How and what to properly fertilize grapes in the fall

The future grape harvest begins in the fall. It is important to properly feed the bushes to strengthen the vine, increase resistance to cold and long rest. If you provide plants before winter with adequate nutrition, you will be able to get dense clusters of large, sweet berries.

The schedule for feeding grapes in the fall depends on the time of harvest and the onset of frost.

What do grapes need in the fall?

After the grapes are harvested, they begin to worry about next year's harvest. The bushes are left to overwinter without green, non-woody shoots.

Plants need:

• potassium;
• calcium;
• phosphorus;
• bore.

Potassium fertilizers are quickly absorbed by bushes and strengthen the branches. Green shoots “mature”, become covered with brown bark and easily tolerate winter cold. With a sufficient amount of potassium, large clusters are formed, the berries do not crack during heavy rains and after drought. If there is a shortage of the element, the leaves begin to die.

Calcium is involved in metabolic processes and is important for the development of the root system and pollen germination.

Phosphorus slowly accumulates in grape bushes, so the results of autumn fertilizing appear in early spring. Fertilizers help the formation of rich ovaries and large clusters with large berries.

Without boron, pollen is practically not formed, flowers are not fertilized, and ovaries are not formed. The clusters become loose with a small number of berries.

Additional properties of the substance:

• improves metabolism;
• gives leaves brightness: increases chlorophyll content;
• accelerates the synthesis of nitrogen and its compounds.

An overdose of boron has a negative effect on plants. Therefore, it is applied in the amount indicated on the package once every 3 years.

Timing for applying autumn fertilizing

When seated correctly A young grape bush has enough fertilizer reserves for 3–5 years, depending on the soil. On dense rocky soils, nutrients are retained longer; in sandy soils they are washed out faster.

The first autumn complex feeding is carried out 4 years after planting the bush and is repeated every 3 years. The grapes are provided with potassium and phosphorus, and mineral and organic fertilizers are applied immediately after harvest.

Feeding by month

A good harvest takes a lot of energy from the bushes. During the season, 5 feedings are carried out:

1. In May, as soon as warm days arrived. Under each plant, into the recesses around the perimeter of the hole, pour a bucket of water (10 l) with 10 g of ammonium nitrate, 20 g of superphosphate and 5 g of potassium salt dissolved in it. The mineral composition at this stage is replaced with chicken droppings.
2. Late May – early June. 2 weeks before flowering, apply the same composition as for the first time. It is better to use dry granules, scatter them along the edge of the hole: 40 g of nitrogen and potassium fertilizers, 50 g of superphosphate per 1 bush.
3. In July, during the period between flowering and ripening of grapes, when the berries are the size of a pea. Superphosphate and potassium supplements are added. For organic matter, cow manure is suitable.
4. In August, when the berries ripen. For each bush, 50 g of potassium and 100 g of phosphorus fertilizers are applied.
5. In September. A potassium composition with phosphorus and boron is used.

It is advisable to mulch the holes around the trunks with straw.

Important! The dates are indicated for the middle zone. They depend on the climate of the region and the grape variety.

Root

Such fertilizing is most important for the development and fruiting of grapes; they are carried out strictly according to schedule. The products are applied to the soil, buried at a distance of 50–80 cm from the trunk, and solutions of mineral and organic substances are added.

Foliar

With a bountiful grape harvest, the bushes receive heavy loads; the roots cannot cope with receiving nutrients from the soil and processing them. Therefore, additional foliar feeding is carried out.

The first fertilizers are sprayed in early spring, when the air warms up to +10°C. The leaves and vines are sprayed until the ovaries appear 3–5 times with an interval of 7–10 days, then after harvesting.

Reference! If necessary, such products are also used in the summer, except for the flowering period.

Spraying is carried out in the evening under the following conditions:

• the leaves are dry, there is no dew or raindrops on them;
• air temperature less than +23°C;
• The weather is dry, cloudy and windless.

If it is hot during the day, there is a risk that burns will form on the leaves and the plants will shed their ovaries.

After harvesting, an ash solution is sprayed onto the leaves. It is prepared in advance and allowed to brew for 2 weeks. Add 150 ml of product to a bucket of water.

Mineral fertilizers are poured with warm water and stirred until completely dissolved. Then dilute according to the instructions and spray the grapes.

If necessary, insecticides and disease control agents are added to the nutrient solution. Such bushes will overwinter well and will develop quickly in the spring.

Types of fertilizers

All fertilizers are divided into organic and mineral.

Organic is of natural origin.These are plant composts, wood ash, animal manure and bird droppings.

Mineral ones are produced at chemical plants; they contain elements in their pure form:

• urea;
• potassium;
• phosphorus;
• ammonium nitrate.

