Let's talk about how to water correctly fruit trees.
Many of us have our own garden, albeit a small one, where we happily spend our free time caring for plants, or simply relax and gain strength, contemplating the beauty flowering trees and inhaling the aroma of flowers, and someone may still only dream about it. But I think this article will be interesting and useful to everyone, since in it I want to talk about how to correctly water the fruit trees.
Thoroughly water the fruit trees recommended 3-4 times a year. This must be done during the following periods:
1) in the spring, before the buds open (April-May);
2) 2-3 weeks after the end of flowering;
3) 2-3 weeks before the start of harvesting;
By by and large There is no need to water fruit trees too often, but with each watering you need to add enough water to moisten the soil to the depth of the bulk of the roots.
To determine how much water a particular tree requires, the calculation is made based on the fact that for each year of the tree’s life it is necessary to add 2-3 buckets of water: for trees under 5 years old, it will be enough to pour out 6-10 buckets per watering, from 5 to 10 years - 12-18, over 10 years - 20 - 25 buckets of water.
If you will be water the fruit trees more often but little by little, wetting only upper layer soil, in addition to the fact that you will bring little benefit, it may also lead to negative consequences because a waterlogged surface layer of soil makes air exchange difficult.
The frequency of watering is directly dependent on the characteristics of the soil in which your garden grows. So on heavy ones clay soils Plants need to be watered less frequently, but more abundantly. On sandy soils - more often, but with less water.
There are several ways watering fruit trees:
1) The simplest of them and the most labor-intensive, working on the principle of scoop more, carry more, is watering from a bucket. To better retain water, it is recommended to make grooves around the perimeter of the crown projection, and when the water is absorbed into the soil, they are filled in.
For this purpose, you can also drill wells about half a meter deep, at the rate of 1 well per 1 m2 of area trunk circle. Wells are drilled with a drill with a diameter of 10-12 cm and filled with sand. They can also be used to add liquid fertilizers.
2) You can also water the trees with a hose, placing it in the trunk circle of first one tree, then the next, etc. But with this method of watering trees, it will be quite difficult to control water consumption.
3) The most acceptable way, in our opinion, should be considered to be watering trees through special dispensers, spray nozzles, which are put on water hoses. This is the so-called sprinkling.
After watering, as after heavy rain, the soil around the tree must be loosened, otherwise the resulting crust will prevent air from penetrating into the soil.
Can be ordered. Now is the time to organize your gardening tools and purchase new ones as needed. Many different items gardening tools produces industry to help gardeners. One of these important and constantly necessary items is a garden hose for watering,
We have seen from our own experience how important it is to properly water the trees in the garden! When and how to water fruit trees: not often, but wisely. During the season they require only 3 - 4 waterings, but very abundant. They are most important for young seedlings. Let's look at how to water correctly and how often. And also, when to do it correctly and how much water trees of different ages need.
Let's start with young seedlings.
How to water fruit tree seedlings
In the first year after planting, seedlings are watered 4-5 times per season, using 2-3 buckets of water for apple and pear trees, and 1-2 buckets of water for plum and cherry trees. In the next 2-3 years, the number of waterings can be slightly reduced, but the amount of water poured under each tree can be increased by one and a half to two times.
Watering an adult garden
Mature fruit trees are watered depending on weather conditions several times a season. Spring and autumn watering is required, and in summer - in case of dry weather. Apple and plum trees are the most moisture-loving; they need more frequent and deep soil moisture. So an apple tree under the age of 7 years needs 5-6 buckets of water, and an older one - up to 15. How to calculate how much water a tree needs: calculate how many square meters. meters is the projection of its crown on the ground and multiply this number by 3. This will be the number of buckets of water that need to be poured into the tree trunk circle. In general, it is better to overwater the garden than to underwater it, since plants cannot absorb more water than they need.
When to water trees
The first and very important time that should not be missed is in the spring. When to water trees in the spring - during flowering and ovary growth. If there is a lack of moisture at this time, the trees shed their ovaries.
Autumn watering is also very important. It prepares the garden for winter; a sufficient amount of moisture in the soil helps increase the winter hardiness of trees and prevents their roots from freezing. It is also necessary for the formation of fruit buds, and therefore good harvest V next year. Autumn watering is carried out at the end of September - mid-October, after harvesting.
In the summer, only young seedlings are watered, and an adult garden is watered only in case of severe drought.
How to properly water fruit trees
Two main methods are used:
- Several buckets of water slowly wiggle into the tree trunk circle, and after it is all absorbed, a few more.
