A good businessman should have his own garden, pleasing with its beauty, variety of fruits, but also the unique taste of the fruits. Garden trees can be different, but the most common is the apple tree.
Before harvesting the first harvest, the owner has a lot of work to do. The most important function is choice .
Before purchasing additives, you need to understand the varieties and growing season.
According to vegetation there are:
The first ones ripen at the end of summer (mid-late August). The growing season ranges from 100 to 120 days. Such fruits are stored for no more than ten days. Popular representatives are: White filling, Piros, Vesta Bella, Glory to the winner, Grushovka.
Mid-season varieties ripen in early autumn (mid-September). Fruits of such varieties can be stored for no more than a month. These varieties include Antonovka, McIntosh, Spartak, Malva.
Late-ripening fruits ripen at the end of September. Stored winter variety up to 6 months. This is an advantage late varieties. Representatives include: Simirenko, Snowy Calvin, Jonathan. A variety such as Golden is practically indistinguishable in taste from a pear. And Golden will keep well until spring.
It is best to plant trees of three ripening periods at once in the garden. This way there will be a harvest all year round. Each variety should be chosen according to your requirements.
Depending on the height there are:
The first are intended for gardens where groundwater is at a level of three meters. The height of such trees is from five to eight meters.
The latter are planted on lands where groundwater is 2.5 meters from the surface. Height up to five meters.
The latter are best on soils where the level groundwater at a level of 1.5 meters. The height is up to 2.5 meters. Seedlings of columnar apple trees are often confused with dwarf apple trees. But this is a mistake, since columnar trees are industrial varieties intended for production baby food. We conducted an experiment: 72 apple tree seedlings were planted in the garden, half of which were columnar, the rest were ordinary species.
The difference in yield was four times higher than usual. If the buyer made a mistake in choosing a variety, the planted additive can be grafted with another species and another tree. A cutting is taken from a branch of a young plant and grafted into a side cut or butt. Cuttings are made with oblique cuts. The resulting cutting must be supported to prevent breaking. So grafted it will stand intact. when choosing a cutting and the grafting process.
After determining the variety comes the most important stage– selection of additives and place of purchase.
Planting apple tree seedlings is a responsible matter; whether they will take root depends on the correct technology. Can be planted in autumn (09/20-10/15) or spring (from 04/20). Planting an apple tree seedling in autumn or spring does not matter. Advantage spring planting- a frost-hardened plant. In autumn, the roots will grow well, and by spring the apple tree will be more developed.
It is necessary to plant before frost so that the plant has time to prepare for the cold. The technology is the same. Seven days before planting, they dig a hole 50 centimeters wide and 70 centimeters deep. We place manure in the form of a hill at the bottom of the hole, and place a tree on top. We put a peg in the north. We fill it with soil, carefully compact it with our hands, and water it with forty buckets of water. Properly planting an apple tree seedling is not so difficult if you know the nuances.
Every gardener wonders how to cover an apple tree seedling for the winter. It is necessary to carefully care for apple tree seedlings in the autumn-winter period. It is necessary to prepare for the month of September. Every gardener wonders how to cover an apple tree seedling for the winter. If older, then After the leaves fall, it is necessary to remove the old bark and apply lime in its place.
Before frost sets in, you need to fertilize and water the trees generously. The roots are protected by an additional layer of soil. If the apple tree is young, then its trunk must be covered with paper, you can take a large number of layers. The root neck should be covered with nylon. Such measures will protect against rodents, pests and frost.
Branches are pruned to prevent the growth of young fruit-bearing branches if the fruit is exposed inside and if the trees are dense. To also do pruning. Pruning is an important stage in growing fruit trees. If there are too many branches on it, the fruits will become smaller. Not many novice gardeners know how to grow a healthy tree with juicy, sweet fruits; a more experienced specialist or nursery can come to his aid.
How to plant seedlings in the garden in springEven if your garden is young and there is no free space, still, it’s rare that a gardener will resist buying new seedlings. Spring declares its rights with the bright sun, which means that dacha worries will soon begin. Have you decided to buy seedlings? Then take the advice of experienced gardeners.
When choosing seedlings, carefully monitor their quality. You need to pay attention to whether the roots have developed well, whether there are any swellings on them (this is root cancer), what the trunk and branches are like. You should not buy weak, underdeveloped seedlings, even if they are very cheap, because you will spend a lot of time and effort on nurturing without any guarantee of the final result.
