Rules for fertilizing cherries in the fall and selecting the best fertilizers for these purposes
Proper autumn feeding of cherries is a guarantee of a rich harvest for the next season. The main thing in this procedure is to add the nutrient mixture in a timely manner.
How to properly fertilize, how to feed cherries in August and September - only current tips and recommendations.
What do cherries need in the fall?
All stone fruit trees deplete the soil, sucking nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium out of it. Microelements are actively washed away by melt and rainwater. With a deficiency of nutrients, the growth and development of a tree slows down, the quality of fruiting decreases, and vulnerability to pests and diseases increases.
To replenish the supply of useful microelements, autumn feeding of cherries is mandatory. Additional advantages of the procedure - increased frost resistance before the coming winter, laying the foundations for the future harvest.
Reference. Cherry is an unpretentious and hardy plant. For feeding use any fertilizers and mixtures. The only rule is the absence of nitrogen in the composition. The element activates growth processes and reduces the winter hardiness of the crop.
Timing for applying autumn fertilizing
Features of the cherry tree are early fruiting, quick end of the growing season, early hibernation. Fertilizing is applied in early autumn. A later procedure will be ineffective, since the nutrients will not have time to be absorbed, and the cherry will already go into a dormant state.
The exact timing depends on the weather conditions of the region.After fruiting is completed, wait 3-4 weeks (time to stop the movement of juices), then apply fertilizer.
Deadlines vary: from late August for northern regions with short summers to early October for the south. For regions with a temperate climate, the feeding procedure begins in early September and is completed by the 21st-25th.
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Feeding calendar by month
| Month | Target | Feeding |
|---|---|---|
| August | Gradual preparation of the fruit tree for winter begins. | Nitrogen fertilizers are excluded from acceptable fertilizers. In August, azofoska and diammofoska are introduced. |
| September | Fruiting is completely completed. Active preparation of cherries for cold weather. | Emphasis on potassium-phosphorus mixtures. Use potassium monophosphate, superphosphate and analogues. The mixtures are applied under loosening or into holes. |
| October November | Prevention and elimination of garden parasites. | After the first frost, the cherries are sprayed with a urea solution - 500-700 g per 10 liters of water. |
Types of autumn fertilizing for cherries
For cherries, standard types and feeding schemes are used. They differ in the application technique and the means used:
- Root. The mixture is applied strictly at the root, combined with watering. This type includes mineral fertilizers and any organic matter (humus, bird droppings, compost).
- Foliar feeding or spraying. Usually carried out during flowering and after the flowers fall. In the fall, this type of fertilizing is recommended to compensate for iron deficiency. Use iron sulfate (3 tablespoons per 10 liters of water). The procedure is carried out after the first frost.
Types of fertilizers
The main criterion by which fertilizers are distinguished from each other is composition.Based on this characteristic, mixtures are divided into organic, mineral and combined.
For autumn fertilizing of cherries, it is allowed to use all types, except nitrogen-containing ones:
- Organic. Allowed for cherry trees older than 4 years. The first most popular in this group is chicken manure. Next comes compost, rotted manure, peat, sawdust.
- Mineral. The best options for cherries in the fall are complex phosphorus or potassium mixtures: superphosphate, potassium sulfate, potassium chloride, phosphate rock.
- Balanced – fertilizers containing several elements. An example for cherries is nitroammophoska.
The best fertilizers for cherries in autumn
Both organic and mineral varieties are used as autumn feeding. The only rule is mandatory rotation: if organic matter was added in the spring, mineral compounds are used in the fall.
Ready-made products
List of popular and effective drugs:
- “AgroMag BOR” – 20-25 g per 1 m² of area;
- “Plantafol” – 15-25 ml of working mixture per 1 m²;
- “Fertika Autumn” – 30-40 g per 1 m², requires double treatment;
- “Baikal EM-1” – 100 ml per 10 liters of water, in the trunk circle – 3 liters of liquid;
- “Novofert Universal” – 20 g per 10 liters of water.
