When caring for a young garden, good development and fruiting fruit trees cannot be achieved without the systematic use of fertilizers, especially in areas of the non-chernozem zone.
For successful tree growth in young garden, accelerating their entry into the time of fruiting and creating conditions for obtaining high and regular yields in the future is of great importance application of fertilizers. Best results shows the joint application of organic and mineral fertilizers.
The use of organic fertilizers when caring for a young garden
Widely used in skin care young garden must get first organic fertilizers(manure, compost, peat, peat feces and others), which not only provide necessary for trees nutrients, but also improve the structure of the soil, which is destroyed by digging and frequent loosening.
Manure is applied in the fall, when digging up the soil, having previously scattered it evenly on the surface of the tree trunk in the amount of 4-6 kilograms per 1 square meter. This will amount to 15-20 kilograms for one two- to three-year-old tree, 30-40 kilograms for a five- to six-year-old tree, and 50-70 kilograms for a seven-ten-year-old tree.
Good action Compost also has an effect on fruit trees. Compost is prepared from household waste in specially constructed heaps. Compost heaps are a must on every household. Tree leaves, fallen pine needles, and tops can be used to prepare compost. vegetable crops, weeds, rotten straw and chaff, soot, house waste, kitchen waste, road dust, etc.
The compost heap is made 1.5-2 meters wide (at the base), 1-1.5 meters high and of arbitrary length (depending on the amount of material). They lay it on a special cleared and compacted area. Tops, house waste and other household waste and weeds when placed in compost heap interlayered with soil. The soil layer should be 5-6 centimeters thick. To ensure that the compost is always moderately moist, it is watered from time to time with water or, even better, with slop or slurry. It is useful to add lime, ground limestone and ash to the compost.
Once or twice a summer (every two to three months), the compost heap is thoroughly shoveled and stacked again. Shovelling speeds up the decomposition of waste. When the compost turns into a homogeneous mass, it can be used as fertilizer. The rates, timing and depth of application of compost are the same as for manure.
“Night gold” (feces) is also a valuable fertilizer when caring for a young garden. It is better to mix it with peat, to prepare the so-called peat feces. For this purpose, take fine, well-decomposed peat, lay it in a layer of 20 centimeters and water it generously with liquid feces. After watering, a second layer of the same thickness is laid on the first layer of peat and also watered, and this is done until the heap reaches a height of 1.5 meters. After this, it is covered with peat and left to decompose.
Peat feces can also be prepared directly in cesspools- restrooms. To do this, peat is poured into the pit every two to three days and mixed with the contents of the pit with a pole. Peat feces is a very strong fertilizer: its application rate is two to three times lower than the rate of manure.
In areas where there is no peat, compost, manure and even ordinary soil are used to prepare fecal fertilizers.
When caring for a young garden, you should also use bird droppings. It is applied at a rate of 100-150 grams per 1 square meter of tree trunk area. But it is better to give this fertilizer in the form liquid fertilizer in the first half of summer.
A good fertilizer is stove ash, containing potassium, phosphorus and lime. Ash is added at approximately 100-150 grams per square meter (a glass of stove ash weighs about 125 grams). Especially good results the use of ash gives effect on soddy-podzolic soils of the non-chernozem zone, reducing their acidity. In this case, the ash application rates are increased by at least two to three times.
Pond, lake and river waste or decomposed waste from landfills can be used as fertilizer.
The use of mineral fertilizers for caring for a young garden
If there are mineral fertilizers, then you need to use them.
They are divided into nitrogen (ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, montanium nitrate), phosphorus (superphosphate, tomasslag, phosphate rock) and potassium (potassium salt 30 and 40 percent and potassium chloride). Nitrogen mineral fertilizers have a good effect on tree growth in most areas. A complete mineral fertilizer, including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, works better everywhere.
Mineral fertilizers Apply at the rate of approximately 8-10 grams of the active substance of each type of fertilizer per 1 square meter. For example, ammonium sulfate (ammonium sulfate) contains 20 percent nitrogen. Therefore, 40-50 grams of ammonium sulfate must be added per 1 square meter.
One glass contains from 150 grams (superphosphate, ammonium sulfate) to 250 grams (potassium salt) mineral fertilizers.
The amount of mineral fertilizers that must be applied to one tree, depending on its age and the size of the trunk circle, is given in the table.
Montana nitrate is added by 20 percent, and ammonium nitrate by 40 percent less than ammonium sulfate. Double superphosphate is added twice as much as usual.
Phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, partly nitrogen fertilizers, are applied in the fall, before deep digging. These fertilizers are best applied in granular form. Phosphorus and potassium fertilizers can also be applied in liquid form in patches into wells made with scrap, 30-40 centimeters deep; Wells are made approximately two per 1 square meter.
It is better to apply the bulk of nitrogen fertilizers (about two-thirds) in the spring, during the first spring loosening.
Approximate amount of mineral fertilizers applied to one tree (in grams):
| Diameter (width) near the trunk new circle (in meters) |
Square near the trunk new circle (in sq. meters) |
Ammonium sulfate | Superphosphate | Potassium salt 40 percent | ||||||
| when fertilizing | when fertilizing | when fertilizing | ||||||||
| weak | average | |strong | weak | average | strong | weak | average | |strong | ||
| 2 3 4 5 |
3 7 12 20 |
100 200 400 600 | 150 300 600 900 |
200 400 800 1200 |
150 300 550 850 | 225 450 800 1300 |
300 600 1 100 1700 |
50 100 200 300 |
75 150 300 450 |
100 200 400 600 |
- When using mineral and organic fertilizers together, application rates are reduced by half of those indicated.
- When mixing fertilizers, you must adhere to established rules. It is best to mix them just before adding them to the soil.
Feeding fruit trees caring for a young garden
Great value at at In the course of a young garden, fertilizing of fruit trees is widely used by leading gardeners.
For fertilizing, first of all, you need to use local organic fertilizers.: slurry, urine, fermented solutions of bird and cow droppings, etc. Slurry and animal urine for liquid feeding are diluted with 5 parts of water, and feces and bird droppings with 10-12 parts.
You can also feed fruit trees only with nitrogen or complete mineral fertilizer.
When feeding, mineral fertilizers can be applied in liquid or dry form.. In dry soil, the trunk circles are pre-watered with water before fertilizing. When applying fractionally, the indicated average rate is divided into parts according to the number of fertilizing: each time the corresponding part (half or a third of the rate) is applied. The first feeding is given in the spring, during bud break, the second - two or three weeks after the first, during the intensive growth of shoots (in the central regions - in June), and the third - two to three weeks after the second.
Considering that nitrogen fertilizers, if applied untimely, cause growth retardation, fertilizing with them should be carried out only during spring and the first half of summer or late autumn.
The garden should be fertilized annually on poor soils and once every two to three years on other soils. In the first year after planting, they limit themselves to mulching the tree trunk circles with manure, humus, compost, etc.
Podzolic soils, in addition, should also be limed. Lime or ground limestone is applied once every five to seven years at an average rate of 1.5 kilograms per 1 square meter. The best time applying lime is autumn.
Video: How and with what to fertilize fruit trees correctly
In this video, an expert will tell you how to fertilize fruit trees correctly and with what exactly.
Video: Apple orchard technology
When caring for a young garden, it is necessary to ensure the survival rate of all planted fruit trees, to create conditions for good growth seedlings and building the correct tree crown, as well as ensuring the early entry of trees into the fruiting season.
Nitrogen fertilizers are applied to the soil surface. If fertilizing is carried out using granules, then they are simply scattered near the plant, the powdered compounds are mixed with water in the required proportions, watering the soil near the bush with the resulting mixture.
Granular nitrogen fertilizers
It is preferable to apply it closer to the root system, making a small hole near the bush and pouring the solution into it. If you use solid organic additives, then it is better to dig them a little under the plant, and liquid ones (for example, if it is a solution bird droppings), apply directly under each bush. Also remember that you must follow the instructions for preparing solutions so as not to harm the plant. Another important note - try not to apply organic and mineral fertilizers at the same time. It is better to take a break of at least 1.5 weeks between their application.
Before starting work, you need to prepare the garden itself. To do this, remove all garbage from the area, sweep dry leaves into one pile and burn it - harmful insects can overwinter in such garbage. Also try to remove all weeds from the garden, they take away beneficial microelements from the soil.
The most important is feeding plants in the spring, when the bushes wake up and begin to develop after hibernation. If you have fertilized the soil well in winter, then you should not feed the bushes with the first snow melting - in this case, you need to start work in mid-May. During this period, give preference to complex fertilizers with a high nitrogen content.
A lack of this substance in the soil can lead to the fact that the chlorophyll content in the plant begins to decrease, which is why the green color of the bush begins to disappear, and the number of flowers and fruits decreases greatly.
Lack of nitrogen in berry bushes
The next fertilizing occurs in the summer, and work on fertilizing the soil must be carried out more than once:
- In the spring, after the bushes bloom, when young shoots actively begin to develop, you need to use nitrogen-containing fertilizers.
