Having planned the plantings on the site, it's time to think about planting and caring for the trees in the garden, because only by following the rules and following all the prescribed agricultural activities, you can achieve abundant fruiting and decorative attractiveness of the plantations.
Caring for an orchard is a laborious process, all work must be carried out systematically, putting a piece of your soul into it, because plants respond extremely positively to care.
Preparation of planting holes and planting trees in the garden
Before planting fruit trees in the garden, you need to properly prepare planting pits or trenches. They should not be too small, in addition, you need to remember that fruit bushes and especially trees live for many years, which means they must be provided with good nutrition, especially for the first time, while the root system is not well developed.
Therefore, pits for planting fruit trees in the garden should be at least 70 x 70 cm in diameter and depth, and 40 x 40 cm for shrubs. For - 60 cm deep. For actinidia - 60 x 60 cm.
The soil taken out of the pit is laid as follows: the upper fertile layer - in one direction (it will go to fill the pit), the lower clay - in the other (it can be partially used to create bumpers around the trunk circles), it is better to remove the rest of the soil from the site.
The pit is filled with fertile soil, which is prepared in advance: removed from the places where buildings and paths will be placed, or imported specially.
organic fertilizers- this is a well-rotted waste of animal and vegetable origin. Usually, rotted grass and kitchen waste is called compost, and rotted manure is called humus. The use of such fertilizers not only improves the structure of the soil, while plants receive valuable nutrients.
Before planting trees in the garden, mineral phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are added to the bottom of the pit and thoroughly mixed with some soil. On one planting pit contribute:
- For apple and pear-1 kg of superphosphate and 150 g of potassium sulfate
- For currants, chaenomeles and- 300 g of superphosphate and 40 g of potassium sulfate
Then a layer of soil is poured without fertilizers - the roots of the seedling should not come into contact with fertilizers.
To plant fruit trees in the garden in the way that proper agricultural technology suggests, you need to add compost or humus to the planting hole. Fresh manure must not be used! For trees, 2 buckets of organic matter are brought in, for shrubs - one. Such a supply of food for 3-4 years. Nitrogen fertilizers are not used during planting.
If seedlings with an open root system (ACS), then at the bottom of the pit you need to make a mound and gently spread the roots over it. Plants grown in a container are carefully removed from the planting container and their biological state is assessed.
In the case when the roots are too tightly intertwined in a ring at the bottom of the pot, they must be untangled or cut and also straightened along the mound at the bottom of the pit. If the roots of the earthen clod are not sufficiently strong, it is better, without destroying it, to rearrange the plant into a planting hole. All damaged roots are cut with a sharp pruner.
When planting trees in the garden, it is impossible to bury the vaccination - this leads to undesirable consequences.
- Firstly, rotting of the trunk in the lower part may occur, which will lead to the death of the tree.
- Secondly, the scion can go to its own roots, and instead of a stunted tree, a rather large specimen will grow. Thirdly, in any case, the onset of fruiting of improperly planted trees is delayed for several years.
So that the planted tree does not collapse from the wind, a support is installed next to the seedlings.
When planting apple and pear trees on a seed stock, the root neck should be at the level of the edge of the pit. Dwarf and semi-dwarf seedlings are buried so that the grafting site is 5 cm above the soil surface.
In the same way - by 5-8 cm - when planting, currant seedlings are deepened, of course, if this is not a ready-made standard form. Honeysuckle and actinidia seedlings are planted at the same depth as they grew in the nursery.
After planting, seedlings are well watered, even in rainy weather. Watering ensures the formation of good contact between the roots and the soil, which is necessary for plant survival.
If you planted ready-made seedlings, then you just have to maintain their appearance and provide them with proper care.
It doesn’t matter if you bought ready-made plants or grew them with your own hands - the main thing is that they look beautiful and healthy. So, it's time to find out how to properly care for the garden, what work needs to be done on the fruit and decorative plot.
Garden care is the most important procedure that must be taken very seriously. After all, not performing all the prescribed agricultural activities, you can lose the decorative effect of a well-formed plant, and in some cases, carelessness or mistakes can even lead to its death.
What is the main criterion? Of course, the health of your pets! Health is not only beauty, but also a harvest.
Plants, like any living organisms, need a full, but not excessive nutrition. Also, caring for plants in the garden includes protection from pests and diseases.
The main nutrients necessary for the existence of fruit crops are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
In the spring, plants must actively grow in order to complete growth in time and begin preparations for winter. Therefore, at the beginning of the growing season, it is necessary to use fertilizers with a high nitrogen content.
A very good result is given by early spring top dressing with urea. For fruit-bearing apple and pear trees, it will not be superfluous to carry out nitrogen fertilizing 10 days after flowering, that is, during the period of ovary shedding. At this time, plants need additional nutrition for fruit growth.
With a lack of nitrogen, plants grow poorly, the lower leaves turn yellow prematurely and fall off. Plants become weak, bloom poorly and bear fruit.
An excess of nitrogen provokes strong growth, the plant fats, does not bloom, and therefore does not bear fruit. Such plants are more affected by pests and diseases, they endure winter worse.
Look at the photo, what garden maintenance activities should be carried out regularly:
At the beginning of summer, plants need all the nutrients, and from the middle of summer, when flower buds are laid, the growth of shoots fades, and the plant begins to prepare for winter, the amount of nitrogen is reduced to a minimum, while increasing the proportion of phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.
