Preparing the garden for winter: what to do in the fall

Feed trees and shrubs

Why is it needed. In autumn, plants store nutrients for the winter. And the more they accumulate, the easier it will be for them to endure adverse weather. However, at this time there are very few nutrients in the soil – everything was used in the summer. Therefore, autumn top dressing must be done.

How to do it. For each fruit plant, there are times and norms for fertilizing (doses are indicated for 1 plant):

• apple and pear – immediately after harvesting: 1,5 cups of superphosphate and 1 cup of potassium sulfate;
• plums and plums – after picking the fruit: 3 tbsp. spoons of superphosphate and 2 tbsp. spoons of potassium sulfate;
• cherries and cherries – at the end of September: 1 glass of superphosphate and 3 tbsp. spoons of potassium sulfate;
• currant – in late September – early October: 0,5 cups of superphosphate and 1 cup of potassium sulfate;
• gooseberries – in late September – early October: 1,5 tbsp. spoons of superphosphate and 4 tbsp. spoons of potassium sulfate.

It is also useful to sprinkle tree trunks with humus or compost – they also increase the winter hardiness of plants. Under the berries, organic matter is laid every year, and under fruit trees – 1 time in 2 – 3 years for digging, 3 – 5 kg per 1 sq. m near-stem circle (1).

But in no case should mineral nitrogen and fresh manure be applied in autumn! They delay the maturation of wood, which greatly reduces winter hardiness.

Carry out dehumidification irrigation

Why is it needed. It is water that carries nutrients through plants, which significantly increase the winter hardiness of trees (2) and help them survive harsh winters. Therefore, in the garden it is necessary to carry out moisture-charging watering.

How to do it. It is held in October, when the leaves fall. The soil at this time must be wetted to a depth of 40 – 60 cm. To achieve this, it is necessary to pour under each plant:

• on sandy soils – 4 – 5 buckets of water;
• on loam – 6 – 7 buckets;
• on clay – 8 – 9 buckets.

Moisture-charging irrigation must be carried out without fail, even if it rains!

Destroy pests and pathogens

Why is it needed. Why autumn? Yes, all sorts of uninvited guests usually annoy us in spring and summer, but in autumn they are absent. But it is at the end of the season that it is easiest to deal with them – they leave for the winter and are not able to fly away or crawl away from your anger.

How to do it. The first step is to collect all the fallen fruits and those that remained hanging on the trees in the winter. And not just collect, but also burn! Or dig deep into the soil – 50 cm, no less.

Then you need to rake up all the fallen leaves. If there were few pests and diseases in the summer, the leaves can be placed in a compost heap. But remember: their layer should be no more than 10 – 15 cm, and on top it is necessary to pour a thick layer of earth or peat (at least 30 cm). Only in this case, in the spring of next year, fungal spores and pests will not be able to get out and die.

If there are many pests and diseases, then the leaves must be raked and burned! But the ashes from them can be safely used – this is an excellent fertilizer.

And only if there are no pests in the garden (and this is extremely rare), and only diseases are present, you can not rake the leaves, because at first it is an excellent mulch, and then (when they begin to decompose) also an excellent organic fertilizer! And it is very easy to kill disease spores: you need to sprinkle the fallen leaves with urea – 500 – 800 g (4 – 6 glasses) per 10 liters of water.

The next step is to clean the boles and thick branches of mature trees from dead bark. Remove all larvae and cocoons. But before you get to work, spread a cloth or paper under the tree so that later all the garbage and pests can be collected and burned.

Stamps and skeletal branches affected by diseases must be cleaned with a sharp knife to healthy wood, then the wounds should be disinfected with copper sulphate (10 g per 1 liter of water) and covered with a thin layer of garden pitch.

If the affected tissue covers the branches with a ring, they are cut out and burned. And if the trunk is damaged, then the whole tree is removed.

All dry and fading, with thickenings, swellings, with cracked bark, branches and shoots immediately cut and burn!

Remove shoots from cherries as often as possible – aphids feed on it.

And finally, under the trees and berry bushes, it is necessary to dig up the soil (with the exception of plants, such as sea buckthorn, in which the roots are located close to the ground – in this case, the soil is simply loosened by 2–3 cm). It is not necessary to break up clods of earth – leave them in the winter. It is in them that most pests will be found. And when frost comes, they will die. This is one of the important stages of preparing the garden in the fall.

whitewash the trees

Why is it needed. Many are sure that for beauty. But no. The meaning of whitewashing is to protect the trees from the effects of the sun, which causes burns and frost holes on the trunks and skeletal branches. They happen in winter, when under the influence of rays the water in the trunks thaws, and at night it freezes and the ice breaks the bark. The problem usually occurs in late February – early March (3). Therefore, it is necessary to whiten, and always in the fall!

How to do it. The easiest way is to buy special acrylic paint for trees at the garden center. It is easy to use, it does not wash off for a long time (it will definitely last until spring), and modern formulations also include substances that protect trunks from pests and diseases.

If you are a supporter of organic farming, you can use a mixture of clay and mullein as a whitewash. Clay perfectly protects the trunks from the sun, frost, dry winds and at the same time does not clog pores on the bark, allows plants to breathe. The mullein sticks the clay together and prevents it from falling off. And besides, it contains a lot of nutrients and bioactive substances. You can add a little lime and iron sulfate to this mixture. This is a good prevention against diseases, but also beauty – such a “whitewash” has an unusual yellowish-light green hue and looks very impressive on the trunks.

But traditional lime should not be used – it draws precious moisture from the trunk, and it can completely destroy young plants.

Mulch tree trunks

Why is it needed. Mulch prevents damage to the roots when the soil freezes hard in snowless winters. After all, the roots are more sensitive to frost than the trunk and branches. Even in the most winter-hardy apple trees, the crown of which can withstand -40 ° C, the roots can suffer already at -12 – 14 ° C. Therefore, mulching the soil is simply necessary to prepare the garden for winter.

How to do it. It is not necessary to mulch the entire garden – it is enough to insulate the tree trunks. Do this after water-charging irrigation, before the onset of frost. Humus, peat or sawdust can be used as mulch – they are poured with a layer of 5 – 10 cm within a radius of 1,5 – 2 m from the trunk.

In years when humus or compost is applied as fertilizer in the garden, additional mulch is not needed – they themselves will play the role of a blanket.

Popular questions and answers

We talked about preparing the garden for winter with agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mikhailova.

Sources of

1. Fisenko A.N., Serpukhovitina K.A., Stolyarov A.I. Garden. Handbook // Rostov-on-Don, Rostov University Press, 1994 – 416 p.
2. Lavrik P.I., Rybitsky N.A., Gavrilov I.S. Gardener’s desk book // L.: Lenizdat, 1972 – 568 p.
3. Romanov V.V., Ganichkina O.A., Akimov A.A., Uvarov E.V. In the garden and in the garden // Yaroslavl, Upper Volga book publishing house, 1989 – 288 p.