralize most of the pests that have already gathered to hibernate under the tree. They will die at the first frost.
I also remove carrion.
Under no circumstances do I compost it, but bury it away from the garden. After this necessary sanitization I'm starting to feed the apple trees.
To apply dry fertilizers, I first remove upper layer soil in the tree trunk circle (1-2 cm), distribute the fertilizer and return the soil to its place. For 1 sq. m of soil I add 5-6 kg of humus and wood ash.
I usually combine this feeding with moisture-recharging watering, which is essential for every garden, so that winter frosts do not suck all the moisture out of the trees. This watering is called moisture-charging because it requires a lot of water. You need to wet the soil by 1-1.5 m. The degree of moisture can be determined as follows: dig a hole 30 centimeters deep among the trees and take a lump of earth from its bottom. Squeeze it in your palm and see how it behaves. If, when compressed, you get a dense lump that leaves a wet mark on the paper, there is no need to water it. If the lump is dense but does not leave a mark, reduce the watering rate by 30%. If the soil is dry and does not hold together in a lump, get ready to water it to the fullest extent.
Water by digging furrows around the circumference of the crown. The irrigation rate, subject to the full program, is 10-15 buckets of water per 1 square meter. m. For young trees, this norm is 3 buckets. So, with a little work, you will save fruit trees until spring and you can expect an excellent harvest from them!