- Phosphorus affects the laying of flower buds, the formation of the crop and its quality. With a lack of phosphorus, the leaves of plants also become dark, often with a purple tint, but unlike signs of an excess of nitrogen, they are medium-sized and plant growth is weakened.
- Potassium is not included in any compound in plant tissues, but it plays a very important distribution and regulatory function. Without potassium, other nutrients are poorly absorbed, the resistance of plants to diseases decreases, few sugars accumulate in the fruits.
When caring for trees in the garden, do not overfeed the plants, especially with nitrogen - its excess reduces resistance to fungal diseases and promotes the reproduction of pests. The main sign of excess nitrogen is the powerful growth of the plant and large dark green leaves.
In addition to the basic nutrients, plants need trace elements. They are used in negligibly small doses, but plant life is not possible without them.
With a lack of trace elements, yellowing of the leaves occurs (usually on young growths), the death of the tops of the shoots and roots, the formation of rosette forms and other physiological disorders. This is especially true for trees.
If the planting pit was prepared correctly, then in the first year or two, only spring fertilizing with nitrogen fertilizers should be carried out. Otherwise, the fertilizer complex is used from the first year of planting.
The older the plant, the higher the dose of fertilizer. Fertilizer doses also depend on the fertility of the soil in your garden.
On average, for proper garden care, you can adhere to the following doses, calculated per 1 m2 of the tree circle:
- young trees- nitrogen 10-15 g, phosphorus 8-10 g, potassium 8-10 g of the active substance;
- fruit trees- nitrogen 30-40 g, phosphorus 8-10 g, potassium 8-10 g and 6 kg of organic fertilizers;
- Shrubs- nitrogen 7 g, phosphorus 7 g, potassium 9 g and up to 10 kg of organic matter under a bush.
The diameter of the near-stem circle should correspond to the diameter of the crown.
And how to care for the trees in the garden in terms of saturating them with moisture? When fertilizing plants, watering is very important. Fertilizers can only reach the roots in dissolved form. And in dry form, they can lie for a month without benefit to the plant.
Any fertilizer can be used to feed plants, but complex fertilizers are most convenient, for example, Kemira. It contains all the necessary macro- and microelements. there are several brands on sale, designed for different seasons and for different crops.
Fertilizer can be used to feed fruit trees when leaving after planting seedlings. "Kemira Universal". It is introduced into the soil in a dry form: scattered with obligatory subsequent incorporation or laid in specially built holes and grooves.
Gradually dissolving, it provides plants with nutrition for a long time. The amount of fertilizer is determined by multiplying the dose indicated on the package for 1 m2 by the application area.
During the care of the orchard, fertilizers can also be used in liquid form. Early spring application of nitrogen fertilizers is good to carry out with urea dissolved in water: 1 matchbox per bucket of water. In liquid form, top dressing is carried out with infusions of mullein or nettle.
To achieve a faster effect, foliar top dressing is used on the leaves, mainly with nitrogen fertilizers and microelements. Usually they are carried out on weakened plants, badly damaged in winter.
No matter how much they say and write, warning about the mistakes of novice gardeners, nevertheless, some omissions happen. Apparently, the proverb is appropriate here: "The one who does nothing is not mistaken." As a result, individual trees may still be deeply planted, that is, with a root collar immersed in the ground. Such trees need to be raised. To do this, in the spring around the tree at a distance of 40 cm from the trunk, dig a small trench of the same depth and carefully lift it from both sides with shovels located under the plant. Underneath the raised plant, pour the earth in such a way that your seedling is at the right height.
If you find a tree planted too high, then sprinkle enough earth so that the root neck and roots are not outside. It happens to see a strongly inclined tree. In this case, you will carefully straighten it, giving it a vertical position with a rope tied to a stake firmly driven into the ground.
At the beginning of life, the roots of a fruit tree do not extend beyond the trunk circle. Then this circle expands annually by about 60-70 cm. In the second year, the width of the near-stem circle should be increased to 2 m. Then it is increased annually by at least half a meter.
Since trees in young gardens do not fully use the area allotted to them in the first years, it is necessary to plant vegetables and potatoes between the rows. The aisles of apple trees can be used up to about 15 years, and the aisles of, say, cherries and plums - half as much. A wide variety of crops are planted, such as cucumbers, pumpkins, potatoes, tomatoes, beets, carrots, parsley, rutabagas, onions and turnips. Especially useful are peas, beans and beans. As legumes, they enrich the soil with nitrogen.
About two misses. In the aisles, you can also plant strawberries for 4-5 years, currants and gooseberries for 12-15 years. In no case do not occupy the aisles with grain and corn. This will harm fruit crops. Do not make another mistake, which, unfortunately, takes place - do not occupy tree trunks for any culture.
Trunk circle processing
As already mentioned, the trunk circles gradually expand, reaching 3 meters or more in the tenth year. Keep the soil on the trunk circles clean and loose. In the fall, you need to dig the earth. On the trunk circles of apple and pear trees - deeper (up to 18-20 cm), and on the trunk circles of cherries, plums - smaller (up to 15 cm), since the roots of stone fruits are located close to the surface. Dig up the soil like this. At first, at a distance from the tree, deeper, and as you move towards the trunk - very shallow. Hold the shovel so as not to cut the roots, edge to the tree. And best of all, dig with a garden pitchfork.
