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Raspberries belong to the category of common shrubs. Its fruits have a pleasant taste and aroma. In addition, raspberries have healing properties and help in the treatment of colds and other diseases. In order for the shrub to fully develop and give a good harvest every year, it is necessary to fertilize it regularly. Many experienced gardeners recommend feeding raspberries with urea during this period, as it contains all the necessary components for active growth.
As a fertilizer, urea with the marking “B” on the package should be used.
Is it possible to feed raspberries with urea in spring
Urea or carbamide is a nitrogen fertilizer in which the mass fraction of the main component is 46%. It is a diamide of carbonic acid. This granular fertilizer is white, odorless, easily soluble in water.
Urea is not only possible, but must also be used to feed raspberries in the spring. This fertilizer provides the fruit bush with nutrients that are needed at this stage of development. This allows raspberries to quickly recover from the winter and begin an active growing season.
Why feed raspberries with urea in spring
Nitrogen is an important nutrient for plants. It is this component that is the main part of the proteins, chlorophyll, DNA, enzymes that are required for the active growth of the shrub. Especially increased need for this nutrient occurs in the spring during the period of active growth of shoots and leaves.
Feeding raspberries in early spring with urea helps to make up for the nitrogen deficiency that has formed after winter. Also, this fertilizer contributes to obtaining a high yield of excellent quality. After all, nitrogen helps not only to grow shoots and leaves, but also flowers and fruits.
With a lack of this component in the soil:
- raspberry development slows down;
- the leaves become smaller, acquire a light shade;
- shoots become thinner;
- the number of ovaries decreases.
When using urea to feed raspberries, it should be borne in mind that this fertilizer reacts with enzymes and bacteria upon contact with the soil. And over the next 2-3 days, a chemical reaction occurs, as a result of which urea is converted into ammonium carbonate. This substance is subsequently transformed into volatile ammonia.
And if this fertilizer is simply poured at the base of raspberry bushes, then the effectiveness of using urea will be insignificant. Since the nutrients will not be able to get to the roots of the shrub. Therefore, experienced gardeners recommend spraying or watering raspberries with urea so that top dressing gives the desired result.
Pros and cons of application
Carbamide is very popular among gardeners and gardeners. After all, this fertilizer has many advantages. But it also has certain disadvantages that cannot be ignored.
Carbamide for watering raspberries can be used at temperatures above +14 ° C
The main advantages:
- fertilizer is well absorbed;
- the result is visible in a day;
- accelerates the pace of development;
- increases the yield;
- activates vegetative processes;
- availability;
- ease of use;
- suitable for root, foliar top dressing;
- slowly dissolves in the soil;
- destroys wintering pests;
- dissolves in water without residue.
Disadvantages:
- requires incorporation into the soil;
- does not give results when used on depleted soil;
- not compatible with fertilizers based on calcium, lime;
- at high humidity it is quickly deactivated and washed out from the soil.
Terms of feeding raspberries with urea
In order for the root dressing of raspberries in spring with urea for a large crop to be as effective as possible, it is necessary to carry it out with well-heated soil. Therefore, experienced gardeners recommend doing it in mid-April or in the first half of May, depending on the climatic characteristics of the region.
Such timing of feeding with urea must be adhered to, since nitrogen is converted into an accessible form for raspberries by soil microorganisms. And at low temperatures, they are still inactive.
And when using urea to protect shrubs from pests, earlier processing is recommended. In this case, raspberries can be sprayed at a temperature of + 5 ° C before the start of the growing season. The optimal time for such a procedure is the beginning of April.
How to dilute urea to feed raspberries in spring
For feeding raspberries in the spring, an aqueous solution of urea should be used. Before preparing it, you must put on gloves on your hands. Mix fertilizer with water in a plastic or glass container to avoid a chemical reaction.
Initially, you should dissolve the required dosage of the product in a small amount of water, and then bring the total volume to the desired one. The nutrient solution should be prepared immediately before use, as it can be used within 12 hours.
The concentration of the working fluid depends on the purpose of its application. Determining the right dosage of fertilizer is easy if you know what it contains:
- in a tablespoon – 11 g;
- in a matchbox – 14 g;
- in a glass – 131 g.
Urea can be applied on different types of soil
How to treat raspberries with urea in spring
You need to use urea for raspberries in the spring correctly. Only in this case, the fertilizer will be useful for the shrub. Therefore, you should familiarize yourself with the basic rules of procedure.
Watering
Before applying fertilizer to the soil, you must first prepare the raspberry. To do this, it is recommended to cut off the lower shoots, remove weeds and loosen the topsoil, but carefully, without affecting the roots.
It is not necessary to carry out additional watering of the shrub before the procedure, since there is enough moisture in the soil in spring. The norm of urea for feeding raspberries in the spring is 30 g per 10 liters of water. Nutrient solution should be watered bushes at the rate of 3 liters per plant. Watering with fertilizer is recommended in the evening.
Spraying
Processing raspberries in the spring with urea helps not only to fill the nitrogen deficiency, but also is the prevention of damage by weevil, aphids.
To destroy wintering pests, you need to spray the shrub in early spring before bud break. In this case, it is necessary to use a solution of increased concentration, namely 30 g per 1 liter. However, it is important to keep deadlines. Since later processing can lead to foliage burns. The solution should be sprayed not only on the shoots of the shrub, but also on the topsoil at its base.
According to experienced gardeners, early spraying of raspberry urea also helps to slow flowering by 7-10 days. This makes it possible to prevent damage to the shrub from recurrent frosts. Therefore, such treatment is especially relevant for early varieties of the crop.
Before use, the urea solution must be thoroughly mixed.
You can spray raspberries with carbamide in spring to make up for nitrogen deficiency about a week before flowering. A later procedure may adversely affect the ovary of the fruit. In this case, a less concentrated solution should be used. To spray raspberries, add 20 g of fertilizer to a bucket of water. The solution should be evenly sprayed on the leaves and shoots of the shrub.
Processing is recommended to be carried out in cloudy calm weather in the morning or in the evening. The consumption rate of the nutrient solution is 1 liter per hundred square meters.
Conclusion
Knowing how to properly feed raspberries with urea in the spring, you can count on the abundant fruiting of the shrub. But it should be understood that the lack of nitrogen, as well as its excess, negatively affects the development of plants. Therefore, it is important to strictly adhere to the recommendations for the use of urea, observe the timing of top dressing, and adhere to the indicated dosages. Otherwise, fertilizer can be not only useless, but can also harm raspberries.
