Disputes regarding planting pits for fruit tree seedlings are being waged not only by amateur gardeners, but also by agronomists. Some refer to their personal experiences, others quote excerpts from books and magazines. In all cases, professional and amateur gardeners with extensive experience in planting fruit trees convincingly justify their method of preparing planting holes. How can one not listen to the opinion of those people who laid out collective farm gardens, created nurseries or planted fruit trees on their own plots?
I had to plant more than one tree. I always prepared the planting hole with special care. I wanted the seedling to be provided with the necessary nutrition at least until it gains strength and is able to independently extract all the necessary substances from the bowels of the earth. Even today I believe that the tree needs to create the most comfortable conditions that would help the rapid growth of the root system.
According to some gardeners, with my zeal I am not helping, but complicating the growth of seedlings. I create greenhouse conditions for them and pamper them. This year I plan to plant a couple more seedlings. I haven’t decided yet whether I’ll prepare good-quality planting holes for them or whether I’ll risk planting the trees directly in loam. This is why the informed opinion of experienced gardeners is so important to me.
Ivan Vladimirovich Michurin had extensive experience in successfully planting fruit trees. Here is what he wrote about planting three-year-old grafted seedlings:
In a word, the dimensions of the depth of tillage in planting pits must be consistent with the shape and size of the root system of the plant being planted. In addition, the dimensions of the depth of the holes also depend on the composition and thickness of the soil layer, on the composition of the subsoil and, finally, on location conditions. Planting holes in general should be approximately the size required to freely accommodate the roots of the planted tree, i.e., for example, when planting three-year-old apple trees, pears, cherries, plums, peaches and apricots grafted on vigorous rootstocks, the depth of the planting hole is not must exceed an arshin. (I.V. Michurin “The size of planting holes for fruit trees”).
For reference: 1 arshin = 0.7112 m, i.e. approximately 70 cm.
I.V. Michurin clarifies that the depth of the planting hole can increase when the subsoil is rocky or silty. Sometimes under the soil layer there are deposits of compressed undecomposed manure, layers of peat, etc. In this case, the planting holes need to be deepened to make it possible to remove these layers or dilute them with soil of good composition.
The dimensions of the planting holes must correspond to the requirements of the rootstocks. So, if the rootstock has a predominantly horizontal root system (Siberian berry apple tree), then the depth of the planting hole should be shallower than for a rootstock with roots penetrating deep subsoil layers (European or Caucasian forest apple tree). On dwarf rootstocks (paradise) there are smaller planting holes. Pears grafted onto quince or hawthorn require a shallower planting hole than those grafted onto wild forest pears.
I.V. Michurin knew well which plant (rootstock) he was grafting this or that crop (scion). Unfortunately, I, an ordinary amateur gardener, do not have such information. I buy a ready-made grafted seedling without knowing its history. Therefore, “average” recommendations, the logic of which will be clear to me, are more important to me.
It is necessary to make holes somewhat deeper than normal sizes when planting trees on high, dry, very sandy soils, as well as on steep slopes, if the latter have not been previously processed in the form of wide terraces.
And regarding the dimensions of the width of the planting hole, it must be said that there is no point in making them too wide, they should only be of such a size that the roots of the planted tree can fit into them freely without bending. (I.V. Michurin “The size of planting holes for fruit trees”).
I.V. Michurin advises that roots that are too long should be shortened rather than bent. He believes that excessively wide planting holes are not necessary, since the tree quickly outgrows their boundaries and ceases to need them. More benefit, in his opinion, will come from fertilizing with fertilizers, which are applied in the second or third year after planting.
There is another interesting technique that I have heard about from modern agronomists. The soil around the planting hole is dug up in a ring to a depth of three-quarters of an arshin, and a width of two to three-quarters of an arshin.
... and you should not be afraid if during such digging the ends of the roots protruding beyond the boundary of the hole are cut off with a shovel. This will only benefit by forcing the roots to branch more in loose soil. (I.V. Michurin “The size of planting holes for fruit trees”).
U I.V. Michurin has a short guide article entitled “How to start planting?” In it, the author suggests first digging up the soil in the place where the trees will be planted to the depth of two full bayonets of a shovel. If there was a vegetable garden in this place, then no fertilizers should be added. After planting and watering, rotted manure is placed on the ground around the seedling.
Many of us remember the television programs hosted by B.A. Popov, and read his books, which have become classics of gardening. He was an excellent specialist. I have a book by B.A. Popov’s “Home Garden”, which provides detailed instructions for preparing a planting hole:
For planting one- and two-year-old seedlings of berry crops, holes are prepared with a diameter of 60 cm and a depth of 40 cm. If older plants are transplanted, the diameter of the planting site is increased. On rich garden lands, only the top layer of soil is added to the planting hole, replacing the lower horizons with it.
On loamy and clayey soils of medium fertility, the lower soil horizon is replaced with the upper one, adding 1 - 2 buckets of humus or compost to the lower part. 300 - 400 g of phosphate rock or bone meal and 40 - 50 g of superphosphate are also added there. If there is only superphosphate, then put 200 g of it on the pit. Of the potash fertilizers, it is best to add wood ash - 400 g per pit or 50 - 70 g of potassium sulfate.
On sandy soils, the same fertilizers are added to the planting hole with the addition of 1 - 2 buckets of silt, or clay, or 3 - 4 buckets of peat; on peat soils - the same mineral fertilizers, but increase the dose of organic fertilizer to 2 - 4 buckets. On all soils, the root system of seedlings when planting them is covered with a mixture of upper, more fertile soil with peat in a 1: 1 ratio. (B.A. Popov “Home Garden”).