In early spring, as soon as the opportunity arises, again, only smaller, dig up the soil that has compacted during the winter or loosen it with a hoe to a depth of 6-8 cm. For the period from spring to the first half of summer, carry out such processing (in the central region of the Non-Chernozem strip) 3-4 times.
It is very useful, especially in dry years, to mulch the soil between the rows, that is, cover it with humus, peat, straw manure, rotten straw, with a small, 5-8 cm layer. Just don't lay the mulch directly against the trunk, back off 10 cm. There are two common mistakes gardeners need to make here. The first is the use of fallen leaves for mulching. You can't do this. The second mistake is using a dark synthetic film as mulch. We believe that this is also not worth doing, since it creates too favorable conditions for rodents, which cause great harm to trees. Mulch the soil in spring, immediately after the first loosening. If you are dealing with straw, then it must be lightly crushed with earth so that the wind does not blow away. Mulched near-trunk circles do not loosen, but only regularly remove weeds on them. In autumn, during the main digging, manure and peat are incorporated into the soil as fertilizer, and it is better to put straw and other dry materials in a compost heap.
Watering
In the first years after planting, fruit trees need watering. Even brief dry spells can be detrimental to young trees. In Moscow and nearby regions, it is watered three to four times. Watering should be plentiful. To do this, pour 2-3 buckets of water under one planted tree. For older trees, the rate increases. On average, it is necessary to pour 1-2 buckets per 1 m 2 of the trunk circle.
The main amount of water should fall under the very crown of the tree. To do this, along the borders of the crown, it is recommended to make compacted rollers from the ground. After watering, it is desirable to loosen the soil.
Fertilizer
In order for fruit trees to grow and develop well, and then bear fruit, fertilizers must be applied regularly.
It is best to fertilize the garden with manure, compost, peat and peat feces. These organic fertilizers, along with the fact that they provide the plants with the necessary nutrients, also restore and improve the structure of the soil, which is destroyed during its cultivation.
It is better to apply manure from the fall at the rate of a bucket per 1 m 2 of the trunk circle. This is perhaps the best soil fertilization of all. But gardeners everywhere experience difficulties in purchasing manure, and therefore relying only on this type of organic fertilizer would be a mistake.
Yet more experienced gardeners find a way out. They prepare compost on their plot, which has a good effect on fruit trees. For the preparation of compost, woody leaves, tops of potatoes and vegetable crops, weeds, leaves and mustaches of strawberries removed during processing, rotten straw and chaff, house rubbish and kitchen waste are used.
The compost heap is placed on a cleared area approximately 1.5-2 m wide at the base at the bottom, 1-1.5 m high and of arbitrary length. Bookmarking is carried out from early spring, when the first material appears in the form of old leaves from a strawberry patch, and ending in late autumn, when cabbage leaves are put into the compost. Compost, in order to rot, must be periodically watered with water, and even better with slops, slurry. Add to a pile of ash or lime. It would be nice to shovel the compost heap to the very foundation twice during the summer. By shoveling, we accelerate the decomposition of waste. Compost is ready after 2 years. Most often, gardeners lay not one, but two piles. Then they have a usable, well-decomposed compost from year to year.
In garden plots, it happens that feces are used for fertilizer. They are best used in the form of peat feces, that is, peat mixed and aged for 2 years with feces. Peat feces can be prepared separately by spreading fine peat in a layer of 15-20 cm, and pouring plenty of liquid feces on it. It is easier to cook peat feces directly in the restroom, periodically pouring portions of fine, well-decomposed peat into it. Then the toilet is cleaned and the resulting mixture is placed nearby in a pile, which is kept for decomposition for 2 years.
Bird droppings can also be used to fertilize the garden, especially since it is now widely offered by local poultry farms. In addition, many gardeners, not to mention the villagers permanently residing in the villages, keep the bird in their backyards.
Bird droppings in dry form should be made at the rate of 120-150 g per 1 m 2 of the trunk circle.
An excellent fertilizer is stove wood ash, which contains potassium, phosphorus and lime. Ash is consumed approximately one glass (120 g) per 1 m 2.
Mineral fertilizers are very useful for fruit trees. Of the main fertilizers, the most common are ammonium nitrate (nitrogen), superphosphate (phosphorus) and potassium chloride (potassium).
Doses of fertilizers are different, they depend mainly on the age of the trees. Below we give the average rates of fertilization in the near-stem circles per tree (established by scientists and practice).
Note to gardeners: one glass contains ash 120-125 g, ammonium nitrate - 200 g, superphosphate - 150 g and potassium salt - 250 g.
Apply potash and phosphorus fertilizers in the fall, for deep digging, and nitrogen fertilizers in the spring, during the first loosening. With the joint application of mineral and organic fertilizers (manure, compost, feces), their application doses are halved against those given above.
Not everyone who has been gardening for more than a year knows that when mixing mineral fertilizers, care must be taken; it is impossible, for example, to mix them with nitrogen fertilizers. Ammonium nitrate can be mixed with superphosphate, but shortly before they are introduced into the soil. Do not mix superphosphate with lime. Any mixing with potassium chloride is permissible only before the very introduction.
