Apple trees feel great in most of our country and do not need to create special conditions of detention. But they also need care and attention. It is especially important to properly prepare the orchard for the winter.
Caring for apples in the fall includes:
- harvesting;
- watering and top dressing;
- soil preparation for winter;
- cleaning and whitewashing of trees;
- protection of trunks from rodents and severe frosts.
Pleasant chores: harvesting
In September, the fruits of most apple trees ripen. They are carefully collected by hands, after putting on cloth gloves. In order for apples to be stored for a long time, it is important to maintain the integrity of the skin and a protective matte coating.
Immediately after collecting the fruit, the tree crowns must be treated with urea solution. This is a good scab prevention.
Feeding and watering
In early September, full-fledged apple care continues. In autumn, it is necessary to saturate the tissues of trees with water - this will increase their frost resistance. One apple tree, depending on weather conditions and the size of the crown, requires 5 to 20 buckets of liquid. The earth should be moistened to a depth of 1-1.5 m.
It is desirable to combine watering with top dressing so that fertilizers are better absorbed by the roots. They do not use nitrogen in the fall: now trees need phosphorus and potassium. You can buy ready-made autumn fertilizers for the orchard, or make a solution yourself. On a bucket of water is taken 1 tbsp. l potassium and 2 tablespoons of double superphosphate. This is the norm for 1 m 2 .
Preparing the earth for the cold
Caring for apples in the fall primarily begins with soil cultivation. Its pH should be 6.0-6.5. Plant debris and foliage in which pests can hibernate should be removed.
Around the trunks, the earth is dug up with a pitchfork to a depth of 10-15 cm, between rows - by 20 cm. No clods need to be broken. This will allow the earth to absorb more moisture and destroy the parasites living in the upper layers of the soil.
Care for young apple trees must necessarily include hilling trunks and mulching trunks circles with compost, peat or rotted manure. Fresh organics can not be used.
Trunk cleaning and sanitary pruning
Before winter, apple trees are carefully inspected, moss and lichens are carefully cleaned with a wooden scraper. Affected areas are treated with copper sulphate and garden var. You also need to remove the old bark - harmful insects like to hide under it. All garbage after this procedure must be burned.
Pruning of apple trees is carried out at a temperature not lower than +5 0 C. First, dry and broken branches are cut. Then weak, closely spaced shoots and branches growing at an acute angle are removed.
Young apple trees are pruned weakly. Caring for old apple trees includes medium or heavy pruning to increase the number of productive branches and rejuvenate the crown. All sections are processed by garden var.
Whitewashing trees
Apple trees are treated with copper sulphate or urea before the winter cold, then the trunks and skeletal branches should be whitened.
Processing is carried out in dry weather. Young trees are covered with chalk solution. Older apple trees - a mixture of 3 kg of slaked lime, 1 kg of mullein and 1 kg of clay per bucket of water. It is advisable to coat the branches as high as possible, where the hand will get. This reduces the risk of frostbites and provides a more complete care for apple trees.
In autumn, it is imperative to close the trunks from mice and hares with spruce, burlap or heavy paper.