- At the end of July, when the berries begin to “pour,” you can use complex mineral fertilizers.
- In early August, after harvesting, you should feed the bushes with potassium-phosphorus fertilizers (during this period, avoid the use of products that contain nitrogen additives).
A good alternative to almost all types of fertilizers is natural fertilizing with an infusion of weeds in the proportion of 100 g of “greens” per 10 liters of water. It is very important to pay attention to autumn feeding - how correctly you carry out the work will determine whether the berry bushes will be able to survive the winter and whether they will bear fruit next year. In autumn, potassium-phosphorus fertilizers should be applied at the rate of 2 tablespoons of the product for each bush. Additionally, use, for example, manure or bird droppings.
Despite the fact that fertilizing berries and ornamental shrubs almost identical, gooseberries, currants (all its varieties) and raspberries are considered the most capricious crops in this regard.
For example, if you are just going to plant currants, you need to take care of feeding them at least 3 months before work. Determine the planting site and apply any organic fertilizer at the rate of about 60–80 liters of the selected product for each square meter of plot area. In spring and autumn you need to apply organic fertilizers again. If the plant has been growing on your site for several years, the feeding scheme will be slightly different. In the spring, nitrogen fertilizers must be applied - for one bush you will need about 20 g of urea, 40 g of calcium nitrate and approximately 20 g of ammonium nitrate.
Fertilizing a currant bush in spring
If you did not feed the plant in the fall, you can add a little organic matter: dilute 300 g of manure in a bucket, add two tablespoons of urea and mix the contents thoroughly. For each bush you need to take about two liters of the composition. After 2-3 weeks, repeat feeding.
Gooseberry is a very unpretentious shrub. But in order for it to please you with juicy and tasty berries, you cannot do without high-quality feeding. It is best to use complex organic fertilizers. They are applied either together with sawdust mulch, or by irrigating the bushes. Carry out once in spring or autumn every two years. At the same time, remember that no matter how well you feed the gooseberries, if you planted the plant in clay or swampy, too wet soils, it most likely will not grow.
Raspberries love loamy or light soils enriched with beneficial additives. Before fertilizing, it is necessary to loosen the soil. Raspberry bushes react positively to both organic additives and mineral fertilizers, which contain nitrogen and phosphorus. The calculation of fertilizers for one bush is as follows: 10 g of urea and ammonium nitrate per square meter of area.
Ornamental shrubs, unlike berries, can do without fertilizers for a long time if they are satisfied with the composition and fertility of the soil. However, it often happens that the soil at a summer cottage is poor in organic matter (for example, if we are talking about sandy or clay soils) and other nutrients. This can not only lead to worsening appearance plants, but also to the emergence of various diseases.
Ornamental shrub disease
Fertilizers must be applied when planting, mixing them with the soil. Typically, fertilizing is carried out just before important events in the life of a plant - for example, before buds open, flowering and before preparing plants for hibernation. In general, feeding plants has different purposes at different times. For example, in the spring, work is carried out in order to help the shrubs actively grow green mass; in the fall, fertilizing is needed to prepare the plants for the winter period. Most fertilizers in liquid form are usually applied to the soil around the tree trunk.
In order for beneficial microelements to penetrate quickly to the roots, many novice gardeners loosen the soil. However, you need to remember that this must be done very carefully so as not to damage the root system. Fertilizers for ornamental shrubs are the same as for berries: these include nitrogen fertilizers in the spring, feeding the shrubs with organic matter and mineral fertilizers in the summer.
Proper feeding of ornamental coniferous shrubs
If we are talking about then complex fertilizers, for example, azofoska, is not suitable for them. Using manure or tinctures of green grass and weeds will lead to vigorous growth of bushes, but rapid yellowing and death. And the point here is not in the amount of fertilizers, but in the composition of the fertilizers. It’s better not to use any at all than to feed them with something unknown. There are a lot of special mixtures on sale that are intended directly for coniferous plants. However, before purchasing a package of the mixture, carefully study its composition.
It is worth remembering the biology lessons in which they taught that most Coniferous leaves receive nutrition not from the root system, but through photosynthesis. This process is impossible without sufficient magnesium ( component chlorophyll molecules). That is why the mixture you choose should contain magnesium. In addition, to feed conifers, it is undesirable to use fertilizers that contain a large number of nitrogen. Although it causes an increase in green shoots, it does so quickly that the branches simply do not have time to ripen. As a result, young shoots are severely damaged in winter.