Very effective fertilizing fruit trees. First of all, use solutions of bird droppings and mullein, feces, slurry and urine. Dilute slurry and animal urine for liquid feeding with 4-5 parts of water, and bird droppings and feces with 10 parts.
Mineral fertilizers are also suitable for top dressing. If the weather is dry, then before fertilizing, pour water on the tree trunks.
How much do you need to put in? Divide those norms that were previously named by the number of top dressings, say, into shares. Give the first top dressing in the spring, when the buds are just blooming, the second - 20 days after the first, and the third - three weeks after the second.
A big mistake is made by those gardeners who, having properly processed fruit trees in early spring, believe that then little, “cosmetic” care is required for the apple tree.
In fact, it is necessary all summer not only to keep the soil under the crowns clean from weeds, but also to take measures to prevent pests and diseases from entering the garden, and also to supply fruit trees with nutrients in a timely manner and in the proper quantity and quality. To do this, you should regularly feed the plants with mineral, and, if possible, organic fertilizers. Fruit buds at apple trees begin to form in late July - early August, that is, the gardener should already be preparing at this time the base for next year's harvest.
Fertilize the garden regularly. True, in the first year you can limit yourself to one mulching. In other years, it is desirable to apply mineral fertilizers at least once every two years.
If soil analysis shows that your soil is acidic, add lime. It must be applied every 7 years, scattering 0.5 kg per 1 m 2 of the near-trunk circle. Apply lime only in the fall.
Pruning young trees
From how you carry out the formation of fruit trees, their productivity and longevity largely depend. Crown formation is achieved by creating a strong tree skeleton, a strong trunk (stem) and well-developed, correctly, evenly spaced and tightly connected main branches with the stem.
If you planted an annual seedling of an apple or pear tree, then it needs to be shortened. Such pruning will promote the growth of lateral buds and the appearance of strong branches, from which the skeleton of the tree will subsequently form. Annual plum and cherry trees usually have a well-developed crown and therefore do not need pruning.
If you have planted two-year-old apple and pear seedlings on seed stocks, do a light pruning in the first year. Remove dry, broken branches. If there are more than six branches in the crown and they are well developed, then transfer the extra ones to a horizontal position. Do this by garter or hang a small load on the 7th, 8th, etc. branches, and then it will take a drooping position. In subsequent years, this will contribute to the formation of darlings on these branches, and, consequently, fruits.
They treat seedlings on dwarf rootstocks somewhat differently. If they have a well-developed root system, then after planting, make an emerging pruning, in which the conductor should be 18-20 cm higher than the side branches. At the same time, transfer all branches that will not be used as future skeletal ones to an inclined position.
It happens that often a three-year-old or older seedling has lost its crown for various reasons, and a new strong shoot has appeared from the trunk, then in the spring cut off the entire dead crown and form a new one due to the young shoot that has appeared.
In trees 3-5 years old, cutting and shortening are carried out very small. Do this only when you notice that you need to fill the skeletal branch with overgrown branches harder or change the direction of its growth. When strong annual branches are formed during this period, they are transferred, tied up, to a horizontal position or simply intertwined.
Pruning must be carried out so that the ends of the main skeletal branches are at the same level. Semi-skeletal in the middle of the crown needs to be thinned out a little. In a word, the crown of the tree after your pruning should have an open center where the sun's rays and air will easily penetrate. On it, over time, a crop of fruits will ripen evenly throughout the tree, without creating unbearable weight on any branch. This, to put it briefly, is the essence of all pruning and shaping the crown of trees. To the same gardeners who have not yet mastered the technique of this rather complicated matter, let's say: cut the branches of trees only when you understand well what needs to be done. Without a justified need, do not take the pruner in your hands, give the plant the opportunity to grow and develop in its natural form.
Fruit trees can be planted in spring and autumn while the plants are in a leafless state and their buds have not yet begun to bloom.
Spring is the best time for planting fruit trees in the north and in the middle lane. In the southern regions, it is better to plant in the fall. There is no threat of a harsh winter, and spring plantings cannot suffer from the spring drought common in areas of the southern zone.
In Siberia and the Urals, in areas with sufficient snow cover, fruit trees are planted in the fall, and in areas where there is little snow, in the spring. In the central regions, with less severe winters and a large snow cover, trees can be planted in autumn, but no later than 20-25 days before the onset of the first stable frosts.
Landing is more convenient to carry out together. One person sets the seedling so that the roots evenly extend in all directions from the stem, and the other person fills the roots with prepared soil. It is necessary to ensure that the place of transition of the roots into the trunk, called the root neck, is 5-7 cm above the soil surface. It is especially necessary to monitor the grafting site, which must be above the soil level.
When backfilling the roots, the seedling is slightly shaken so that the soil fills all the voids between the roots. The covered roots are lightly compacted with their feet and, if necessary, sprinkled with soil. A mound of any soil is poured around the trunk around the perimeter of the pit, forming a funnel for irrigation. After planting, watering is carried out without fail, pouring two or three buckets per seedling. After watering, the soil is lightly covered with dry soil or peat to protect the soil from drying out and cracking. The stake, located in the center of the pit, when planting a tree, should almost closely touch the trunk of the seedling and cover the tree from the south side. This position of the stake will protect the bark of the tree from overheating by the sun's rays. The seedling is tied to the stake with twine by the figure-eight.
In areas with a steep slope (10-12%), terraces are made, the width of which is determined by the projection of the crown of an adult tree and should be at least 2.5-3 m.
