Feeding walnuts in autumn

The walnut grows wild in the north of India and China, in Transcaucasia, Asia Minor, Iran, Greece and Ukraine. Relic groves have been preserved in Kyrgyzstan. Although the culture is thermophilic, it can grow with good care even in the Leningrad region. True, there will not be annual harvests, as in the south. Feeding a walnut in the fall to bring in a big harvest and make the tree more frost-resistant is a temptation for many gardeners. But not everyone knows how to do it right.

Do I need to feed a walnut

It would seem, what kind of question? All plants need fertilizer! But in this particular case, one should not hurry with the answer, one must first understand the peculiarities of culture.

Walnut is a tall, up to 25 m tree with a powerful root. It goes 4 meters deep and grows to the sides by 20 m. It turns out that the walnut root system covers a huge amount of soil. And if we take into account that this is an allelopathic culture, that is, it oppresses all plants planted nearby, it turns out that the land developed by the tree is at its full disposal.

In Ukraine, where at least one walnut tree grows in every private yard, the culture in the garden is not fed. Generally! Well, when planting, humus is introduced, they can water a young tree with nitrogen in the spring, and add phosphorus and potassium in the fall, and mulch it with rotted manure or compost. And often they don’t even do this, the result, frankly, will differ little.

But as soon as the nut began to bear fruit – that’s it, they stop paying attention to it. Only fruits are harvested in buckets every year in autumn and dry branches are cut (sometimes). True, industrial plantations are still fed.

But in the Non-Black Earth region, the walnut, not only does it grow poorly, it is fed, the crown is formed, but it still bears fruit irregularly. To make it clear why this happens, it is better to analyze everything in detail, point by point:

1. On chernozems, where the climate is warm, an adult walnut is not fed in private households. With such a feeding area, and even on fertile soils, he himself will take everything that is needed from the soil. Excess fertilizer can only harm the tree. Nitrogen will cause a strong build-up of shoots that will not have time to mature before winter, or will develop to the detriment of fruiting. An excess of other elements will also not bring anything good. No wonder experienced gardeners say that any plant is better to underfeed than to overfeed. Of course, we are talking about a healthy tree that really grows on fertile black soil, and not on construction waste.
2. Industrial plantings of walnuts, even on chernozems, need top dressing. Trees grow densely there, and their feeding area is much smaller than in the private sector. If the plantation is not fertilized, walnuts begin to compete for nutrients, winter poorly and bear fruit worse.

   

3. Why feed the crop on poor soils is understandable. If there are few nutrients in the soil, then no matter how powerful the root system is, it cannot pull out of the ground what is not there.
4. Even in temperate climates, walnuts grow poorly. Most of the varieties are not winter hardy enough already in the Tambov region. In the Northwest, if a walnut can be grown, it will be small, constantly freezes, and almost never bears fruit. And it does not at all resemble that majestic tree, which culture the southerners know. So far, the creation of winter-hardy varieties of satisfactory quality has not been successful, and hybrids with Manchurian walnut have been unsuccessful. It is possible to grow a crop in a cool climate, but it requires a lot of effort. The care complex includes enhanced top dressing, especially autumn ones, which help the tree survive the winter.

And further. Most varieties of walnut are biologically not far from the species plant. And it grows in nature without any care, not to mention top dressing. What will be the varieties and hybrids of the new generation is unknown.

Features of feeding a walnut

There are no global differences in the feeding of walnuts and other fruit crops. In the spring they give mainly nitrogen fertilizers, in the fall phosphorus-potassium.

It is desirable to feed a walnut seedling in the first years of life on chernozems, even if fertilizers were added to the planting pit when planting. In cool regions and on poor soils – a must.

The main time for fertilizing under a walnut is autumn. They should not be poured onto the ground, but should be carefully embedded in the soil. The culture does not like to be disturbed by the roots, so the operation should be carried out carefully. It is better to immediately outline the groove surrounding the crown, into which fertilizers will be applied from year to year. This needs to be considered in more detail.

Fruit trees are best fertilized in the groove that surrounds the tree. Fertilizers are poured there, mixed with soil and watered. The recess should be the same size as the crown of the tree.

Someone may object that the walnut grows simply huge, and the groove will stand a decent distance from the trunk and cover a large area. It can be objected that the culture reaches its maximum size only on chernozems, and even in a warm climate. And there, walnuts are not fed at all, or they are limited to mulching the near-trunk circle with humus every few years.