It is best to use mineral fertilizers for feeding coniferous ornamental shrubs; it is permissible to use vermicompost from organic matter. In order for the shrub to constantly delight you with its greenery, it must be fed twice a year. Fertilizers are applied for the first time in May, when growth points begin to activate. The second time feeding is carried out at the end of August. If you fertilize later, the young shoots may not have time to get stronger by winter.
In order for the root system to quickly absorb the fertilizer, it is better to apply it in liquid form. Prepare the mixture according to the instructions, pour it into the holes made in advance along the perimeter of the crown. If you use granular fertilizers, simply spread them over the surface of the soil and mix them a little with the soil. Vermicompost is added in the same way.
Every summer resident takes care of the health of fruit trees and berry bushes, rejoicing lush flowering plants in the spring and delicious juicy fruits in the summer and autumn. The foundation for a bountiful garden harvest for the next season is laid in the fall. the main task during this period - feed the plants, saturate them with nutrients to help endure the dormant stage and cope with severe winter frosts. Therefore, fertilizing fruit trees in the fall is very important stage garden care.
During the growing season, when fruits ripen on trees and shrubs, plants absorb many nutrients from the soil. First of all, we are talking about nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium and other trace elements. The application of organic and mineral fertilizers replenishes the balance of chemical elements, and also helps improve the soil structure and create favorable conditions for the development of beneficial soil microflora.
What fertilizers are used for autumn feeding of the garden?
The choice of fertilizer depends on the preferences of the summer resident. For example, fans of biological farming try not to use mineral fertilizers on the site, believing that traditional organic matter can completely eliminate soil imbalances and restore the optimal content of microelements in the soil.
- Phosphorus. They help strengthen the root system, as well as the accumulation of protein compounds and sugary substances in tree sap.
- Potassium. They increase the frost resistance of all crops and lead to the removal of excess liquid from plant tissues.
- Wood ash or plant ash. It structures the soil, prevents soil acidification, and enriches the soil mixture with all the necessary microelements.
- Organic. They increase the percentage of humus in the soil, help improve moisture and air permeability of the soil, prevent soil mineralization, and increase productivity.
As you can see, there are no nitrogen fertilizers among the list of fertilizing compounds. The fact is that after mid-summer, nitrogen compounds are not introduced into the soil. This is due to the fact that this chemical element activates the growth of green mass and stimulates the growth processes of trees and bushes. And, starting from August, plants that have finished and are finishing fruiting are preparing for a period of rest, and such activation of vital forces is simply contraindicated for them.
Mineral autumn fertilizing
Let's look in detail at how to apply each fertilizer correctly and in what quantities.
Phosphorus fertilizers
To enrich the soil with phosphorus, use superphosphate or double superphosphate. The difference between these compositions is only in the concentration of the main active element. Granular or powdered mineral fertilizer has proven itself in practice, both in small summer cottages, and in large gardens.
All gardeners should know that phosphorus is a sedentary substance and sparingly soluble in water. Therefore, surface fertilizer (spreading the composition on the surface of the earth in the hope that water will deliver it to the deep layers) is ineffective, or, more simply, completely useless. Superphosphate must be embedded deep into the soil in places where suction root shoots occur.
Plowing phosphorus fertilizers into the root layer of soil is recommended to a depth of 10 to 15 cm for trees and 7 to 10 cm for berry fields.
In addition, fertilizer is not applied at the very trunks of trees or at the base of shrubs, since the suction roots are located along the periphery of the trunk circle.
It is best to add superphosphate into holes dug along the projection of the tree crown around the trunk. The depth of the holes is up to 30 cm (shovel bayonet). One handful of fertilizer is poured into each hole, filled with water and buried.
Regular superphosphate (monophosphate) is sealed at the rate of 45-50 g/sq. meter, granulated superphosphate - 35-40 g/sq. meter, double superphosphate - 25-30 g/sq. meter.The exact fertilizer rates for each crop, depending on the type and age, are given in the instructions on the package.
Potash fertilizers
Potassium sulfate is considered better than potassium fertilizer, since it does not contain harmful chlorine. The rate of sealing for digging is from 5 to 10 g/sq.m. meter. The simultaneous application of phosphorus and potassium compounds is preferable to the mono application of each fertilizer, since in this case phosphorus is better assimilated in the soil complex.
A cheaper option is to use potassium chloride. To prevent chlorine from damaging the roots, this fertilizer is applied as early as possible, so that before winter harmful substance washed away by irrigation water and autumn precipitation into the deep layers of the soil.