Pruning planted trees
Plants planted in the garden have a strongly shortened root system during excavation, while the ground part of them has been completely preserved. It is clear that shortened roots are not able to provide nutrition and water to the above-ground part of the plant. To reduce the load on the damaged root system, it is necessary to partially shorten the main branches of the crown, cutting them off by about one third of the entire length.
When planting in spring, pruning is carried out immediately, and trees planted in autumn are left uncut until spring. In the spring, pruning is done as early as possible, until the buds of plants have had time to bloom. When pruning, the side branches are shortened by about one third of their length, while the central shoot, growing straight up, is cut so that it is 20-25 cm higher than the other branches of the tree. You need to cut the branches with a sharply sharpened knife above the outer kidney. Cherries and plums should not be pruned, as their wounds heal very slowly and often lead to disease.
Protecting plants from damage
When planting in autumn, after the first slight frost, the trunks of planted trees should be spudded with mounds of earth up to 40 cm high. This will protect the plants from freezing. In early spring, the trees must be freed from mounds of earth and the soil under them loosened.
Autumn plantings for the winter are protected from mice, hares and other rodents by tying the trunks along their entire length with spruce branches with their needles facing down. If spruce branches cannot be obtained, the trunks of planted plants can be tied with roofing paper (or other material) and tied with twine so that the roofing sheet fits snugly against the tree trunk.
The future yields of fruit trees depend on how well you take care of the seedlings in the first years of their life. Therefore, it is very important to know the basics of caring for young trees and not to miss the main stages of their development. In today's article, we will talk about how to care for young seedlings in the first two years of their life.
The formation of the trunk circle
After planting the seedling in the ground, the so-called trunk circle should be formed, thanks to which the young tree is much easier to fertilize and water, because everything you need will not spill over the garden, but will get to the destination, to the roots of the young tree. In the first year of life, the near-stem circle of a seedling can be 30-40 centimeters, and in the future it expands.
The trunk circle should always be cleared of weeds and well loosened, these simple actions will help ensure better oxygen access to the root system.
Watering seedlings
The required amount of water depends on the soil on which the seedling is planted and on weather conditions. So, if the tree is planted on sandy soil, and even the summer turned out to be hot and dry, then the young tree should be watered at least 6-7 times a year.
In one irrigation under the root, 3-4 buckets of water are poured, after which the earth in the trunk circle should be loosened.
If you have chosen good land for planting and the tree does not feel an acute shortage of moisture, then it will be enough to water the seedling three times, the first in early April, the second in May, and the third in June.
Necessary top dressing
The required amount of fertilizer depends on how correctly the plant was fertilized during planting, if all the necessary procedures have been completed, then this will be enough for a young tree for a year, but if the planting was done in a hurry, then a month after planting, in the trunk circle potassium chloride, superphosphate and ammonium nitrate.
SOVE
As soon as your seedling is one year old, you should expand its near-stem circle by about half a meter.
The second feeding is carried out at the beginning of the second year of your seedling's life, depending on how well the tree has grown in the first year of life, the amount of necessary trace elements depends. If it is necessary to accelerate the growth of a seedling, then add urea and more ammonium nitrate, they are nitrogen-containing, because the tree will immediately reach the required height.
Pruning young trees
In the first years of life, pruning of young shoots plays an important role, since it is at this time that the crown of the tree is formed. One fourth of the shoots is cut, this should be done with special secateurs. This procedure cannot be performed before the onset of frost, as a young plant may not survive the winter.
If the seedling, even before planting, turned out to be too large, then the first pruning should be done immediately after buying a young plant.
Mulching the trunk circle
Most often, peat, humus or compost is used for mulching; a thin layer of mulch allows you to accumulate and maintain the required level of moisture in the soil.
For fruit trees, it is better not to use sawdust of coniferous plants for mulching.
In winter, this layer will act as a "warming blanket" that will help the young plant to winter.
First wintering
The first winter and frosts are a rather serious test for a young plant, therefore it should be helped to winter, for this you need to purchase special material for shelter, it will protect the tree from various rodents, warm it during the cold period and save it from burns in early spring. It is best to wrap the tree with two people, in which case the likelihood that you will not break the branches is much higher. Proper support can protect against strong winds, which will not damage the bark of the tree.
Caring for fruit trees in the photo
Fruit trees from the time of planting to the end of their lives undergo a number of significant changes, different in each age period.
First period- P a period of enhanced development of vegetative (growth) parts. In the process of caring for garden trees in this phase, it should be borne in mind that at this time the development of growth organs predominates over fruit ones. The number of the latter increases towards the end of the period; fruit buds are laid on them.
The second period is the fruiting period. It is characterized by an increase in the number of overgrown branches and fruit buds to the greatest extent, a decrease in the growth of vegetative parts. This is the longest period in the life of a tree. He is especially important.
The third period is the period of mass extinction of the skeletal (main) branches. It is characterized by a gradual weakening of fruiting and increased death of individual, mainly peripheral parts of the crown, and new shoots (tops) appear on older parts. When caring for fruit trees during this period, one must not forget that the peripheral part of the plant root system begins to die off at this time, and new roots appear on the old ones closer to the base of the tree.
These periods are interconnected by a series of transitional periods.
Berry plants also experience the same periods, only they proceed faster in them.