I grew up listening to lectures and books by Oktyabrina Ganichkina and I consider her opinion valuable. But sometimes she suggests more fertilizer than I find acceptable.
O. Ganichkina advises preparing planting holes two weeks before planting fruit trees.
For planting apple trees, pears and cherries, holes with a diameter of 80 - 100 cm, a depth of 60 - 70 cm are needed, for cherries and plums - a diameter of 80 cm, a depth of 60 cm. The walls of the planting hole must be vertical.
When digging a planting hole, the excavated soil from the arable (upper) horizon must be placed on one side of the hole, and from the subarable (lower) layers - on the other. In places where the top layer of soil has been removed, holes for planting trees are dug wider and deeper by 10 - 15 cm and filled with compost, turf soil and fertilizers taken in higher doses than usual. (“The Big Book of the Gardener and Vegetable Gardener, edited by O. Ganichkina”).
O. Ganichkina recommends carefully loosening the bottom of the planting hole with a shovel to a depth of 20 - 30 cm. Further filling of the hole depends on the composition and structure of the soil. So, at the bottom of a planting hole with sandy soil you need to lay a layer of clay up to 15 cm. This technique will allow you to retain water.
A stake is driven into the center of the pit (5 - 6 cm thick and 1.3 - 1.5 m long). Then 2 - 4 buckets of humus or rotted manure are poured into a mound. The main goal of filling a planting hole with fertilizers is to accumulate nutrients in the root zone of the soil in a form accessible to plants for as long as possible.
With a planting hole size of 60 x 100 cm, the rate of application of organic fertilizers is 20 - 30 kg (2 - 3 buckets). Organic fertilizers introduced into the planting pit must be well decomposed, otherwise, when they get into the lower part of the planting pit, the undecomposed elements of organic fertilizers, due to a lack of oxygen, decompose poorly, releasing ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, which negatively affect plant roots.
Organic fertilizers with a low degree of decomposition (litter manure, immature composts) are not applied to the planting hole, but are used to mulch the tree trunk in the first and second years after planting.
Well-decomposed organic fertilizers can be applied to the planting hole; they must be mixed with the soil intended for filling the planting hole.
O. Ganichkina does not recommend introducing nitrogen mineral fertilizers such as nitrophoska, nitroammophoska, ammophos and potassium nitrate into planting pits. They have a bad effect on the survival rate and further growth of the seedling. It is better to apply other mineral fertilizers. 200 g of phosphate fertilizers, 1 kg of granulated superphosphate, 500 g of double superphosphate, 50 g of potassium fertilizer, 130 g of potassium sulfate and 100 g of potassium chloride are added to the pit (100 x 60 cm). These fertilizers are poured into the bottom of the planting hole and mixed with a small amount of soil.
O. Ganichkina considers it necessary to use wood ash: 1 kg per planting hole measuring 100 x 60 cm. When filling planting holes, it is important to take into account that stone fruits and berry bushes are less “gluttonous” than pome fruit trees.
The editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Your 6 Sotok”, chairman of the Moscow Union of Gardeners, also gives several recommendations.
Holes can be dug round, square, in the form of a trench and even triangular. The main thing is that the walls are strictly vertical and not beveled into a cone. This is necessary for uniform soil settlement. In a cone-shaped hole, subsidence will be much stronger in the center and weaker at the edges, which will adversely affect the root system of the seedling. (A. Tumanov “Garden and vegetable garden in questions and answers”).
A. Tumanov does not recommend polishing the walls of the planting pit, especially on clay soils. This, he believes, can lead to the hole becoming a “clay pot” that will impede the growth of the root system and air exchange. It is better to make notches on the walls of the planting pit with a shovel and loosen the bottom to a depth of 10 - 15 cm.
Lately there has been more and more talk about low-labor gardening. In the books of N.I. Kurdyumov has a description of planting pits that are prepared for fruit trees.
On dry soils, planting holes protect the roots from drying out. In addition, they must provide the trees with the necessary nutrition.
It is better to dig holes with canopy so that frost destroys the bottom and walls, expanding the zone of free penetration of roots. In this case, the top, fertile layer is folded on one side, and the subsoil on the other, so that when planting they can be swapped. The minimum pit size is 50 x 50 x 50 cm, and for large trees it is wider: the pit is the same as a pot, and the larger it is, the longer the trees will develop well without needing fertilizer. (N.I. Kurdyumov “Smart garden and cunning vegetable garden”)
On moist soils prone to waterlogging, planting holes are not made. Tree seedlings are planted in boxes in which the planting hole is raised above the ground.
To do this, it’s a good idea to create a low “formwork” (for example, knocked down from boards) approximately 1 by 1 meter wide. Inside this “box” you need to dig up the soil with a bayonet, flavoring it with organic matter for better penetration of roots. Now we pour a compost cone in the center, distribute roots and organic matter (rotted sawdust, leaves, compost or rotted straw manure) over the cone. Now the mixture holds moisture well, but quickly becomes saturated with air. Having filled the “box” with the mixture, we cover it with 7 - 10 cm of soil mixture and plan a mound with a flat top from it. Of course, the entire structure must be covered with mulch - then drought won’t be a problem.
In both cases, it is useful to take into account that the earth will completely settle in six months, and its settlement will be 5 - 8 cm.