The following compounds of mineral fertilizers will also be effective:
- 2 tbsp. l. potassium chloride per 1 m² of land under the tree trunk. The powder is evenly scattered over the entire area.
- 300 g of superphosphate and 180 g of potassium chloride in the trunk circle of one cherry.
- 3 tbsp. l. superphosphate and 2 tbsp. l. potassium sulfate per 10 liters of water. The norm of liquid fertilizer for a young tree is 8 liters, for an adult cherry tree – 15 liters.
Folk recipes
Popular folk recipes for fertilizing cherries are presented in the table.
| Ingredients | Preparation and use |
|---|---|
| Chicken droppings | Take 1-1.5 kg of raw materials for 4 liters of water. Mix and leave to ferment for 2 days. Then bring the volume to 10 l, stir thoroughly.
Pour from 5 to 7 liters of finished raw material into the tree trunk circle, depending on the age and size of the cherry. |
| Compost | Do not mix with water, as it will turn into ammonium nitrate. For cherries up to 7 years old - 1.5-2 kg per 1 m² of tree trunk area, for older trees - 2.5-3 kg. |
| Wood ash | 0.5-1 kg per 1 m² of soil. For mature trees, a total of about 1.5 kg of ash will be required. Planting depth – 10 cm. |
| Crushed eggshells | 1-2 tbsp. l. per 1 m² before digging the ground under the cherry tree.
The purpose of application is to enrich the soil with calcium and reduce excess acidity. |
| Crushed chalk | Sprinkle 1-1.5 kg evenly around the outer circumference of the cherry tree trunk.
Another option is to mix chalk with water until you get a liquid mash and pour it over the cherries in a circle. |
| Sawdust | They loosen the soil and absorb excess moisture. Used in the form of mulch - in the fall, a “cushion” of sawdust 3-5 cm thick is made around the cherry tree. |
How to properly fertilize cherries in the fall
There are several universal rules for feeding. Be sure to follow the algorithm and perform all actions carefully and thoroughly. Only if the procedure is carried out properly will the cherry receive a maximum of nutrients.
1-2 days before fertilizing, abundant watering is required. Water will “revive” soil microorganisms. For each cherry tree (3-6 years old) pour 5-6 buckets of water, for older trees - 8-10 buckets.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Remove dried and damaged branches, remove weeds from the tree trunk.
- Loosen the soil in the tree trunk circle. They work with a hoe very carefully, since the roots of the cherry tree lie high.
- Add fertilizer.Sprinkle or pour the solution evenly in a circle.
- Loosen the soil and cover the tree trunk circle with mulch. The use of sawdust is recommended.
Features of autumn feeding by region
The general principles are universal for all regions. In a specific area, only the timing of the work differs. Also, adjustments are made by specific soil characteristics - fertility and acidity.
In the Moscow region, poor sod-podzolic or podzolic species and loams predominate. The exception is the south of the region, where the land is fertile. For stable growth and fruiting, autumn feeding of cherries is mandatory. The mixtures are added in the second ten days of September, if the autumn is warm - in early October. Purchased mineral mixtures are usually used as fertilizing here.
The middle zone, the Ural region, are places where different types of soils are found, but all of them are not considered highly fertile. The optimal time for fertilizing is the first days of September, since the first frosts are already possible in October.
The climatic conditions of Siberia allow the cultivation of only a few varieties of cherries. Usually these are early varieties and dwarf trees with increased frost resistance. Their features are the rapid completion of fruiting and an early period of “hibernation”. They begin feeding cherries in Siberia in August, and all work is completed by the end of summer.
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Conclusion
Autumn feeding of cherries is one of the mandatory seasonal activities for caring for the crop. The timing of adding mixtures varies: from August to October. The exact dates depend on the climatic conditions of the growing region.
In autumn, cherries are fed with any nutritional composition, except nitrogen-containing ones. Ready-made store-bought preparations, mineral or organic mixtures are added to the tree trunk circle. Fertilizing is carried out after preliminary preparation of the tree - sanitary pruning (removing dried parts), removing weeds and abundant watering.