Fruit plants, like perennial woody plants, go through periods of vegetation and dormancy every year. During the growing season, a number of phenophases of growth and fruiting proceed in a certain order.
To care for fruit trees, as experienced gardeners advise, you need to take into account the main phenophases:
- Spring vegetation: a) swelling of buds - growth and fruit; b) bud break; c) isolation of inflorescences and buds; d) the appearance of folded petals in the buds.
- Flowering - beginning, mass flowering, end of flowering.
- Fruiting - the phenophase from the beginning of fruit set to the onset of their removable maturity.
- Shoot growth is a phenophase covering a period of enhanced growth and ending with the laying of an apical bud.
- Autumn vegetation - from the end of shoot growth to the end of leaf fall.
The dormant period in fruit plants lasts from leaf fall in autumn to bud swelling in spring. It is associated with the cold season.
The duration of each period, as well as the passage of individual phenophases of fruit plants, depend on the species and varietal characteristics, as well as external conditions and agricultural practices.
Tree care in the garden in spring, summer and autumn is largely determined by the qualitative changes in plants in certain age periods. Separate methods, or agrocomplexes, should be applied in accordance with the passage of phenophases and taking into account the breed and varietal characteristics of fruit plants in specific conditions.
Caring for seedlings of fruit trees should be aimed at creating favorable conditions in the first period of development of fruit trees, providing them with strong vegetative growth, the formation of fruit organs and accelerated fruiting.
As practice shows, it is necessary to take care of the trees in the garden in such a way that all activities contribute to the timely annual passage of the growth phases of fruit plants during the growing season, their complete completion and sufficient hardening for the winter. This is achieved by using a system of agrotechnical measures for tillage in the garden and caring for fruit plants.
How to properly care for seedlings of young fruit trees in the garden
It is necessary to take care of young fruit trees as carefully as possible to ensure the full survival of the planted plants, their good condition and the complete end of growth at the end of the growing season. The soil in the garden of the first year of planting should be kept moist and weed-free. When caring for young fruit trees in spring and summer, it is necessary to make 4-5 waterings and destroy all weeds by weeding. After each watering of the trees in the garden, the cover of the holes should be corrected.
The aisles of young plantations can be used for vegetable crops with the obligatory weed shelf and soil loosening at least three times during the summer. Berry crops must be kept especially clean from weeds.
During the summer, it is necessary to monitor the development and condition of the planted trees. Appearing pests - caterpillars and beetles that eat buds and leaves, must be immediately destroyed by collection or dusting and spraying with pesticides, as damaged trees drastically reduce survival rate, and sometimes die.
In the process of caring for fruit trees in the fall, after autumn tillage in row-spacings, near-trunk circles and strips, to protect plants from frost and rodents, trunks and crowns should be tied, and to protect the roots from freezing, hilling them with earth.
When caring for garden trees in spring, the mounds are leveled, and the strapping is removed.
Here you can watch a video dedicated to the care of fruit trees in the garden:
Pruning garden trees in the photo
One of the main works in the general complex of agro-measures for tree care in the first years after planting is the formation of the crown, on which the condition and durability of the fruit tree largely depend.
The formation and pruning of garden trees are aimed at creating a stable crown skeleton, firmly connected to the trunk and capable of withstanding a full crop without support. Also, pruning trees when caring for a garden contributes to the correct and even distribution of branches along the trunk and in space, providing free access of air and light to the crown, and the possibility of mechanizing production processes for caring for plantings and crops.
These conditions are most fully satisfied by the formation of the crown when pruning garden trees according to the untiered system. With this system, the crown of an apple tree should have at least 6-8 main skeletal branches, the three lower branches should be brought together at a distance of 8-12 cm, and the overlying branches should be distributed 15-20 cm apart. At and plum all the main branches are distributed at equal distances - 5-10 cm.
In order to properly prune the trees in the garden, the height of the trunks of an apple tree and a pear with a medium spreading crown (Anis, Antonovka ordinary, Borovinka, Alabaster, etc.) should be left about 40-50 cm, and for varieties with a spreading crown (Skrut, Khoroshavka, etc.) 60 cm. For grafted cherries, the height of the trunk should be about 40-50 cm. But in some cases it is better to form trees in a low-stem and even bush form, especially in the Volga region, as mentioned above.
For planted trees with crowns planted in the nursery, in the first year it is necessary to cut the three main branches and the continuation shoot by 1/3-1/4, shorten the branches between them by 4-5 internodes, i.e. leave them as thickening shoots.
To lay the main (usually two) and side branches of the crown from the second year, and for trees that have given a weak increase, from the third year until the crown is fully formed (usually within 3-5 years), it is necessary to continue trimming the conductor by 30-40 cm. Shoots of thickening on the trunk and main branches for 25-30 cm from their base are pinched (in a green state) by 3-5 buds. To regulate the growth of the main branches, the lower ones are cut less than the upper ones.
When laying new branches, it is necessary to monitor the correct distance from each other (15 - 20 cm) and uniform distribution in all directions. After the laying of the last lateral branch, it is necessary to cut or weaken the continuation shoot by strong pruning.
During the entire period of crown formation, the development of lateral branches must be subordinated to the development of the trunk. Therefore, with all pruning, the continuation shoot is left longer than the main branches, and the latter, in turn, are longer than the thickening shoots.