In a planting hole or trench with a width of at least 60 cm and a depth of no more than 50 cm, you need to add soil mixture (per 1 sq.m): organic fertilizers - at least 3 buckets, lime - 400 - 800 g, phosphorus - 40 - 60 cm, potassium - 20 - 30 g of active ingredient. Mix everything evenly. (N.M. Zvonarev “Cherry, sweet cherry. Varieties, cultivation, care, preparations”).
All these opinions turned out to be valuable to me. Even if I don’t agree with some individual recommendations. But they have the main thing: very authoritative authors consider it necessary to prepare planting holes, and not to plant fruit trees “in virgin lands.” There are different options for filling planting holes with organic and mineral fertilizers, but the choice is always ours.
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The term " landing pit“came to us from those times when only suitable soils with optimal groundwater levels were used for gardens. But later, waste lands with a wide variety of soils, close proximity to groundwater, or periodic waterlogging of the soil began to be occupied by gardens. In such conditions, it is impossible to use any universal method of pre-planting soil preparation.
The term “seat”, used, in particular, by Academician of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences G.T. Kazmin. This concept covers both planting pits and pitless planting of seedlings. And yet, the main thing is not in the name, but in the correct method of planting and local pre-planting soil improvement, in which the soil is enriched with nutrients and its physical properties are corrected. After planting the plant, it will become impossible to cultivate the soil to the required depth in the place where the seedling will be placed due to its root system.
An experiment at the Moscow Fruit and Berry Experimental Station indicated at one time that the fertility of the soil filling the planting holes greatly affects the survival rate of plants, their initial growth and speed of entry into fruiting. Thus, with good filling of the planting pits, all the apple trees of the Autumn Striped variety bloomed even in the third year after planting, and the apple trees planted in the pits without filling the soil bloomed only 60% (later on, these trees produced a smaller harvest). Thus, it has been proven that one-time filling of the soil has a positive effect for several years. In the described experiment, apple trees placed in well-dressed soil during planting produced an average of 10-12 kg of fruit per tree in the 6th year, while apple trees that did not receive dressing produced only 1.5 kg.
The results of my long-term observations of plant development also coincide with the conclusions of scientists.
When planning to plant any crop in the garden, you need to know what conditions it needs.
For example, growing apple and pear trees works better on slightly acidic (pH about 5.5-6.5), fairly loose, fertile, well-moistened soils - light chernozem, deeply cultivated light and medium loamy soils. Groundwater should be located no closer than 1.5-2 m from the surface of the earth. In waterlogged areas, tree growth slows down, crowns become dry, and plants gradually dry out and die.
The first garden in which I began working in the late 70s of the last century was located on a very gentle eastern slope, and its sandy loam soil was underlain by quicksand. The thickness of the fertile layer ranged from 5 cm in the upper part to 25 cm at the bottom of the site. The groundwater level fluctuated around 2 m. Working with the soil here was not difficult - it’s not for nothing that such soils are called light; they also have good breathability. In the spring, the garden was cleared of snow cover sooner than nearby areas with clay soil, and work with the soil could begin about a week earlier than on clay soil. In autumn, on the contrary, the sandy loam cooled faster and deeper, the roots of plants completed their growth in a timely manner, which increased the winter hardiness of the trees.
Organic fertilizers applied here rotted more quickly than on clay soil, while at the same time the roots of garden plants on light soil penetrate deeply. The main disadvantage of such soil is that it does not retain water well.
Due to its free leaching, mobile nutrients are quickly washed out of the root layer and become inaccessible to plants. On light soils, there is often a lack of moisture in the root layer, and as you know, plant roots absorb nutrients from the soil only in the form of a solution, and therefore plant nutrition is difficult. At the same time, increased doses of fertilizers with a lack of water harm the development of roots. To improve sandy soils, organic matter is introduced into them - manure, humus, peat, etc., as well as inorganic substances - clay, vermiculite, perlite, etc.
Comparing the fruits obtained from sandy loam soil, with the same fruits grown on clay soil, I noticed that the first of them were less juicy and had a less pronounced taste. I found confirmation of my discovery in the work of Doctor of Agricultural Sciences SP. Yakovleva. He writes: “... the pear reacts negatively to sandy and generally light soils. Pear fruits grown in poor soils are often bitter, sour, dry and full of granules, while those grown in nearby areas containing ample amounts of clay and organic matter produce good-tasting fruits.”
When cultivating garden soil, you cannot do without knowledge of its basic characteristics. Thus, the mechanical composition is determined as follows: if it is not possible to roll a ball out of wet soil, it is sand; It is impossible to roll a cord from sandy loam, and the resulting ball crumbles when pressed lightly; it is not possible to roll a long cord out of loam, and the compressed ball forms a cake with cracks at the edges; the clay forms a long thin cord, and the ball is compressed into a cake without cracking at the edges.
About acidity gr Unta can be judged by the weeds growing on it. On acidic soils, small sorrel, horsetail, lanceolate plantain, fireweed, sedge, etc. primarily develop. The predominance of wild clover, chamomile, coltsfoot, and field bindweed (birch) in the grass stand indicates the absence of increased acidity. As the soil becomes acidified, its structure deteriorates, soil lumps crumble into dust, and the soil becomes structureless, its water and air permeability deteriorates. Acidic soil is unfavorable for the development of most beneficial bacteria, which, in turn, negatively affects the nutrition of garden plants.