Potassium magnesia is another fertilizing composition containing, in addition to potassium, so much needed by trees and bushes magnesium. It is advisable to use this fertilizer in the form of an aqueous solution, watering the tree trunks and the ground under the bushes. Please note that plants' need for magnesium increases in light sandy soils.
Combined fertilizers
Complex potassium-phosphorus fertilizers, which are used according to the instructions, have proven themselves well. There are many autumn fertilizers on sale, both mineral and organomineral, that do not contain nitrogen compounds. The attached instructions allow you to calculate application rates for each crop with an accuracy of a few grams.
There are specialized fertilizers for fruit trees, for berry crops, for the entire garden, marked “autumn”. For example, “Fruitful”, “ Orchard", "Autumn for the garden", "Universal", etc., which allow your plants to overwinter and gain strength for the next season, and also double their survival rate.
Such fertilizers are applied to the tree trunk circles of young seedlings, and in a mature garden they are applied not only to them, but also to the inter-rows of trees and bushes or to the crown projection.
Vegetable ash for autumn feeding
Autumn feeding of fruit trees and shrubs in the fall can be carried out with plant ash. The ash contains practically no nitrogen compounds, as well as chlorine, which is dangerous for some crops.
Ash is considered a natural source of phosphorus and potassium, the concentrations of which vary depending on the original material burned. In addition, it contains magnesium, iron, calcium, fluorine, boron, iodine and all other components necessary for plant life. Many gardeners successfully replace potassium-phosphorus mineral fertilizers with ash.
The only disadvantage of using ash is the need for large quantities. But zealous owners who burn plant residues from the beginning of spring to the end of summer (cut trunks, branches after pruning, vegetable tops, leaf litter, straw, etc.) and store it in paper bags in the barn are always provided with the right amount of ash volume.
Norms for applying ash in the garden: ½-1 bucket for each mature plant. Throughout the summer, it is recommended to scatter the ash in circles around the tree trunks, and in the fall to plow it into the soil when digging up the berry patch and garden.
Organic fall fertilizers
Fresh farm animal manure under fruit trees and shrubs are not used, since this product contains high doses of ammonia, which can significantly damage (burn) the roots.
The best organic matter for a garden is considered to be:
- Aged compost (so-called “black gold”).
- Peat or peat-manure compost.
- Humus (composted or completely rotted mullein).
- Dry cow and bird excrement.
- Vermicompost. Vermicompost granules are added according to the instructions on the package.
For each plant, apply from 1 to 5 buckets of organic fertilizers, depending on age. Incorporation is carried out during digging, trying to thoroughly enrich the soil with a nutrient substrate through deep plowing. Complex autumn fertilizing of garden crops
According to reviews experienced gardeners, the best feeding For the garden, a combination of organic and mineral fertilizers is considered. It is complex feeding that ensures the assimilation of all nutritional components in the soil and their transformation into forms that are easily accessible to absorbent roots.
- Apple and pear trees. For trees up to 8 years old, take 10 kg of humus or compost, from 8 to 10 years old - 30 kg, and over 10 years old - 50 kg. The nutrient substrate is enriched with 0.3 kg of superphosphate and 0.2 kg of potassium sulfate. The fertilizer is plowed deep into the tree trunk circles and in the projection of the crown using the digging method.
- Berry bushes (raspberries, gooseberries, currants). For each bush, take 15 kg of humus or compost, add 60 g of superphosphate and 40 g of potassium salt. The nutrient mixture is placed in ditches (about 20 cm deep) dug at a distance of about 0.3 m from the plant in a circle or in row-spacings.
- Plum and cherry. Spread dry bird droppings or cow excrement in an even layer and embed them in tree trunks or in the ground under bushes using a shovel. After a few days, water with a nutrient solution. For an adult tree, take 40 liters of water and dissolve 10 tbsp in it. spoons of superphosphate and 8 tbsp. spoons of potassium sulfate. The resulting liquid is poured trunk circle at the beginning of autumn. Fertilizer consumption for young trees from 3 to 5 years old is 2 buckets of the composition.
When to fertilize the garden in the fall?
In order for all plants to prepare for winter and retire “well-fed”, fertilization should be planned as early as possible.
After fertilizing, it is recommended to insulate all tree trunk circles with compost. “Black gold”, laid out in a layer of 5-6 cm, will not only protect the roots from freezing, but will also enrich the soil with the necessary nutrients as it decomposes. There is no need to remove the mulch layer; it is enough to dig it up along with the soil in early spring (after the snow has melted and the soil has warmed up).
Intensive development of the root system of trees and perennial shrubs occurs at the end of September. A sufficient amount of moisture and a full range of nutrients is provided to the plants. vital forces and allows them to properly prepare for the winter.