Now you have chosen your seedlings, now it is important to transport them and store them correctly until planting. After purchasing, be sure to wrap the roots of the seedling with cloth. If you are transporting purchased seedlings by car, be sure to wrap the plant so that wind and air currents do not break off the thin roots and twigs and dry them out.
If you will be storing seedlings at home for some time, then put them in a cool place, having first wrapped the roots damp cloth. But there is no need to put it in water, because the roots may begin to rot.
Spring planting of seedlings should not be delayed, since trees and bushes are planted during a period of relative plant dormancy, when their buds have not yet swelled. That is, planting should begin as soon as the ground thaws.
On garden plot you need to choose a place for planting seedlings in advance and prepare planting pits. It is best, of course, if you prepared such holes in the fall, but you can do this 2-3 weeks before planting.
The optimal pit size for garden trees- 1 m in diameter with a depth of up to 0.8 m, and for bushes a hole of 0.6-0.8 m in diameter and 0.5 m in depth is suitable. Fertilizers are placed in the pit: 1-1.5 kg of double superphosphate, 50-100 g of potassium sulfate, the same amount of potassium chloride, up to 1 kg of wood ash, up to 1.5 kg of fluff lime, 1-2 buckets of compost or well-rotted manure . All fertilizers are thoroughly mixed with half the soil taken out from the top of the hole.
Before planting, the damaged ends of the roots of the seedlings are cut off to healthy tissue. The remaining roots are saved. A couple of hours before planting, you need to soak the root system of the seedling in water. This will help the thin roots spread out and absorb water. If the seedling has poorly developed root system or the volume of the crown significantly exceeds the volume of the root system, the branches of the seedling are pruned. It is allowed to trim the main stem and side branches to 1/3 of the length.
During planting, do not leave seedlings in the sun or wind under any circumstances. If for some reason you were unable to start planting immediately, cover your seedlings with a wet rag, grass or straw.
To plant a seedling correctly, you must remember the most important thing: you need to place it in the planting hole so that the root collar of the plant (the place where the trunk transitions to the root) is 3-5 cm above the level of the edge of the hole. If you plant a fruit tree too deep, it will grow slowly, the crown will form poorly, and the plant will often get sick. And with a high planting, wild growth may appear below the grafting level. Such trees do not tolerate winter well.
Then, a properly installed seedling with evenly distributed roots is sprinkled with earth. After backfilling, you need to compact the soil around the seedling, but do this carefully so as not to tear off the roots. Then a hole is made around the tree along the contour of the hole, and the seedling is watered with at least 1-2 buckets of water. When the water is absorbed, the ground around the seedling is sprinkled with a mixture of earth and humus or peat. This will reduce the evaporation of water from the hole and prevent surface drying and cracking of the soil.
The first time after planting, you need to make sure that your seedling does not bend over and expose the roots. If this happens, water thoroughly and level the seedling, then secure its position with pegs. It is necessary to protect the thin and delicate bark of the seedlings from sunburn, pests, etc. To do this, treat the trunks of the seedlings with a solution copper sulfate and whitewash with garden whitewash. It is not recommended to use pure lime for this.
On hot summer days, water the seedlings generously, and after watering, it is better to mulch the soil with peat, sawdust, finely chopped bark or other loose material.
HOW TO GRAFT SEVERAL VARIETIES ON ONE APPLE TREE How to properly graft several varieties onto one apple tree I have been doing grafting for more than 20 years, it gives me unspeakable pleasure. I have several varieties on each tree, it’s very convenient and beautiful. Imagine an apple tree with red apples on one side, yellow apples on the other, and green apples with a red side on the third. Miracle! My plot is very small, only a little over 2 acres, so it’s not much of a stretch. Two apple trees and one pear, three young plums, three cherries, red and black currants, several varieties of gooseberries. I recently planted four apricot seedlings that I grew from seeds. I am fond of grapes, I have five varieties. And I’ve also been hopelessly sick of flowers for a long time, I have a third of them, every piece of land is occupied by them. But that’s not the point, let’s talk about vaccinations. On the Zhigulevka variety apple tree, I had one graft from the Northern Sinap apple tree and three from Simirenko. On another apple tree, the Spartak variety, I have grafted six varieties: Daughter of Breading, Antonovka, Streifling, Zhigulevskoe and two more summer varieties, which I don’t even know the names of, for me the main thing is that the apples are tasty. I have three varieties of pear so far, I hope there will be more. The main thing, Nikolai Alexandrovich, is to follow the rule: on one tree you should graft, for example, summer and autumn varieties, on another - autumn and winter ones. It is best to do vaccinations shortly before the start of sap flow, with freshly cut cuttings, but so that they are no more than a week from the moment of cutting. Here in the Volga region I vaccinate from March 15 to April 15, and when I do pruning, I