The priority work in my first garden was the replacement of outdated varieties of apple and pear trees, planted back in the 50s of the last century, with modern varieties at that time with larger and higher quality fruits. After uprooting the haphazardly planted old trees, it was necessary to begin planting new ones. Then I first used a scheme for planting garden plants, called a “ladder” for convenience. Its meaning was that along the long northern side of the site the tallest and most winter-hardy trees should be planted in a row, covering the garden from cold winds, and shorter and less winter-hardy plants should be placed in the second row. A significant part of the free southern side was occupied by a vegetable garden, which created conditions for mechanized cultivation of the land with a walk-behind tractor or cultivator. Shrubs were planted along the perimeter of the site: cherry, currant, honeysuckle, raspberry. With this planting scheme, plants receive the maximum possible lighting.
Along with uprooting old trees, leveling the soil surface and marking planting holes, it was necessary to import the materials necessary for planting holes: humus, peat, double superphosphate, potassium sulfate. Recycling garden waste provided free compost and wood ash. Since I planned to add only fertile soil to the planting holes instead of removing infertile soil, I had to purchase that too. Since the soil in the garden was poor, when calculating, the diameter of the planting holes was increased to 130 cm instead of the recommended 100 cm for land of average fertility, and the depth was left at 60 cm.
I determined the volume of a round pit using the formula: 1.3 x 1.3 x 0.6 x 0.8 = 0.8 m3, where 1.3 is the diameter of the landing pit; 0.6 – depth of the landing pit; 0.8 is a rounded figure obtained by dividing TT (3.14) by 4.
In this case, it corresponds to 80 buckets. By increasing the volume of the pit, it was necessary to increase the proposed amount of fertilizer applied. To each planting hole I added 4 buckets of humus, 3 buckets of compost, 0.8 kg of double superphosphate, 1.6 kg of wood ash or 320 g of potassium sulfate. Also, to improve the physical properties of the soil and to further enrich it with nutrients, I filled in 21 buckets of well-decomposed, aerated peat. (When used for fertilizer, peat must be ventilated, i.e. kept in heaps with free access of air for some time. Peat loses some of its moisture, and oxide chemical compounds harmful to plants turn into oxide ones. After aeration, the activity of microorganisms increases.) The best way to prepare peat application is the preparation of peat manure composts, where 1-3 parts of peat are added to 1 part of manure.
I have seen from my own experience how sensitively plant roots react to its presence. It was necessary to take some of the peat from the pile, which, for lack of another place, I placed under the apple tree. It was a great surprise when it was discovered that the entire heap was literally riddled with apple roots. Later I became acquainted with the work of Z.A. Metlitsky, where, based on experiments at the TSHA fruit experimental station, he argued that “... the restoration of roots and the growth of above-ground parts of apple tree seedlings greatly improved when peat was added. The total weight of the roots in the variant with peat after a year was 3 times, and the length of small overgrowing roots was tens of times higher than in other variants.” But you need to remember that peat is very slow and does not allow water to pass through it. When introduced dry during planting, it will remain dry for an extremely long time, sometimes for years, when watered from above. Therefore, it is necessary to pour it into the pits wet.
While preparing places for new plants, I had to dig up planting holes more than a dozen years after they were created. There was no trace left of the introduced humus, and peat was found in small quantities. Thus, it turned out that peat rots much more slowly than humus.
Digging planting pits with vertical walls, I deepened them to 65 cm and poured a 5 cm thick layer of clay on the bottom. This technique improved the moisture supply of the seedling on sandy loam soil. To facilitate the work of mixing the soil, I laid it in three layers. In the lower (40-60 cm deep) and middle (20-40 cm) layers, 1/2 of the amount of compost and 1/3 of the amount of peat, double superphosphate, wood ash or potassium sulfate were added, intended to fill the hole. Having mixed these layers one by one and scraping the soil away from the placement site, he vertically installed an asbestos-cement or metal pipe 65 cm long and 10 cm in diameter 10 cm from the pit wall. The lower end of the pipe was located at a depth of 50 cm.
On on the opposite side of the pit he installed a second pipe of the same type, after which I filled in the top layer of soil with the addition of compost instead of humus and a third of the remaining fertilizers. I have learned from experience that soil subsidence in planting pits very much depends on the amount of organic matter added to them - the more organic matter, the more the soil subsides during its mineralization. Following literary recommendations about the height of the mound of the planting pit exceeding the adjacent surface of the site by 3-4 cm led to the fact that over the years the trees found themselves in a depression that threatened them with getting wet or damping off. Therefore, I made the mound height 12 cm if peat was added along with other organic fertilizers, and 6 cm if peat was not added.
Certainly, installation of pipes in planting pits makes their preparation somewhat more complicated and expensive, but at the same time it creates a number of advantages compared to the conventional method. The consumption of irrigation water is reduced, which goes directly to the roots of the young tree and does not contribute to the development of weeds in the planting hole. Since air humidity practically does not increase during watering, the risk of fungal diseases does not increase. By regulating the flow of warm or cold atmospheric air to tree roots by opening or closing pipes with wooden or foam plastic plugs, it is possible to some extent accelerate or slow down the beginning and end of the growing season of plants, promoting their development, increasing winter hardiness and reducing the risk of overheating.
High-quality seedlings of pome crops, planted by me in the planting pits described above and formed by removing all unnecessary germinating buds and growing green shoots, grew literally before our eyes, annually growing by 60-80 cm. Almost all apple and pear trees produced their first harvest in the 4th year , rapidly increasing it every year.