- A hose is placed in the tree trunk circle, the water is turned on under low pressure, so that it is slowly sucked into the ground. The hose is left for half an hour, with the expectation that it will pour out required quantity water.
It is very important that the water is evenly distributed throughout the entire near-trunk part of the soil, but it should not be poured directly onto the root collar of the trees. To prevent water from spilling, small curbs or grooves can be made around the trunk. The diameter of such a fence should be slightly smaller than the size of the crown, because it is in this perimeter that the roots with suction roots are located.
If the ground in the garden is covered with a lawn, make punctures with a wooden or iron stake along the perimeter of the crown; through these punctures, moisture will flow to the roots.
It is necessary that moisture penetrate deep into the ground - up to a meter for an apple tree, up to 70 cm for cherries and plums.
If after watering the roots are exposed, they must be covered - mulched with earth, peat or humus. In general, after each watering the tree trunk circle is better, especially for young seedlings.
- The amount of water applied depends not only on age, but also on the composition of the soil and its moisture.
A garden on sandy soils is watered more often, but with less water, and on clay soils - less often, but more abundantly.
Before adding water, take a little soil and squeeze it: if the soil is moist and does not crumble in your fist, reduce the volume of water.
Experienced summer residents say that you need to water not more often, but with benefit! For example, fruit trees only need four over the summer - but serious ones! - watering. If there are few fruits, two waterings are enough.
Particularly important proper watering for young trees. Young fruit trees especially need water in the year of planting and the following year. In the first year after planting, young trees should be watered 4-5 times per season at the rate of 2-3 buckets for each apple and pear tree and 1-2 buckets for each cherry and plum tree with each watering. In subsequent years, young trees are watered less frequently, but the amount of water for each watering is increased by 1.5-2 times.
For the first time, catch the moment when the ovary begins to grow, and do the rest of the watering at the end of summer so that the shoots do not weaken while the fruits are filling.
You need to water evenly the entire trunk part of the soil, but do not pour water on the root collar. It is useful to pour water into the ring grooves around the trees. Exposing the roots as a result of watering is not allowed. If, after all, the roots are exposed here and there, they should be immediately covered with moist soil.
In general, it is better to water less often, but more abundantly. In this case, it is very important to moisten the soil to the depth of active roots. For pome crops it is approximately 60-70 centimeters, for stone fruits and berry bushes- somewhat less.
How much water does each tree need? What do you mean by serious watering? A garden landscaped with turf will require more water.
Think about it square meters tree trunk circle and multiply this number by 3. So many buckets of water need to be poured under it.
It is also worth considering the nature of the soil. Sandy ones, through which water flows like through a sieve, we water more often. Therefore, on light sandy soils, frequent watering with a small rate of water consumption is required, and on heavy clay soils, on the contrary, watering should be rare but plentiful.
When to water your garden depends on the weather, the dryness of the soil and the needs of the plants themselves. It is clear that a lack of water can have a painful effect on your fruit trees, but excess is even more harmful, since in waterlogged soil gas exchange decreases and the temperature in the root layer decreases, which leads to the death of the active part of the roots.
Helpful Tips:
15-20 days before harvesting the fruits, but not during their ripening period, water the garden a third time.
Watering immediately before harvesting leads to fruit drop and cracking.
The final watering is usually done in late autumn during leaf fall. This type of irrigation is also called moisture-recharging.
Early varieties of apple and pear trees require less watering than later ones.
Pear trees suffer greatly from excess water.
Stone fruits (apricot, cherry, plum) need to be watered less frequently than pome trees (apple and pear).
If you expect a bountiful harvest, trees will need more moisture than trees with less or no harvest.
Watering trees in spring is an important part life of every gardener. This procedure must be carried out without fail. The roots of the tree may lack natural moisture due to low rainfall. This is when gardeners water.
Watering trees correctly is not difficult. This is a simple procedure that is performed regularly. It has its own characteristics at every time of the year. This is especially important for fruit-bearing trees. Wrong actions can lead to low yields this year, as well as next year. It is extremely necessary to supply moisture to the tree with fruits during the hot months.
The amount of water for each tree, according to its age and type, can only be determined by the garden owner himself. Important factors are the following:
- soil type;
- its humidity;
- frequency of precipitation in a specific region of the country.
A young tree that was planted in the spring of the current year needs to be watered about 2 or 3 times a month. Moisture must be supplied at the beginning of the active growth of the seedling, the flowering of the buds of future fruits and the formation of the harvest. New young trees are watered immediately after planting. It doesn’t matter at all whether it was planted in spring, summer or autumn period. In each case, the rule for supplying moisture is the same for everyone.