vaccinate immediately. Sometimes I’m delayed due to the weather, and I vaccinate when the sap begins to flow. Then the juice reaches the scion faster, and I almost always have complete survival rate. I don’t really like the Spartak variety, and over time I cut it out completely. Grafting an apple tree Two apple trees are enough for me and my family - we can dry apples for the winter, and make fresh juices, compotes, and stockings, and, of course, we eat them with pleasure all season long. Vaccinate immediately with fresh cuttings immediately before sap flow, in accordance with the weather of your region, the main thing is to cut both the rootstock and the scion correctly, and so that the cambium coincides with the cambium on at least one side. First, saw off the branch on the rootstock, leaving a stump of at least 10 cm, and use a clean grafting knife to cut out part of the wood with a wedge. Then take a twig of the variety you need for grafting (last year’s growth), leave three buds, cut off the top at a right angle and coat it with garden varnish. Cut the bottom with a wedge, according to the dimensions corresponding to the cutout in the rootstock. Place the branch so that the layers of the cambium coincide, press firmly and carefully, so as not to displace it, wrap it with electrical tape. Cover the cut on the tree well with garden varnish, grabbing the twig so that no infection gets there, and leave it until next spring, when the twig has already grown. You will remove the tape next spring. I wish that everything works out for you and that you enjoy the new varieties. And my stepfather, also Nikolai Alexandrovich, taught me how to vaccinate. I bow to him. He had up to eight varieties on each apple tree. When the year is fruitful, you don’t even have time to process apples from two trees, but you want to different varieties, and if you plant more apple trees, you won’t be able to process the fruits at all, and it’s a shame to throw them away. How much force does this require? So graft and enjoy new varieties!
It would seem that planting apple and pear seedlings on personal plot- one of the simplest agricultural activities, because these trees are not capricious, unpretentious, and they require ascetic, that is, minimal, care. All this is partly true - but already at the stage of full growth. And when you're just about to break Orchard or you just want to plant a lonely fruit tree in the garden, you need to carefully prepare and not just “stick” the seedling into the ground, but do it according to all the rules of agricultural technology. Only then will the young tree begin to grow and in a few years will delight you with its first, albeit not abundant, but independently grown fruits.
It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the place where the garden is located. Ideal conditions are rare. Most often these are cold lowlands or depleted collective farm fields, or swamps, or bare sand, or steep slopes. Even within the same gardening partnership, plots differ in their microclimate. But any land can give birth if it is refined and suitable crops are selected.
Deciding on a site for fruit trees, you need to pay attention to the presence of other plants outside it. Their role is to protect the delicate crop from the northern winds.
This article tells you how to plant apple and pear trees correctly and how to avoid possible errors when laying out a garden.
It is impossible to improve the entire area. The solution lies in local cultivation of the soil, for which they dig planting holes for planting apple and pear trees, which can have any shape (preferably cylindrical), so that after filling them with soil and watering, the soil settles together with the root system of the seedling evenly.
The poorer the soil, the larger the holes should be. To get even rows, before digging holes in the area, you need to mark the planting sites by placing stakes on them. To plant apple and pear seedlings, you must have a planting board 1.5 m long and 8-10 cm wide with three notches: one in the middle part and two at the ends. Planting holes are prepared in advance; for spring planting, they are dug in the fall. During the process of weathering the bottom and walls of the pit, oxide compounds harmful to plant roots turn into oxides. The roots of seedlings penetrate beyond the pit more freely.
In preparation for planting apple and pear trees, a board is laid on the ground before digging, aligning the middle notch with the base of the stake located at the planting point. Control pegs are driven in near the end recesses. When the hole is ready, the recesses of the landing board are again combined with the control pegs and the stake is driven back into the bottom opposite the middle recess.
Of course, if the landing holes turn out to be bigger size, there will be no harm. On the contrary, the roots of the tree will be more at ease, and its life expectancy will increase. It’s even better to deepen the bottom of the hole and make drainage from broken bricks before filling it with plant soil.
The preparation of holes for planting apple and pear trees in areas with poor sandy soils should be more thorough: they are dug with an increased diameter to create favorable conditions for root growth. So, for apple and pear trees, the width in such conditions is increased to 1.5 m or more.
Before planting apple and pear trees on heavy clay soils, it is more advisable to dig holes wider and less deep, since water can stagnate at the bottom of deep ones and have a detrimental effect on the roots. Arrange sand cushions in pits with heavy clay soil and clay layers in pits on sandy soils Not recommended.