Not without a fly in the ointment. Having accidentally acquired an apricot seedling, in order not to waste time, I planted it in a hole prepared for an apple tree, only increasing the height of the mound above it to 25 cm to prevent the seedling’s bark from heating up.
The apricot literally went crazy from the soil richly seasoned with organic and mineral fertilizers and began to produce powerful growths, reaching up to 2 m. The annual branches, which did not have time to ripen before the end of the growing season, froze heavily in the coming winter. In my defense, I can only say that at the end of the last century, many of my fellow countrymen knew nothing about agricultural technology, neither apricots nor cherries. Only after gaining experience working with these crops and becoming familiar with the works of our famous scientists, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences. M.V. Kan-shina, Ph.D. T.V. Eremeeva, Ph.D. L.A. Kramarenko, I realized that stone fruit crops are very sensitive to excess fertilizers and the amount of the latter should be significantly less than for pome crops.
After many years I had to plant a garden in a former oat field, it was located at the top of a gentle southeastern slope. Represented by heavy loam, turning into light clay at the top of the site, the soil was underlain by clay that was almost impermeable to water. The humus layer was 5-10 cm thick in the upper part of the garden, in the lower part it reached 30 cm. The groundwater level did not fall below 1.5 m. The natural drainage of excess moisture was ensured by a difference in heights of the upper and lower boundaries of the site of 1 m.
Having decided on the size of the garden house and its location, I removed and separately stored the fertile soil from the site planned for building the house. Subsequently, it, together with the earth cut from the hillocks, filled up the depressions and planting holes. After leveling the garden surface, I prepared to plant plants, for which I brought river sand, fertile soil, as well as organic fertilizers (humus, peat) and mineral fertilizers (double superphosphate, potassium sulfate, fluff lime). Subsequently, I used local fertilizers that were still accumulating - compost, wood ash.
While working in the new garden, I noticed that there is no need for frequent watering and fertilizing, and the main problem is the dense and viscous soil, which does not allow water and air to pass through well. It was hard not only for me when working with the soil, it was also hard for the plants to develop their root system, it was hard even for shovels, which broke with enviable frequency. Once dry, the garden soil became an almost insurmountable barrier for them. Over time, I found a way out of this situation: before digging up dry soil or preparing a planting hole in it, I water it, and after some time you can work without excessive effort.
The first new arrivals in the garden were 2 apricot seedlings, planted for protection from cold north-west winds in the lower part of the plot. I dug planting holes for them with a diameter of 100 cm and a depth of 50 cm, completely filling them with fertile soil with the addition of 1.5 buckets of humus, 300 g of double superphosphate, 90 g of potassium sulfate, 100 g of vesti-fluff, to give looseness I also added 6 buckets of river sand in each hole. The soil was laid in layers with thorough mixing throughout the entire volume of the pits. The height of the mounds above the surrounding soil after backfilling was completed was 15 cm.
Various methods are proposed for cultivating trees in such conditions.
For example, to raise the level of the site due to the imported pound, of which a huge amount needs to be brought in - at least 25-50 tons per 100 sq. m. m, then do a deep transshipment, mixing imported soil, sand and fertilizers. Thus, conditions for growing fruit crops will be created in a short time. Another, cheaper and less labor-intensive method was proposed by the famous gardener N. Gaucher at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. Its essence is that a mound of also fertilized soil 50-60 cm high is poured onto the selected fertilized and dug up area. A seedling is planted on its top.
These methods have their advantages and disadvantages. In particular, due to the periodic overfilling of the mound, a seedling planted on it that does not yet have a developed root system will suffer from soil drought more often than one growing on a flat surface. In addition, these methods do not at all exclude draining the area to remove excess water.
At first the seedlings developed successfully, but later the unexpected happened. Beginning gardeners gradually filled up the road that ran below the site with clay taken from their gardens, which, under the wheels of cars and the feet of pedestrians, turned into a clay castle, tightly blocking the flow of excess moisture from the site. In the summer, there were long rains, and the lower part of the garden began to become swampy, and the planting holes, with soil less dense than the surrounding soil, became death traps for plants, filling with groundwater. The death of apricots was inevitable. The question arose: what to do?
To lower the groundwater level I first dug a drainage ditch as deep as possible under the conditions of my garden. In this trench, 80 cm deep and 30 cm wide, I poured coarse gravel in a layer of 10 cm and laid 1.5-meter cuttings of asbestos-cement pipes on it with a gap of 1 cm between them, after which I added more coarse gravel to a depth of 40 cm. The next layer was 20 cm thick. cm, he poured crushed stone on which he placed pieces of rectangular turf, 30 cm wide, with their roots up. He finally filled the ditch with garden soil mixed with river sand.
Upon completion of the drainage work, I prepared planting holes with a diameter of 100 cm and a depth of 50 cm for pear and apple trees in the upper part of the site. I filled them with fertile soil, adding 2 buckets of compost, 3 humus, 6 peat to each, to loosen the soil I added 4.5 buckets of river sand, from mineral fertilizers I added 400 g of double superphosphate, 200 g of potassium sulfate, 400 g lime fluff. The height of the mound of the finished planting pit above the surrounding soil was 10-12 cm.
After purchasing the walk-behind tractor, excavation work both in the garden and when preparing planting holes became much easier. Having scattered organic and mineral fertilizers, sand, and fluff lime over the surface of the area intended for plowing, he loosened the soil with cultivators to a depth of 25 cm.