As you move north, the trees grow smaller and smaller until they become real dwarfs in the Leningrad region. It is in a cool climate that walnut nutrition should be given special importance.

How to feed a walnut tree

Like other crops, walnuts need nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and trace elements. The best effect is the combination of mineral and organic dressings.

Walnut does not like acidic soils, so finely ground tomasslag can be applied to them under the culture. This waste from metallurgical production will not only saturate the soil with phosphorus, but also bring the pH back to normal.

Buying some expensive branded fertilizers for walnuts does not make sense, and will not give the expected “magic” effect. He perfectly perceives cheap top dressing of domestic production.

Feeding walnuts in autumn

It is in the fall that the main dressing of the walnut is produced. Even on chernozems before winter, every four years it is recommended to mulch the trunk circle with humus.

The amount of organic matter is calculated depending on the diameter of the crown (it is not necessary to calculate it up to a centimeter). For each square meter, 3 to 6 kg of humus is added. If this is done in late autumn, organics are left in the form of mulch. The humus introduced before leaf fall is slightly buried in the ground.

In the spring

Spring top dressing is needed only on poor soils, in cold regions, or if the seedling does not grow well. Walnut is a fast-growing crop, most of all it stretches for 2-3 years after planting. In the southern regions on chernozem, it gives an increase of 1,5 cm per season. If the shoots are stretched less than a meter, this can be considered a lag in development, and requires correction with nitrogen fertilizers.

In a cool climate and on poor soils in spring, walnuts are fed annually, and twice. For the first time, on snow that has not had time to melt or frozen-thawed soil, any nitrogen fertilizers are scattered under the crown. You can calculate their number by multiplying the crown projection area in square meters. m for the dosage recommended by the instructions.

The second top dressing is done 20-25 days after the first. Then they bring in a complete mineral complex, which should include 1/3 of the phosphorus and potash fertilizers needed by the walnut for a year. This is approximately 10-12 g of superphosphate and 6-8 g of potassium salt per 1 sq. m.

The second top dressing should not be scattered on the ground, but introduced into the groove surrounding the trunk circle and mixed with the ground. Then be sure to carry out abundant watering.

Lettom

Walnuts need summer feeding only if they have developmental delays. If the gardener wants to do “the best way” and carries out unscheduled fertilization of the crop, the ovaries may begin to crumble, the growth of shoots will increase.

Phosphorus-potassium fertilizing of walnuts carried out at the end of summer is biologically correct to consider autumn. They are designed to speed up the ripening of shoots and wood, help the culture to winter better and lay flower buds next year. In the southern regions, they are usually done in September.

Superphosphate is added to the groove surrounding the walnut at the rate of 20-25 g per meter of crown projection, 12-16 g of potassium salt. They are mixed with soil and spilled with water.

How to properly feed a plant

Summing up, we can give the following recommendations for feeding walnuts:

1. On the chernozem, the culture does not need regular feeding after the start of fruiting. Once every 4 years, the near-trunk circle is mulched with humus in the fall at the rate of 3-4 kg per square meter of crown projection on the ground.
2. Intensive top dressing of a walnut growing on fertile black soil can harm the tree.
3. Poor soils require two spring top dressings. The first is done until the soil is completely thawed with nitrogen fertilizers, the second – after about 3 weeks with a complete mineral complex.
4. Fertilizers should not be applied over the entire area of ​​uXNUMXbuXNUMXbthe near-stem circle, but into a pre-dug groove, the diameter of which matches the size of the crown, mixed with soil and watered abundantly.
5. Without special need in the summer, walnuts do not need to be fed.
6. Carried out at the end of summer, and in the south – at the beginning of autumn, fertilizers are classified as autumn. They are made exclusively with phosphorus and potassium (without nitrogen).
7. In cool regions and on poor soils, late autumn mulching of the trunk circle with humus can be carried out annually.

Tips from experienced gardeners

The walnut, more than other fruit trees, is the expression “it is better to underfeed than to overfeed.” What do experienced gardeners advise beginners when it comes to this culture?

1. Do not expect high or annual yields from walnuts planted even in a temperate climate.
2. On lean soils, carefully adhere to the feeding schedule. Their non-compliance will lead to a lack of harvest and freezing of the tree, an excess – to the shedding of nuts and, again, to the defeat of low temperatures.
3. A walnut growing on black soil should simply be left alone. He will give a good harvest. Surrounded by excessive care, a tree may die.

Conclusion

You need to feed the walnut in the fall correctly. Only then will it grow well and give a bountiful harvest.