After the end of the formation of the crown, the shoots of thickening between the lower skeletal branches are gradually, over 3-4 years, cut out “into a ring”. The pruning of the ends of the branches is usually stopped at this time, and the thinning of the extra branches is mainly used.
Video "Pruning trees in the garden" will help you better understand how this agricultural technique is performed:
Garden care: how to prune fruit trees
Young gardens in central Russia were usually planted with trees formed according to the type of a five-branched or tiered crown. Most of the planting material with this formation is produced by nurseries at the present time.
The formation of the crown is based on a tiered arrangement of branches. Two-year-old seedlings when planting in the garden should have five strong side branches (first tier) and a vertically directed continuation shoot. The main branches usually develop from kidneys located nearby on the trunk, less often through one (whorled crown).
The second tier of branches is laid on the conductor in the second or third year after planting in the garden at a distance of 40-50 cm from the first. The side branches of the second tier should be in between the branches of the first tier. For the second tier, usually three branches are left with their rarefaction through one internode.
If desired, the third tier can be laid in the same way. Three-year-old seedlings released from the nursery usually have the second tier of the crown already laid.
In the next 2-3 years, pruning is carried out mainly to regulate the strength of the development of individual branches. The upper branches are pruned stronger than the lower ones. The lateral branches between the tiers and skeletal branches are cut short or pinched, but when thickened they are cut out completely.
Compared to a tierless system, tiered tree pruning in the garden has a number of disadvantages:
- the whorled arrangement of the main branches of the first tier, which does not ensure their strong fusion with the trunk, therefore, under the weight of the crop, branches may break (if supports are not substituted), which reduces the durability of the tree;
- crowding of branches, creating less favorable conditions for lighting and air access to the inner parts of the crown, as a result of which the central conductor and the main branches develop poorly and some of them often die off. In some varieties (Anis, Antonovka ordinary, etc.), these shortcomings are expressed to a lesser extent.
A five-year tree formed according to a five-bunch (tiered) system.
A relatively stronger five-branched crown is obtained by thinning the side branches on the trunk by cutting them through one or two.
In order to properly prune fruit trees, as experienced gardeners advise, you need to start this event in early spring before the start of sap flow, since pruning a tree that has begun to grow can weaken its development.
To avoid thickening of the crown, it is necessary to cut the branches on the outer kidney. In cases of a strong downward deviation of the branch or its direction to the side, pruning should be done either on the inner kidney or on the side.
Soil care in the garden: processing techniques
Agrotechnical measures for the care of the soil in a young garden should be aimed at the enhanced growth of trees in the first half of the growing season and at the timely completion of growth with the full maturation of the wood and its hardening for the winter - in the second half of the growing season. To do this, it is necessary to create the best conditions for water supply and nutrition of fruit trees from early spring to the end of summer.
The soil in a young garden must be kept under black fallow. This method of tillage contributes to the accumulation and preservation of moisture in the soil, the penetration of air into it, which contributes to the accumulation of nutrients and their better absorption by plants. To do this, every year in the fall, the row-spacing of the garden, not occupied by perennial crops, should be plowed to a depth of 18-20 cm, leaving the arable land unharrowed, plowing of the row-spacing should be carried out in the longitudinal and transverse directions, which reduces the area of digging near the trunk areas, or one year in the longitudinal direction, and the other - in the transverse.
To retain moisture on the slopes, plowing is carried out across them.
Unplowed strips and trunk circles are dug up to the same depth.
In order to avoid damage to the root system, digging near trees should be done at a shallower depth (8-10 cm), and when digging, put the shovel edge to the tree. For digging garden pitchforks are very convenient.
The diameter of the cultivated near-stem circle should be approximately 1-1.5 m larger than the diameter of the crown; annually, when digging, it must be increased by an average of 0.5 m.
In order to preserve moisture in the soil, its economical use and weed control, several surface loosenings are carried out in the spring and summer. In early spring, depending on the degree of readiness of the soil for cultivation, the aisles are loosened with an ordinary harrow. You can also use a disc harrow for this sing.
In case of strong soil compaction after snowmelt, which is usually observed on heavy loamy and clay soils, it must be loosened with a cultivator or cultivator, and then harrowed without leaving large clods.
Simultaneously with the loosening of the row-spacings, trunk circles and ordinary strips are raked and harrowed with a rake, both for the main planting and for compacting crops.
In the case of strong slippage and compaction of the soil, the trunk circles and ordinary strips must be dug up again and at the same time the surface should be leveled with a rake. After loosening, the trunk circles are mulched with manure, small straw, wood leaves and other materials to a thickness of 6-10 cm. This event is especially useful where it is not possible to carry out systematic watering. Mulching has a beneficial effect not only on retaining moisture in the soil, but also on maintaining its structure, and also creates more favorable conditions for soil nutrition for fruit plants.
During autumn digging, mulching materials should be mixed with the soil.
During the spring-summer period, as the soil surface is compacted, a crust forms after rains and weeds appear, it is necessary to make another 4-5 loosenings of both trunk circles and strips, and row spacing, using hoes, horse or tractor cultivators, cultivators and other tools for this .
By the end of summer, with significant soil moisture and the observed delay in the growth of trees, loosening the soil should be stopped. In a dry summer, with the normal end of shoot growth, loosening continues until autumn.