If the plowed area was intended for preparing planting holes, after marking the holes were dug, taking into account the subsequent subsidence of the surrounding soil. The work went much faster and easier. Several years after such cultivation of the land, I noticed that the sand was gradually settling in the form of a thin layer in the lower part of the cultivated soil. Therefore, I began to replace river sand with fine granulated metallurgical slag in planting pits and in the garden.
Understanding that in the lower part of the garden the groundwater is above the optimal level of 1.5-2 m, in the places intended for planting trees, I installed 2 wooden boxes measuring 2 × 2 m and 30 cm high.
Their inner surface was soaked with used machine oil. A mixture of fertile soil, peat and sand was poured into the boxes in a ratio of 5:1:1. After settling in them, Pound dug planting holes there and planted an apple tree in one and an apricot in the other. Considering that apricot does not tolerate excess fertilizer and is afraid of damping off, the soil for it was filled as for the dead apricots described, and a mound was made for it 30 cm high.
In addition to the listed measures, pyramidal poplar brought from the banks of the Volga helps in the fight against excess moisture. To the surprise of everyone, it grows in the lower part of the site, without freezing or getting sick, sucking out excess water from the soil and evaporating.
It would seem that it could be simpler than digging a hole for planting an apple tree. However, experienced gardeners and specialists know that this is a whole science. Having mastered it, you will not only forget about planting new seedlings every year in place of the missing ones, but you will also get healthy and fruitful trees that will delight you with their juicy and healthy apples. Let's try to figure out how to prepare a hole for planting an apple tree in the fall and spring, what the soil characteristics are, and much more. Let's start with the most important thing.
The first thing a novice gardener should learn is when to dig a hole. Experts advise doing this in advance. And not just before planting the seedling. Thus, preparing a hole for planting an apple tree in the fall should be carried out at least six months before planting the tree. And for planting work in the spring, at least three months must pass.
This is done in order to strengthen the walls of the pit. They will later retain fertile soil and prevent it from eroding when groundwater changes. As a rule, inexperienced gardeners cannot meet this requirement. This results in meager tree growth, poor trunk development and late fruiting, if the seedling survives at all.
The apple tree can be planted in early spring or autumn. Practice shows that trees take root better if they are planted for the winter. Although, if all the rules are followed, the seedlings grow well in the spring, because frosts will not be coming soon.
An important nuance: the distance between the trees in the garden. You cannot plant seedlings very close, because in the future they will become large trees and begin to block the sun from each other, preventing normal growth. Therefore, the distance between trees is completely determined by the size of the trees when mature. So, for large apple trees you need to retreat 5-6 meters, for decorative small varieties - 3-4 meters.
The progress of the preparatory work, after the pit has stood, is as follows:
Now regarding the digging itself. It's better to do it manually. You need to carefully remove the top words, it will be reused. The bottom of the hole itself can be thoroughly loosened with a crowbar or dug up so that the young horse system can break through the thickness of the coarse soil. Sometimes you have to put drainage at the bottom. To do this, you can use broken bricks or other materials.
You plant the seedling with prepared soil, but we will talk about the composition later.
When preparing a hole for planting, it is also worth remembering that the tree loves cultivated soil with neutral characteristics. It is on such land, with sufficient watering, that the apple tree will grow well.
Before planting, analyze how saturated the soil is with water. If there has been a recent rainstorm, delay planting for a few days. If, on the contrary, there was a drought, you need to additionally water the hole so that the tree is better accepted. It is also important to remove any extraneous roots that are found in the hole. They can interfere with the normal growth of the young root system.
How to plant an apple tree seedling correctly and what size hole should be made. Let's talk about this now.
We dig a hole by hand. What size is suitable for an apple tree? There is no clear answer to this question. The size of the planting hole depends on the seedlings themselves, their age and the type of tree. For example, columnar varieties of apple trees in the first year of life can be planted in a hole measuring 50 by 50 cm. While ordinary varieties require a planting hole more than a meter wide and deep. Only in this case will the planted apple tree grow normally.
Planting holes for apple trees are also prepared taking into account the size of the root system of the seedling. But this factor is difficult to predict 3 months or six months in advance. Therefore, the average size of the root system is taken into account. Thus, the hole for the apple tree of the second year of life of the most popular varieties will have dimensions of 1-1.20 m. For seedlings of dwarf apple trees, you can dig a hole of smaller sizes (50-70 cm).
There is no need to prove that planting an apple tree in fertile, micronutrient-rich soil will bring good results. Regardless of whether you are going to plant an apple tree on clay, peat, sand, black soil or loam, it is very important to plant the tree in the right soil. You can prepare it yourself. Typically, for one tree you will need to prepare the following nutrient mixture:
Most often, half the hole is filled with this mixture. The rest is the fertile soil and subsoil that we left when we dug the hole in advance. Mix the mixture with our soil and fill the hole.
It happens that instead of ash they put 150 grams of potassium sulfate or 100 grams of potassium chloride.
Nothing bad will happen if you don’t have the specified chemical fertilizers on hand. The apple tree will grow well with only organic fertilizers, such as humus or compost. Fertilizers with nitrogen are usually not added to the filling mixture due to the fact that they impair the survival rate of the apple tree. This also applies to lime, which is best avoided when planting an apple tree.