The first waterings not only enrich the seedling with water, but also compact the soil around the young root system. That is why it is highly not recommended to pour several buckets of water around young tree, loosening the wet soil. In such cases, special sprinklers are installed under medium pressure of liquid. Thus, the spray will not be able to fly further than the circle of the trunk of young trees.
In the absence of water pipes garden plots summer residents use watering cans. This way you can spend the same volumes of liquid much more efficiently. After planting and watering a new seedling during a moderate rainy season, water is supplied regularly during the spring, summer and autumn periods. Until the soil around the hole becomes dense enough, the garden owner should use a watering can or sprinkler. Only then will it be possible to lay the hose as desired, including medium pressure. In moderately rainy spring and summer period Liquid is given to young seedlings only in extreme cases of drying out of the soil. The degree of dryness of the soil can be periodically checked by touch.
During a particularly rainy season, excess moisture is not needed at all. Only in the dry end of spring and summer is regular watering of fruit and ordinary seedlings necessary. Otherwise, the summer resident can easily lose them. In the first year after planting, you will need to water the tree only once a week. When using special sprinkler systems, the gardener must carefully monitor the timing.
In subsequent years of life, the supply of moisture is not so necessary. It is necessary to carry out the procedure only when necessary, that is, during severe drought and long periods of lack of precipitation. For example, in the first months of spring, the tree will already have enough liquid. A gardener can use absolutely any methods. Watering should only begin if the soil dries out. It is easy to check this factor by digging the ground with a shovel. If dryness is observed, then you need to immediately make the soil moist.
However, the gardener should not overdo it. Over the previous year, the tree had already developed a powerful root system, which needs not only water, but also a certain amount fresh air. Wet soil will not allow the root system to breathe well. The result is complete rotting of the root system and further loss of the tree. Drying of newly emerged leaves is the first signal of such a problem. Loosening the soil around the trunk will help correct the problem. This will significantly increase air access to the roots.
Old copies
Older trees (3 years or more) require less frequent watering. Additional liquid is supplied only in fairly hot summers or during any other dry period. Plenty of water in the fall will help the tree prepare for winter and avoid damage from the first frost. 2 buckets of water in the morning and evening for a week (during the leaf shedding period) will be quite enough.
In spring, watering even an old tree is carried out as usual. It is advisable that the summer resident monitor the level of dryness of the soil around the trunk.
This will help prevent the roots from rotting and drying out. It is advisable to combine the supply of liquid for trees over 15 years old with various fertilizers. Organic ones are placed in a trench around the trunk, and mineral ones are placed in special holes.
Main mistakes
Many gardeners make mistakes that inevitably lead to the death of various fruit crops. It is not recommended to feed plants with moisture frequently and in small quantities. After such an event, the root system quickly rots.
Water should be poured into a ring-shaped trench around the crown. This way it will be absorbed best, because the root system is located far from the trunk. Other methods are ineffective. Waterlogged soil will do much more harm than good to the plant.
Measures to ensure an uninterrupted water supply at the end of summer are not necessary, because because of this the tree will not be able to properly prepare for wintering. Summer residents are advised to follow general rules at any time of the year, and then they will always have a rich harvest. Young in the spring fruit seedlings You need to water no more than 5 times, and evenly throughout the entire patch of soil near the trunk.
If the roots become visible, they are immediately covered with soil. Water is added rarely, but quite abundantly (much more often in sandy soil). That is why it is important to initially determine the type of soil.
Feeding the garden in spring
in spring orchard needs additional feeding more than ever. It is even required for fertile soil. At this time of year, the summer resident should apply mineral fertilizers around the trunk. Nitrogen and potassium fertilizers are applied in the fall beforehand.
If in the fall horticultural crops were not fertilized, then in mid-April you need to use a complex fertilizer, which necessarily includes all the components necessary for healthy growth. Feeding begins in March or April immediately after the snow has melted. For dry and liquid fertilizers, sufficiently moist soil is needed, since the roots can only absorb dissolved substances and elements. Fertilize in the evening, preferably immediately after heavy rain.
Using the right fertilizers and regular watering throughout the spring, flowering activity will increase in fruit trees. Fruit buds with shoots will quickly form. This way the owner will receive a bountiful harvest. The flowering and growth of a garden pet depends on the availability of nutrients and substances.
Fruit trees in different period require their existence in the garden different approach for watering. So, when and how much to water to Orchard pleased you with your harvest every year?