Autumn is the most favorable time for fertilizer perennial plants. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of this event. Enriching the soil with nutritional compounds is not only a guarantee of a future harvest, but also a serious help in increasing the resistance of all crops to diseases and pest invasions. Wishing you excellent garden harvests every season!
The main components that ensure the development of plants: sun, water and good soil. Crops also need nutrients that shrubs and trees do not always get from the ground. Fertilizer application is a mandatory stage of agricultural technology.
Spring is a time for feeding
Plants develop in one place for decades, which is why the land is depleted, and trees and bushes do not receive the nutrients they need. To ensure good harvests, gardeners feed the crops with various fertilizers.
Each stage of the growing season requires its own nutrition, but the most important is feeding fruit trees and shrubs in the spring. Plants are emerging from hibernation and need strength for new growth and fruiting.
The sun is not so warm yet, there is a risk of return frosts. Only increased sap flow will help counteract these factors. Provides such “blood flow” fruit plants good recharge.
Depending on the condition of the soil and the type of crop, certain nutrients are required. Based on these components, all fertilizers are divided into mono (i.e. simple) and complex, containing 2 or more substances. They may include mineral and organic fertilizers. In the finished concentrated preparations sold, most often the composition is combined.
Caring for trees correctly
A separate group includes bacterial fertilizers and green manures, which are classified as organic matter. Each nutrient has its own specific uses that the gardener must take into account.
Basic fertilizers for spring feeding
| Fertilizer | Description |
|---|---|
| Mineral | The composition includes concentrated salts that act quickly. According to the active chemical element, they are divided into groups: phosphorus, potassium, nitrogen. As mentioned above, polyfertilizers contain more than one component, which is reflected in the name of the drug. The ratio of elements of complex fertilizers is selected taking into account the season. In the spring you will need all 3 components, and each of them has its own function |
| Organic | This type of food is of natural origin - animal or plant (manure, droppings, humus, compost, peat, etc.). When organic matter decomposes, minerals are formed that stimulate the development of microorganisms and beneficial bacteria that help plants absorb nutrients. Fertilizers ensure air-water balance in all parts of bushes and trees. Carbon dioxide released into the soil triggers photosynthesis processes |
Types of fertilizing Maximum efficiency can be achieved if you combine organic matter with mineral water. Concentrated salts not only nourish plants, but also have a negative effect if the proportion is incorrect. Organic fertilizers will smooth out this negative effect by providing nutrition to the berry plot for the entire growing season.
Fertilizing is carried out in two ways: applying it to the ground and spraying the plants. This allows you to optimize the nutritional regime for a specific development phase, taking into account the needs of each crop.
Spring feeding of berry bushes and trees is carried out based on the following conditions. During the period of vegetative mass accumulation (March), nitrogen fertilizers should predominate. Potassium-phosphorus is necessary for budding and flowering (April-May).
Complex fertilizers are used throughout the spring season. The concentration is selected based on the composition of the soil:
- on turf podzolic, use the maximum recommended dose;
- on the forest - average;
- in the chernozem zone - minimum.
The first time fertilizer is applied to the soil before planting the seedlings, and no further fertilizing is used during the year. The plant will have enough of those placed in the hole. Next season, nutrients are applied either to the tree trunk circle or special furrows are made along the row.
In subsequent years, take into account that the root area of the bush increases. Therefore, fertilizer rates will have to be differentiated each time.
Root feeding is carried out in 2 ways: scattered dry in the rows and combined with watering the plants. The second option is more popular among summer residents, since nutrients will reach the roots faster.
Dry feeding
After the fertilizers are scattered between the rows, they need to be incorporated into the soil by digging the soil with a shovel. In this case, the formation is rotated to a depth of 12 cm. After digging, the soil is carefully loosened with a rake.
Loosening the soil
Once in the ground, microelements are moistened by soil moisture and distributed evenly. The movement process will be more active if the soil between the rows has a loose structure. To optimize the impact, it is recommended to immediately water the fertilizer application areas.
Liquid nutrition
Fertilizing with solutions is carried out more often, and when using mineral fertilizers, you should not strictly follow the instructions on the packaging - it is more designed for industrial farmers who have the opportunity to conduct soil analysis. For small gardening, it is better to reduce the concentration by 3-4 times and inject the solution into the soil not every 2 weeks, but every 4 days.
Note. The older the plants, the richer the nutrition should be. To feed a five-year-old tree, per 1 sq.m. garden you will need potassium 20 g, phosphorus 10 g, nitrogen 15 g. Under berry bush it is necessary to add a slightly lower concentration.