Such products can be single or multi-component (complex).

For the full development of bushes and obtaining large bunches of sweet berries, both types of fertilizers are used.

Autumn fertilizers for grapes

After harvesting, shoot growth stops. Grapes need potassium and phosphorus to strengthen after fruiting and gain resistance to frost.

Ready-made products

To feed grapes, compositions are made from several one-component fertilizers:

• potassium salt;
• granulated superphosphate;
• potassium chloride;
• potassium magnesia;
• urea;
• potassium sulfate.

Potassium and phosphorus are added at 50–100 g per bush, the rest of the funds are 2–4 times less.

Complex multicomponent compositions contain elements in the required proportions.

Suitable for grapes:

• azophoska;
• "Novofert";
• "Biopon";
• "Hello";
• "Plantafol";
• "Blank sheet".

On the packaging of each composition the consumption rate is indicated depending on the type of plant.

Folk recipes

Folk remedies are of organic origin.

For grapes use:

• wood ash;
• compost;
• peat;
• humus;
• eggshells;
• manure;
• litter.

After burning the vegetation on the field for several years, grapes and other crops are provided with basic substances. Then the soil is further fertilized.

Healthy! Previously, when cleaning livestock barns, manure was taken out and placed in pits where it settled. In winter, ready-made fertilizers were scattered between the rows.As a result, in the spring there was humus around the bushes, which, together with rainwater, penetrated deep and nourished the roots of the grapes.

The ash is scattered on the ground or infused in water. Peat is used clean and mixed with manure to improve its quality.

Poultry manure, especially chicken manure, releases a lot of nitrogen when dissolved. Therefore, it is filled with water and allowed to ferment for 2 weeks.

Eggshells are a source of calcium. It is well dried, ground and poured under the bushes in the fall.

How to properly fertilize grapes in the fall

When fertilizing near the trunks, only the surface roots receive nutrients. As a result, green shoots, a long vine and few ovaries are formed in the spring.

Important! Roots located close to the surface are less important for the bush than those that go deep. If damaged, they quickly recover.

To ensure that nutrients reach the deep roots, fertilizers are scattered or poured at a distance of 50–80 cm from the trunk, depending on the age of the bush. The products are placed in grooves or holes so that they do not dry out, dissolve and go deeper.

Step-by-step instruction

Autumn tillage combines loosening the soil, fertilizing the crop and removing all weeds:

1. They dig up the earth around the bushes (radius - 50–60 cm).
2. Grooves 20 cm deep are made along the edges.
3. Water-charging irrigation is carried out using the existing holes.
4. Mineral fertilizer is added to the grooves and covered with earth.

In this way, “long-lasting” fertilizer is placed, which is slowly absorbed, for example: potassium magnesium, phosphate rock, potassium sulfate. The roots of the grapes penetrate the soil to a depth of 6 m, the granules gradually dissolve during rain and watering, and the minerals sink down.

Having retreated 30 cm from the trunks, the surface of the holes is sprinkled with wood ash or cow manure. Horse, sheep manure, and bird droppings are also suitable.

Important! Fresh manure is not applied - humus is used that has lain for more than a year in a place protected from sunlight.

Chicken droppings are dissolved in water, kept until fermentation, then diluted with water in a ratio of 1:4 and 3 buckets of the solution are poured under the bush closer to the edge of the hole.

By analogy with organic fertilizers, products that quickly dissolve in water are applied. When the moisture is completely absorbed, the holes are covered with leaves and chopped grass. Mulch with straw from top to the trunk. This method of autumn processing will provide the grapes with adequate nutrition and protect the roots from frost. Moisture is retained under the straw for a long time.

Features of autumn feeding by region

Depending on the climate, active processes in grape bushes stop at different times.

Fertilizing is applied 3-4 weeks before the onset of frost:

• in the Krasnodar Territory - in mid-October;
• in the Moscow region - in the second half of September;
• in the Urals - in the first half of September;
• in Siberia and the Far East - in August.

Table grape varieties can withstand frost down to -20°C. In the southern regions, for plants to overwinter normally, it is enough trim the bushes and mulch the soil around it.

In the Moscow region, covering grapes are protected from frost and icing. The arbor is cut off and left on the trellis.

In the Urals, the covering crop is removed from the trellises and the vines are placed on the ground. All types of plants survive the cold winters of Siberia only under straw or spruce branches.

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Conclusion

When growing grapes, they require constant attention. Autumn fertilizing is an important step for increasing yields next season. It strengthens the vines, stimulates the formation of high-quality ovaries, protects roots from freezing in winter and increases plant resistance to diseases and pests.