In addition, it is better to bring plant soil to heavy clay soils and plant the seedlings on a mound 0.5-1 m high and 3 m in diameter. In conditions of close groundwater or possible accumulation of melted water, the bottom of the planting pit is concreted so that the main vertical roots become horizontal position.
In order to plant apple and pear trees as correct agricultural technology suggests, it is recommended to use humus, peat with added lime, and half-rotted manure for soil cultivation. Regardless of the soil, phosphorus (usually superphosphate) and potassium are added to each planting hole. mineral fertilizers. The best potassium fertilizer for planting apple and pear trees is wood ash, the application of which does not require lime, except perhaps a small amount. For each planting hole under an apple tree, add up to 1 kg of superphosphate and 1 kg of ash or 100 g of potassium chloride. Immediately after acquiring the seedlings, all leaves are removed from them, and the roots are lowered to a short time into water, wrap with a damp cloth and synthetic film.
These photos of planting apple and pear trees show how preliminary preparation of pits for seedlings is carried out:
Before planting apple or pear trees, if the roots have been dried, then the seedlings are kept in water for 1-1.5 days before planting. In order for the root system to develop faster and better, you need to soak it in solutions of growth stimulants (honey, heteroauxin).
Plant fruit crops it is possible in spring (April - early May) and autumn (late September - early October), but practice shows that most plants develop better when planted in spring (before buds open), since when planted in autumn during harsh winters they can freeze.
For proper planting of apple and pear trees in a garden plot, seedlings are immediately buried regardless of when they are planted: in autumn or spring. For spring planting, they are buried in a dry, flood-free and wind-protected place in a ditch in an inclined position (at an angle of 30-45°) with the crowns facing south, sprinkled with soil on 1/2 of the trunk and covered with spruce branches to protect against rodents. The digging depth is 30-50 cm.
The technology for planting apple and pear trees requires the mandatory removal of damaged parts of the roots before placing the seedlings in planting holes. The ends of larger roots are trimmed with a garden knife, but so that the entire root system is no shorter than 30 cm. The more roots, the longer and more branched they are, the better the seedlings take root and grow faster.
Before properly planting pears or apple trees, you need to pour a small conical mound at the bottom of the hole fertile land. It is more convenient for two people to plant: one person places the seedling on the north side of the stake, so that at midday the shade protects it from drying out. In this case, it is advisable to position the tree so that its southern side faces south, and its northern side faces north. The cardinal directions of a tree are determined simply. Grafting usually occurs on the north side of the rootstock (near the roots of the neck). The wound left by cutting the stem part of the game is located on the south side. You can also determine the southern and northern sides of the seedling by the color of the bark on the trunk: darker, brown on the south side, light, greenish on the north.
When planting pear and apple trees, remember that the root collar of the seedlings should be 3-4 cm above ground level.
The root system is dipped in clay mash. The roots are carefully spread over the surface of the mound. The second planter at this time throws wet soil onto the roots, making sure that it evenly covers them without leaving voids (when filling the roots, the seedling is shaken several times). Having filled the hole about 3/4 full, the earth is trampled down, starting from the edges.
If the seedling sank, it is slightly lifted up to required height. After this, add soil until the hole is completely filled and compact again; first along the edges, and then near the trunk. For proper planting of apple and pear seedlings on a dwarf rootstock with high budding, the trees are grounded so that the grafting site is only slightly above the soil level, and a significant part of the rootstock is buried in order to increase the stability of the future tree due to additional tiers of roots. It is important not to bury the grafting site, otherwise the graft may spread to its own roots.
In order to plant pears and apple trees as correct agricultural technology suggests, immediately after planting the seedling in any way soft material tied with a figure-eight loop to the stake: first, loosely (so that the seedling can settle along with the soil), and then more rigidly. Make a cushion around the planting hole and water the plant with 2-3 buckets of water. If after watering the seedling settles along with the soil, it is carefully pulled out until the root collar reaches the soil level.
As soon as the soil absorbs water, it must be mulched with humus or peat; at autumn planting can be sprinkled sawdust to insulate the root system. The stake is cut so that the lower branch is 5-8 cm higher than it.
Many owners garden plots They dig planting holes immediately before planting and in the absence of humus, peat and half-rotted manure. In this case, the holes need to be filled with fertile soil from the top layer, removed during digging, and the missing part of the soil must be added from the row spacing.