Soil cultivation in the garden: what fertilizers to apply under fruit trees
And how to fertilize fruit trees in the garden? To improve the physical properties of the soil, which change dramatically under the influence of long-term cultivation (strong spraying), as well as to improve the nutritional conditions of trees, it is necessary to systematically apply organic fertilizer - manure, compost, peat feces, etc. complete mineral fertilizer - nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
Manure for fertilizer in soil cultivation is used only of good quality. It should be applied, like other organic fertilizers, for the first 3-5 years annually or every other year, and in subsequent years - after two years for the third at a rate of 4-6 kg per meter; apply mineral fertilizers annually, except for the next year of manure application, at the rate of 10-12 g of the active substance (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) per square meter. meter (about 25-30 g of ammonium nitrate, 50-60 g of superphosphate and 20-25 g of potassium salt).
The best results are obtained by the annual combined application of organic and mineral fertilizers for fruit trees (in half doses).
A great effect in the growth of young seedlings is the fertilizer of garden trees with liquid nitrogenous top dressing - mineral or organic. For top dressing, ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate and other mineral fertilizers are used at the rate of 40-60 kg of active ingredient per hectare, or 4-6 g per square meter. meter, and from organic - cow and bird droppings, slurry.
Manure and other organic, as well as phosphorus-potassium fertilizers for fruit trees should be applied in the fall when digging tree trunks or plowing strips, nitrogen - in early spring and in top dressing.
What else to fertilize garden trees
Fertilizers applied in liquid form have a faster effect on plants, so top dressing should be done in relation to a certain phase of tree development.
Knowing how to fertilize garden trees, do not forget about the norms for applying mineral dressings: about 30 g of ammonium sulfate or 25 g of ammonium nitrate per bucket of water - 3-4 buckets per tree, organic - 3-5 buckets. Organic fertilizers are diluted from the following calculation: a bucket of bird droppings for 8-10 buckets of water, a bucket of cow dung - for 4-5 buckets, a bucket of slurry - for 3-4 buckets of water.
Fertilizers are poured into holes or grooves around the tree (along the periphery of the crown). Top dressing is usually timed to coincide with rains, and in the absence of them, preliminary watering of the circles is carried out at the rate of 3-7 buckets of water per tree, depending on its age and the size of the near-trunk circle.
What other fertilizers can be applied under fruit trees to speed up their growth? It can be bird and cow droppings. Such dressings are prepared in advance as follows: in a large tub (vat) or barrel filled with 14-1 / 3 pure litter, pour water to the top, cover from above, and then leave for 4-5 days for infusion. The resulting infusion is diluted when watering with the specified amount of water.
In irrigated gardens, fertilizing with mineral fertilizers is carried out simultaneously with watering. Fertilizers are spread evenly over the entire watered area. After watering the fruit trees, the holes and grooves are leveled.
Watering fruit trees and snow retention when caring for a garden
During the summer, fruit trees in a young garden need to be watered 3-5 times, depending on the properties of the soil and the amount of precipitation. Lighter soils should be watered more frequently than heavy soils. Watering is especially necessary in the first half of summer (May - June), when the trees grow most strongly.
In young gardens, especially in open areas, in order to accumulate moisture and warm the soil, it is necessary to carry out snow retention with shields, snow shafts and other means for snow retention, it is of great importance to plant wings from berry bushes - currants or gooseberries in rows of trees with a distance between bushes of 2 m. Berry bushes can be planted either in each row, or in 1-3 rows, depending on the security of the garden and its size.
It is also necessary to apply measures to retain spring meltwater by constructing snow dams, dike individual sections on light slopes, and on steeper slopes - mulching snow with straw, manure and other materials, under which water from slowly melting snow will not drain, but will be absorbed by the soil .
Care of garden trees in spring and summer: inter-row crops
The row-spacings of young orchards, not occupied by berry and other compacting fruit crops, can be used for sowing and planting vegetables, gourds, row crops, grasses and other crops.
Aisles of apple and pear can be occupied by these crops for 10-12 years, cherries and plums - for 4-6 years.
Inter-row crops are selected in accordance with planned targets, taking into account natural conditions, the possibility of mechanized or horse processing.
In order to properly care for fruit trees, as many years of gardening experience shows, crops are selected for row spacing that, while developing well, not only do not interfere with the development of the main plantations, but, on the contrary, create relatively favorable conditions for their growth. The best inter-row crops in a young garden in the middle lane are tilled crops - root and melons (, pumpkin). These crops require deep tillage and fertilization of the soil. Their development mainly takes place in the second half of summer. All this creates favorable conditions for the growth of trees and its timely completion at the end of the growing season.
Annual legumes (, lentils, etc.), which enrich the soil with nitrogen, can also be used in their late row sowing as inter-row crops. On more humid or irrigated soils, perennial grasses (alfalfa with wheatgrass) can be introduced for a period not exceeding two years. They improve soil structure, enrich it with nitrogen and clear weeds.
You should not occupy the aisles with technical and grain crops, as they greatly deplete the soil. From berry crops, as a row-spacing (compacter), strongly drying soil and clogging it with offspring should not be allowed.
More efficient use of inter-row spacing is possible by establishing the correct crop rotation for inter-row crops. Mineral fertilizers and manure, as well as soil care between the rows, are determined by the requirements of each crop in the crop rotation.