Watering fruit trees in the year of planting
Sooner or later, a gardener has to plant new fruit trees in his garden. Naturally, after planting, the seedling must be watered. It doesn’t matter when you planted it: in the spring in moisture-saturated soil, in the summer, planted from a container, or in the fall. Watering is still necessary.
The first watering not only makes it possible to saturate the seedling with water, but is largely required to compact the soil around the root system. Therefore, you should not just pour 2 buckets of water under the seedling, watching how it spreads throughout the entire area, eroding the loose soil around the seedling. It is better to install a sprinkler, making the water pressure low so that the splashes do not fly further than the tree trunk circle.
If there is no running water on the site, it is better to do the first watering from a watering can. By pouring the same 2 buckets of water under the seedling using a watering can, you will spend it much more efficiently.
So, the seedling is planted and watered. If the season is not very rainy, watering the seedling will be necessary regularly throughout the summer and autumn. At first, while the earth is in landing pit does not compact, you will have to water it with a sprinkler or watering can, as at the time of planting the seedling. Then you can simply place the hose in the circle around the trunk and turn on a small pressure of water.
If the summer is moderately rainy, then watering is carried out only when the soil is very dry. In rainy summers, watering may not be necessary at all. In case of a dry summer, you will have to water the seedling often and abundantly, otherwise you will simply lose it.
For seedlings in the first year of planting, watering should be carried out at least once a week. If you water with a sprinkler, watch the time. You will have to water for about 2 hours (this mode applies to the average summer; during drought you will have to water more often).
Watering trees in the second year after planting
In the second year of a tree’s life on your site, watering is no longer as necessary as in the first season. Now you will water the tree only when necessary: in extreme heat or in the absence of rain for a long time. At the beginning of spring there is already enough water. Irrigation methods also do not depend on the timing of crop ripening.
You should start watering if there is no rain for a long time, if the soil is dry when you dig it with a shovel. In this case, the tree should be watered. The time and mode of watering may coincide with the watering mode of the first year seedling.
However, in these situations you should not be too zealous. The fact is that over the previous season the tree has already developed an extensive root system, which needs not only moisture, but also breathing. If water is constantly spilled around the tree, then there will be practically no air flow into the soil. As a result, the root system may rot and the tree may die.
The first sign of problems with the root system may be the drying out of newly opened leaves. If you notice this phenomenon, try loosening the soil in the tree trunk circle. If the problem is excess moisture, then this event will increase air access to the roots and the tree will gradually recover.
Watering a tree aged 3 to 15 years
Trees over 3 years old are no longer so demanding when it comes to watering. As a rule, they are watered only in very dry summers or during the period of fruit ripening.
Abundant and regular watering in the autumn is also required. This allows the tree to better prepare for winter and largely avoid frost damage.
Abundant autumn watering is especially useful for plums and cherries. Stone fruits are vulnerable in the winter cold, but if you give them good water in the fall, then the winter will pass without much damage.
Pre-winter watering is carried out after the leaves have fallen from the trees. Please note, however, that different breeds and varieties shed leaves at different times, so watering in the fall is individual for each tree. If possible, water once a day, 2 buckets per tree, for a week. In most cases this is enough.
Sprinkling the crown
Sprinkling can be used for seedlings and young trees during hot, dry summers. However, you need to remember that this should be done in cloudy weather, and better evening at sunset or after sunset. If you use daytime waiting, the water droplets are focused sunlight and the leaves will get burned.
Sprinkling of adult fruit-bearing trees is carried out for preventive purposes before possible return frosts. This treatment increases the stability of the leaf crown against sudden temperature changes. In this case, sprinkling is carried out throughout the night and ends before dawn.
How to water a tree older than 15 years
Watering trees older than 15 years can be combined with fertilizing. However, it must be taken into account that simply scattering mineral fertilizers on the surface or watering with nutrients diluted in water leads to a large consumption of chemicals with minimal effect. For feeding mineral fertilizers make 5-6 indentations around the perimeter of the tree trunk circle, for example, drive a crowbar to a depth of 25 cm into the ground and pull it out.
A handful of complex fertilizer is poured into each such hole and covered with earth. After this, a sprinkler is placed under the tree so that the water is evenly distributed throughout the entire circle around the trunk, covering the places where fertilizers are applied. This feeding will be enough for 2-3 years.
If they contribute organic fertilizers, a trench is made around the tree along the perimeter of the trunk circle, into which manure is placed and covered with earth. Watering after this is carried out in the same way as when fertilizing with mineral fertilizers.
Thus, watering a seedling or mature tree is important factor, on which the health of your garden pet may depend.