It is also important to know the composition of the soil where you are going to plant the tree. If it is clay or loam, then you can use special purchased soils or plant the apple tree with the soil that was in the nursery (sometimes you can find seedlings with soil).
Caution: Do not add fresh manure, especially chicken manure, to the nutrient mixture. This is poison for the root system of the tree. The fact is that when it gets to the bottom of the pit with a low oxygen content, it begins to weakly decompose and release ammonia and hydrogen sulfide. These substances poison the root system of the apple tree.
If you are planting a seedling on sandy soil, you can dilute it with loamy soil in a layer of about 10 cm. This will reduce water permeability and improve the growth of the apple tree. Sandy soil often lacks magnesium. Therefore, it can be used as a fertilizer on an ongoing basis.
The planting hole, after planting and compacting the earth, should be approximately 20 cm above ground level. This is done because the earth shrinks over time and even forms a depression around the tree. Another important nuance: the location of the neck. She:
Otherwise, the tree may rot or die if, for example, a hare eats a lot of bark in winter, or the neck is hidden far into the ground.
Planting an apple tree in the right soil is one thing. But you can also improve fertility indicators on the entire plot of land. This is because the root system of an adult tree can reach ten meters, and the soil was prepared only a meter around the tree. And an adult tree also needs valuable microelements, just like a seedling.
To do this, you can dig up or cultivate an area near or around the apple trees. Usually digging with one bayonet is enough. Then it is possible to achieve neutral soil parameters, which are ideal for an apple tree.
On clay, be sure to dig the soil with a cultivator or by hand about 40 cm deep every spring. To improve the chemical composition of the soil, you need to add 15 kg of sawdust, 50 kg of sand and 10 kg of humus per 1 square meter. You can also add half a kilogram of lime, 150 grams of fertilizer, 50 grams of superphosphate and 50 grams of potassium. The area around the apple trees can be sown with green manure in the spring.
On peat you need to dig it up to 25 cm deep. Apply 2 kg of humus or compost, 100 grams of phosphorus flour, 150 grams of complex fertilizers with phosphate and 1 kg of lime to a few square meters of land.
On sand, soil preparation is not so difficult. It is necessary to dig up an area of 50 cm. Then 50 kg of clay is added per square meter to reduce water permeability, 10 kg of organic fertilizers, 700 grams of lime and a little potassium.
There are a lot of nuances, when and how it is better to plant a plant, rather than fertilize it, etc. Let's give a few gardening secrets:
The apple tree is one of the most popular trees grown in summer cottages. Gardeners usually plant several varieties at once. In order for them to grow well and subsequently delight them with a rich harvest, it is necessary to correctly select and apply fertilizers for the apple tree when planting.
Apple trees are planted either in spring or autumn. The best time to plant apple trees is from April 20 or September 20. The first step is to prepare a hole for the seedling. To do this you will need to do the following:
The dimensions of the pit depend on the varieties of seedlings, and their depth and width are also affected by how much the soil has been processed. For example, if digging was carried out and the soil on the site is fertile, then you can dig a small hole. The size will be sufficient to accommodate the roots of the seedlings. Optimal sizes: 35x30 cm or 40x35 cm.
In those areas where no digging was carried out, the hole will be much larger - 100x70 cm. When there is crushed stone or clay at the site where the apple tree will grow, the hole should be at least 100x100 cm. 
It is recommended to prepare a place for seedlings in advance. If a tree is planted in the spring, the pit is prepared in the fall. To grow dwarf apple trees, planting holes must be made so that the diameter is 90 cm. The hole is dug to a depth of 40 cm. Potassium, phosphorus, humus, and mullein are used for fertilizing.
For slightly larger trees, the diameter of the hole is required to be at least 100 cm, while the depth is 50 cm. A place for planting seedlings is dug in a round shape. The walls are made vertical. It is recommended to use only fertile soil for filling holes. Mineral and organic fertilizers for planting apple trees are mixed with the soil.
This species is planted in a lighted place. It is important to provide a support for the seedlings that will protect them from strong winds. The diameter and depth of the hole for planting columnar varieties of apple trees should be 100 cm. The distance between seedlings is 50 cm, and between rows at least 100 cm.
How to improve productivity?We are constantly receiving letters in which amateur gardeners are worried that due to the cold summer this year there will be a poor harvest of potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, and other vegetables. Last year we published TIPS on this matter. But unfortunately, many did not listen, but some still applied. Here is a report from our reader, we would like to recommend plant growth biostimulants that will help increase the yield by up to 50-70%.
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Did you know! Columnar apple trees are the best option for small areas. These plants are compact and can significantly save space.
For vigorous varieties, the dimensions of the hole are as follows: at least 100-120 cm in diameter with a depth of 60 cm. When planting, compost, humus, wood ash, and limestone are added to the hole. You can also add potassium chloride and superphosphate. The distance between rows is 6 m, between trees - 5 m.
When digging a hole for planting seedlings, special attention must be paid to the type of soil, since the type of fertilizing and the depth of the hole depend on them.
Fertilizers for apple trees on loamy soils are not enough, so the following fertilizers are also applied when planting:
Apple trees grow well in neutral soils. As a rule, peat soil on top has high acidity. The soil in such areas is light, well-permeable to air and water, but there are not enough nutrients for normal growth and development of the apple tree. In this case, it is better to use slaked lime or chalk to neutralize the acidity.