It is important to consider the rules for applying organic fertilizers. For example, some crops do not tolerate fresh manure, while others respond favorably to it. Without knowing such nuances, it is better to use fermented mullein.
Commonly Used Organic Nutrients
| Name | Recommendations |
|---|---|
| Mullein | · Fresh manure is poured with water in a ratio of 1:2 and covered with a lid. The mixture is stirred every 3 days. Fermentation continues until bubbles appear on the surface. Signs of final readiness of the solution are settling of solid particles to the bottom and lightening of the composition; |
| · Before use, the fermented solution must be diluted with water: for trees in a ratio of 1:10, for berry gardens - 1:15 | |
| Bird droppings | · The composition of this organic chemistry is strong, so it is used only in small concentrations - 200 ml of water is needed for 1 g of dry raw material. The fermentation container should be chosen with a reserve - the solution significantly increases in volume during the process; |
| · When the solution is ready, it is diluted again in a ratio of 1:20 or 25, depending on the culture | |
| Blood meal | Here the ratio of raw materials and water should be 1:50. Ferment the solution for 4-5 days with daily stirring. The finished composition does not require additional dilution, but is recommended due to the high nitrogen content when forcing plants |
| Bone meal | · In this organic matter there is a predominance of phosphorus. It is often used in dry form, as an additive to earthen mixtures (1:100), but flour is also good in solutions. 1 part fertilizer is poured into 20 parts hot water and leave for a week, stirring twice a day; |
| · Before use, filter and dilute in a ratio of 1:400 |
How additional elements You can use food waste and feces in compost. It is also good to fertilize fruit plantings compost, which must stand for at least 4 months. Laying manure, peat, and hay in layers in a hole to form a stack, which is periodically shoveled and watered in dry weather.
Foliar feeding
Treatment of branches allows you to solve two problems in one action: fertilize the plants, and also protect them from pests and scab infection. In the spring, trees and shrubs are sprayed with urea as soon as the buds begin to bloom. Often this action is combined with processing Bordeaux mixture or copper sulfate.
Preparation of Bordeaux mixture
When diluting products, strictly adhere to the instructions. Before processing the orchard, it is necessary to take safety measures: wear protective clothing, gloves, goggles, and a respirator (the compositions used for spraying are toxic).
New gardeners sometimes make mistakes in caring for garden plants. To avoid them when fertilizing, you need to consider some points:
- for such work, choose the right time: early in the morning or before sunset, and only in dry, windless weather;
- you need to feed some period after regular watering;
- It is necessary to apply fertilizer not under the bush or tree itself, as some do; nutrients should flow to young roots located slightly to the side of the trunk; it is on them that there are hairs, through which the roots absorb moisture and fertilizers from the ground;
- unbalanced nutrition harms plants; if, for example, you overfeed with nitrogen, flowering and fruiting will be threatened, and leaves and stems will become brittle; such plants are more often visited by pests, and they lose immunity to diseases;
- some summer residents believe that the more food, the better; too much fertilizing or a high concentration of fertilizers will cause burns (this is especially dangerous when spraying);
- adding a large nutrient dose to depleted soil can actually cause an osmotic shock in the plant, leading to death.
Early spring complementary feeding, carried out in compliance with all norms and rules, will be the key to the fact that the summer resident will receive a large delicious harvest. In addition, with the help of fertilizers you can direct the growth of roots. Then the plants will not interfere with each other’s development.
Garden care includes tillage, watering and fertilizing fruit trees. Let's talk about what and how to feed trees most productively.
Fertilizing with organic fertilizers
Top dressing organic fertilizers includes the use of chicken manure as a fertilizer, which is available in home gardening; it must be diluted with water: one bucket of manure for 10 buckets of water, and when watering, the manure must be thoroughly mixed. It is better if chicken manure or fresh slurry is poured into tubs in the summer, diluted with water and left until it ferments, and then used as fertilizer. Before adding, it is good to add 50-100g of superphosphate and potassium salt, but no more, per bucket of solution and mix thoroughly.
If nitrogen, which is rich in manure and slurry, promotes increased tree growth, That phosphorus and potassium are needed for increased fruiting and better ripening of wood. This is especially important in foothill and mountainous areas. However, if the garden is located on thick black soil and is provided with water, then you don’t need to add manure, but feed it only with superphosphate and potassium salt.
