Intercrops should be sown in empty places, where we will plant fruit trees later, in the fall or spring.With older trees, you can sow catch crops directly underneath them.When trees grow in a row intercrops should be sown along the entire strip along the rows. If we have single-growing trees, then the seeds of the aftercrop plants are sown circularly around the trunk.
Catch crops are usually sown after the main plants previously grown, usually after the vegetables that have been harvested previously.However, in the case of fruit plants, we can sow plants that have a positive effect on the substrate in the middle of summer.The plants suitable for catch crops are mustard seeds, field leaves and lupins.All these plants have a beneficial effect on the soil, because they enrich it with valuable organic matter.
It is especially important when the soil in our garden is weak and sandy. Catch crops sown in late summer will have time to grow until autumn, so that they can be cut later and dug shallow. Aftercrop sown in spring would compete with fruit trees for nitrogen, as a result of which trees would grow less.
On the other hand, in the second half of summer, the plants will extract the nitrogen remaining from the spring fertilization from the soil.This is beneficial for trees, as too much nitrogen in the soil could extend their growth excessively.Green twigs that don't have time to lignify by winter would definitely freeze during winter frosts.
Thoughtful topping of trees
After the intercrops, their roots will remain in the ground, which will decompose during the winter.In spring, the roots of trees will immediately benefit from the ingredients that are left in the soil.Some plants have a different effect on trees. It is worth knowing that Tagetes has valuable properties, namely it "catches" harmful nematodes from the soil. After sowing these plants within trees, the number of harmful organisms decreases significantly.