Clay soils are heavy and poorly permeable to moisture and air. They need to be made lighter. To do this, sand and sawdust are added to the ground. It is recommended to plant green manure. Potassium fertilizers are also added to the soil for better apple tree growth.
On sandy soils, dig a hole about 50 cm deep. Drainage can be placed at the bottom. The planting hole must be filled 2/3 with fertilizers. Dolomitized lime, which contains the necessary magnesium, is used as an additive. As for timing, they are planted at the end of September or early to mid-May.
The first application of additives is required for a plant that is depleted after winter. During this period, it especially needs feeding. As a rule, this happens when the first leaves appear, around mid-April. The soil lacks the substances necessary for normal plant growth. It is recommended to feed the apple tree with nitrogen fertilizers. You can use urea or humus.
Fertilizer application can be root or foliar. With the root method, beneficial substances penetrate deep into the soil, where they are absorbed by the root system. Foliar application of fertilizers involves spraying branches, trunks, and leaves.
The most common is root feeding. Many gardeners find it more effective. In April, 0.5 kg of dry urea is applied to each tree. The second feeding is needed at the beginning of budding. Here they use fertilizers in liquid form: superphosphate, infusion of bird droppings and potassium sulfate. After flowering, it is recommended to feed with sodium humate and nitrophoska, which helps to increase productivity. Feeding with fresh manure is highly not recommended!
Foliar feeding is also necessary for apple trees. After cold weather, urea will be the best option for fertilizing. It will protect against pests and give strength to the tree. 1 tbsp. urea is diluted to 5 liters. water. The solution must be sprayed on all branches and leaves. The process must be completed before the apple tree begins to bloom.
Spray a second time after flowering. You can also treat the tree crown with wood ash. Add 0.5 cups of ash to 1 liter of water. Mix everything thoroughly. Then pour it into water so that the total volume becomes 10 liters. With this treatment, the wood is saturated with minerals. Feeding can be done every 10-14 days.
Experienced gardeners and gardeners recommend following the correct and timely technique for applying fertilizer. They also recommend adding dry additives during rainy days. Thus, beneficial substances dissolve and penetrate into the soil with rainwater.
Additives are added to special tree trunk circles. After this, the soil is dug up. Varieties of columnar apple trees have a feature in which the roots are located close to the surface. That is why it is recommended to apply dry fertilizers and water. For young trees, much more water is added to solutions for root fertilization than for adult apple trees. Spraying the crown with iron sulfate will help prevent diseases.
When planting seedlings, it is important to consider many points, the main ones being the varieties of apple trees and the type of soil. Depending on these criteria, various fertilizers and methods of their application are selected. Taking into account all the features, it will be possible to grow healthy apple trees and get a rich harvest.
Secrets of proper fertilizer
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Standard planting of apple and pear trees occurs in prepared holes.
The holes are usually dug about 60-70 cm deep, depending on the soil, and about 1 m in diameter. Wood, expanded clay, stones and even tin cans are usually placed at the bottom of the hole as drainage.
The main thing is to fill the hole with fertile soil. It is known from practice that mineral fertilizers do not make the soil fertile, so there is no point in using them. You just need to lay down soil rich in organic matter. Compost and composted manure are good for this. If there is a shortage of compost, you can use it by mixing it with the existing infertile soil. If the soil is very clayey, then sand should be added to the soil. It is convenient to prepare the mixture in a garden wheelbarrow. In a sand pit, on the contrary, the bottom must be lined with clay.
In our Leningrad region, the fertile layer is not deep, so it is possible, and even necessary, to plant apple and pear trees so that the roots develop precisely in this surface fertile layer. This is especially important for places with nearby groundwater, as well as heavily clay soil. In this case, we make a recess in the middle of the hole with a diameter of 40-50 cm and the same depth. Along the boundaries of the future crown, with a diameter of 1.5-2 m, we prepare a fertile layer of soil. We direct the central tap root into the central hole, and place the fibrous roots in the soil prepared around the hole at a depth of about 25-30 cm, then fill everything with the prepared fertile mixture.
What is important when landing:
1. Sprinkle each layer of soil to be filled with 3-4 buckets of water to compact it.
We recommend pouring 10 ml (1 tablespoon) of the drug with beneficial microorganisms into each bucket of water. This will help the plant adapt faster to a new place and also protect against possible diseases. 
2. Do not deepen the root collar, but place it at ground level.
3. In a warm autumn, like this year, be sure to remove all leaves from the seedlings, otherwise the roots will develop poorly, as the leaves will draw water and nutrition.
4. For better survival, use, adding 1-2 drops for every liter of water. If possible, soak the roots in it for 20-30 minutes before planting, and be sure to water the planting hole with it after planting.
5. After planting, mulch the tree trunk circle with organic matter (leaves, grass, healthy tops) with a layer of 5-7 cm. In autumn there are a lot of fallen leaves, they are best suited for this purpose! Don’t be afraid of diseased leaves, just water them with EM-BIO (Vostok EM-1) at a concentration of 1:100 (100 ml per 10 liters of water), as for compost. The drug sanitizes the leaves from diseases and will turn them into future nutrition for your seedling. Mulch with a layer of 5-7 cm will also protect the roots from freezing in winter, especially in the absence of snow cover.
6. Trunks and lower large branches should be painted for the winter with a special white garden paint, preferably, which will protect against spring sunburn, frost damage, diseases and even rodents!
7. If there are hares, cover the trunk with a plastic mesh to a height of 50-60 cm.
Head of the St. Petersburg Natural Agriculture Club