How to apply fertilizers correctly
To apply fertilizer correctly and for this to give maximum benefit, it is necessary to make 6-10 holes 60-70 cm deep around the tree, within the radius of the crown, with a crowbar and pour 150-200 g of superphosphate into each of them. In between the holes with superphosphate, the same number of holes are punched and potassium fertilizer mixed in half with soil is added to them. This kind of garden feeding can be done only at the beginning of fruiting, and then every 2-3 years. In gardens in dry areas, more manure, less superphosphate and even less potassium salt should be applied. You can completely abandon this fertilizer.
IN young trees are less responsive to fertilizers. Therefore, they give a smaller increase in growth compared to an older garden that is entering the fruiting season. But to create a healthy, long-lasting tree with a well-developed crown, it is necessary to provide it with all the conditions for good growth and development from the moment of planting and throughout its life.
Fertilizer dosage
Different tree species respond differently to the types of fertilizers applied. and prefer manure and mineral fertilizers. Dosage of applied fertilizers will be different for each area and even for each individual garden, depending on the soil and the supply of certain nutrients already available in it.
| One year after landing | Diameter of tree trunk circles | Quantity of manure (kg) | Irrigated gardens | Rain-fed gardens | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammonium nitrate (33%) | Super-phosphate (16%) | Potassium chloride (50%) | Ammonium nitrate (33%) | Super-phosphate (16%) | Potassium chloride (50%) | |||
| 1-2 | 2 | 12-15 | 70 | 120 | 80 | 30 | 60 | 10 |
| 3-4 | 2,5 | 20-25 | 110 | 180 | 50 | 45 | 90 | 20 |
| 5-6 | 3 | 30-40 | 160 | 270 | 70 | 60 | 130 | 30 |
| 7-8 | 3,6 | 40-50 | 220 | 360 | 100 | 90 | 190 | 40 |
| 9-10 | 4 | 50-60 | 300 | 480 | 130 | 120 | 250 | 60 |
| 11-12 | 5 | 80 | 450 | 750 | 200 | 180 | 280 | 80 |
The Institute of Fruit Growing named after I.V. Michurin for the southern fruit zone recommends the fertilizer application rates given in Table No. 1.
Manure, phosphorus and potassium mineral fertilizers, as well as 1/3 of nitrogen fertilizers are applied when digging the soil. The remaining 2/3 of the nitrogen fertilizer in the form of fertilizing before hoeing the soil is applied:
- in young gardens - in early spring and during the period of increased shoot growth.
- in fruit-bearing plants - in early spring or after flowering, as well as at the moment of shedding of excess ovary.
Slurry, animal urine, and bird droppings are also used to feed trees.
Cautions when fertilizing the soil
There are some precautions when fertilizing the soil. You should not apply fertilizer to the soil haphazardly and whenever necessary. Such “nutrition” will do more harm to the plant than good. When checking the soil of one of the garden plots in a chemical laboratory, the presence of nitrogen in the soil was found to be five times higher than normal, and phosphorus and potassium – 3 times higher. On such a site you can get good harvest only after washing the soil. When analyzing the water of a stream flowing through the territory of this gardening collective in the fall of the same year, nutrients were found in it near the norm, and in some areas even more than the norm.
Many gardeners strive to add as much fertilizer as possible, even as strong as chicken manure. At the same time, they do not take into account the fact that plants can absorb fertilizers only in solutions, through the absorption zone of the roots, when the fertilizer concentration does not exceed 1%. When foliar feeding, by spraying the leaves, the solution should be no more than 0.5%, i.e. 50g of active ingredient per bucket of water. At higher solution concentrations, gentle the suction hairs of the roots will get burned, and the plant will stop growing for at least two weeks. You can and should use chicken manure, but before that you need to put it in a barrel (a bucket with 100 liters of water) and let it ferment; and then dilute one liter of solution in a bucket of water. Only after this, proceed with application, and then only if you have found out which plant to water and when, what the norm is, and they can be different. Remember: you cannot apply nitrogen fertilizers, even in the form of a solution, later than July. In this case, the plants will begin to actively grow and will not have time to complete growth before frost. And here fertilizing with phosphorus and potassium in this period will contribute to the formation of flower buds and better ripening of wood.
Feeding with complete fertilizer
Filling with fertilizers gives good results, especially complete fertilizer, who, as is known, is humus, or well-rotted manure, or compost with the addition of mineral fertilizers. It is necessary to add complete fertilizer to the soil before planting trees. After 2-3 years, depending on the provision of water to the site, it can be repeated. Compost is made from organic plant residues and food waste. They must be placed in heaps and covered with earth, not allowing them to dry out. It is useful to add superphosphate to compost. It can be used after complete reheating.
