Mid-April is the ideal time to spray the garden when the buds are already swollen but not open. Our consultant Alexey Rybin, agronomist, candidate of agricultural sciences, tells.
April 22 2016
You will be able to save a considerable part of the harvest if you are not too lazy and spray fruit trees and shrubs in the coming days. The trunk and branches are not protected by leaves, so that the substances will reach the address – to the harmful insects lurking in the bark. And since neither the buds nor the buds have opened, the treatment will be completely safe for future fruits and berries. If there is no snow under the trees, remove the fallen debris from the trunk circle (there are probably hundreds of larvae hiding in it) and apply the drug to the soil. For the first treatment, we do not need expensive chemicals, we will use effective recipes from a century ago.
To get rid of fungus, insect larvae, flower beetle, scab and spotting, you need Bordeaux mixture, the cheapest and most effective remedy. You can buy a ready-made drug, but it will not be enough, and it will turn out to be expensive in the end. So let’s cook it ourselves, it’s not difficult at all. Buy 300 g of copper sulfate and 500 g of hydrated lime from a gardening store. Dissolve vitriol in 3 liters of hot water (temperature about 50 degrees). Dissolve lime separately in the same amount of water. Filter both liquids through cheesecloth. Then pour the vitriol into the lime in a thin stream (but not vice versa!), Stirring the solution. Bring up the total volume to 10 liters and strain again. Plants can be sprayed.
Sprinkle all berry bushes abundantly with hot water – heat it almost to a boil and pour all the branches and soil under the plants from the watering can. This simple treatment is enough to kill pests and disease spores. It is not worth saving, one watering can with a volume of 10 liters is enough to process two medium-sized bushes. If you see moss or lichen on the trunks, remove without pity. Scrub them off with a regular wire washcloth. Then treat the damaged areas with iron sulfate, dissolved according to the instructions.
Any day is not suitable for processing – follow the weather forecast and choose clear weather without precipitation. The ideal time is early morning, up to a maximum of 9 o’clock, so you will prevent sunburn on the bark. Prepare everything you need in the evening: mixes, water, ladders and sprayer. Processing begins from the top of the tree, moving to the trunk and then to the near-trunk circle. Use all the prepared mixture without leaving it until next time. When you are finished spraying, change your clothes, wash your face, rinse your mouth. You can temporarily relax: the next treatment will be carried out in July.