To better understand how apple and pear trees are planted, watch the video below:
Regardless of when the seedlings were planted (in spring or autumn), they must be pruned to bring the above-ground part of the plant into line with the root system, which was severely damaged and shrunk when dug up in the nursery.
Shaping pruning of seedlings when caring for apple and pear trees after planting should be done in early spring, before the buds open. Autumn pruning may contribute to damage to seedlings in winter.
After planting on the central conductor, a well-developed bud is selected from the lower cut for a continuation shoot at a distance of approximately 40-50 cm from the base of the upper skeletal branch. Above this bud, a spine 5-6 cm long is left for gartering the continuation shoot, and the rest of the central conductor is cut off. All the buds on the seedling stem are broken out.
As a result of pruning, many shoots from awakened buds will grow on the branches. During summer period they will need to be removed or shortened several times, leaving several pieces on each skeletal branch. Only the continuation shoot is shortened during strong growth next spring. The upper side branch of apple trees is cut no shorter than 30-35 cm (about half its length), so that the top of the cut branch is 20-30 cm below the shortened conductor. Then the remaining branches are aligned approximately to the level of the cut of the upper branch. In this case, weak branches are shortened less (or not cut at all). Intermediate branches of the crown are not removed, but are shortened by half their length in order to gradually turn them into temporary semi-skeletal and overgrowing branches.
The pear grows weakly in the year of planting and hardly needs pruning in the spring. In the future, the seedlings must be cared for so that the apple trees annually produce an increase of annual shoots of 30-35 cm. But excessive growth should not be allowed: the trees will be pampered, which will affect their winter hardiness. To do this, during the period of active growth, the shoots are pinched (pinched). Pinching the top stops growth, and the process of lignification of the entire annual shoot begins. Regardless of the growth rate, competing shoots and those that need to be converted from growth into fruit are also pinched. If the top bud on the shoot or those adjacent to it awaken to new growth, then 2-4 leaves should be allowed to form and the tops should be pinched again.
In the first month after planting apple and pear trees, according to the rules for cultivating fruit trees, seedlings are watered every 6-7 days, in the second and third months - every 15-20 days.
You need to loosen the ground under the trees with a garden fork or shovel. It is usually recommended to place the blade of the shovel along the direction of root growth, and not across, so as not to cut the roots. In fact, you feel better the contact of the shovel with the root when directed transversely.
Watch the video correct pruning apple and pear trees after planting in the garden:
Some novice gardeners neglect the rules for planting apple and pear trees, making a number of mistakes.
First mistake. Gardeners bring seedlings (or rather, semi-formed trees) 2-3 m high to their plots for planting in mid-May or August, hoping that adult plants will produce a harvest this or next year. And, as a rule, they are cruelly mistaken. Literally a month later, these plants stand withered, since the weak root system is not able to ensure the vital activity of the powerful above-ground part.
Gardeners make the second mistake when they try to small area plant as much land as possible more plants. As the plants grow, they shade each other and elongated crowns form. As a result, the yield decreases and more diseases and pests appear. Meanwhile, the distance between pear and apple trees when planting should be significant. Of course, it is psychologically difficult to force yourself to plant small seedlings of apple and pear trees at a distance of 5-6 m from each other, leaving free large area. If trees have little space, their immunity will decrease. Weak seedlings will not resist diseases and will most likely be subject to active pest invasion. However, for the first 3-4 years it can be used for planting early tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, zucchini, carrots, radishes, beets, radishes, potatoes, onions, lettuce, spinach, peas, beans, flower plants.
The distance from pear and apple trees when planting compaction crops in a garden that is not yet three years old should be about 0.5-1 m from the trunk. After the fourth year, they retreat from the standard by 1.5-2 m. And also keep in mind that fruit seedlings must be at a distance of at least 3 m from cables, gas pipelines, pipes and underground communications. IN young garden You cannot grow tall plants (sunflowers, corn) that heavily shade fruit trees. It is not recommended to grow in rows berry bushes and strawberries.
The third mistake occurs when planting seedlings. Typically, gardeners prepare planting holes ahead of time, and make them directly when purchasing seedlings. The loosened soil gradually becomes compacted, and the plants become buried. Do not forget that according to the rules for planting pears and apple trees, holes must be prepared in advance.
The fourth mistake gardeners make is planting trees on the border with their neighbors. It does not take into account that the root system will go to the neighbors, and the crown will hang over their area.
The fifth mistake is the incorrect formation of the crown of fruit trees, on which extra branches are left, as well as skeletal branches under acute angle detachment from the trunk, which leads to the tree breaking during fruiting.
Look at the photo of how pear and apple trees are planted in a garden plot:
