Do you want to get tasty and he althy fruit from your plot? Remember that it is extremely importantsoil preparation for orchard ! It will largely depend on whether the newly planted fruit trees and shrubs will catch on, as well as how they will grow and bear fruit in the coming years. See step by stephow to prepare the soil for orchard
Preparation of the soil for the orchard
Many people make the hole with a peat substrate, manure or compost just before planting a fruit tree. It is a convenient, inexpensive and easy to implement solution for us, but is it really sufficient? Well, unfortunately, by taking such an easy task, you can expect some problems in the cultivation of fruit trees.The trees planted in dressed holes will accept well, but in the later period the cultivation will not grow well. Why? The roots of such plants develop only within the fovea, they have limited access to water and nutrients. It will be particularly problematic for plants planted in light soils. Here, seasoning the hole itself is not enough and it is worth spreading garden peat or compost in a thin layer over the entire surface of the orchard. Below, a short instruction:How to prepare the soil for orchard "
Note!Assuming that you will plant trees in the fall, i.e. from mid-October, soil preparation for the orchard should start at the beginning of August.
Preparation of the soil for the orchard. Step 1 - Weed Removal
" Before you start soil improvement, it is worth getting rid of intruders who can then take away valuable nutrients from your orchard plants. In a small area of the plot, remove the weeds by digging the soil (remember to pull out all the dandelion roots and couch grass rhizomes).With this activity, you will need the so-called American pitchfork. When you feel that your orchard area is too large and manual weed removal will be too laborious, you can use one of the herbicides, such as Roundup. Remember to do it in advance, keeping the grace period specified on the product&39;s packaging. Personally, however, I advise against using this type of measures in amateur crops. If you remove the weeds yourself, you will do a good job for the benefit of the environment around you. After removing the weeds, level the soil. "
Preparation of the soil for the orchard. Step 2 - soil fertilization
"As I mentioned before, the mere sealing of the holes for fruit trees is not enough. Especially on too light soils. After removing the weeds, proceed to the improvement of such soils by fertilizing with phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen. If you do not have experience in using and choosing the right fertilizers, the easiest way is to use a multi-component fertilizer containing balanced amounts of individual components.Sprinkle about 2 handfuls of such fertilizer on each square meter of soil surface (however, it is best to carefully read the instructions on the packaging of the selected fertilizer). Before fertilizing, it is worth checking the properties of the soil and its pH. The best soil for apple and pear cultivation is slightly acidic soil (pH 6.2 to 6.7). If, however, you are going to grow cherries, the soil should be close to neutral (pH 6.8 to 7.4).If the soil pH is too low (acidic soil), it is also worth liming the soil. However, remember to wait at least 2-3 weeks from sowing mineral fertilizers to liming. Lime can react with mineral fertilizers, often very unfavorable, therefore such a time interval between mineral fertilization and liming is necessary. "
After sowing fertilizers, spread the peat. Peat left on the surface of the soil quickly dries up and loses its properties. To prevent this from happening, ditch the peat together with the soil as soon as you spread the peat.Here, too, we must pay attention to the type of peat used. Acid peat will acidify the soil, so we use it only when it is necessary to lower the current soil pH. Otherwise, use only de-acidified peat.
The most important steps related topreparation of the soil for the orchardare already behind you. There is one more thing that many gardeners forget or fail to do out of sheer laziness. However, it is worth the effort to get the desired effect …
Preparation of the soil for the orchard. Step 3 - green fertilizers
One of the basic advantages of growing fruit plants on your own may be the possibility of obtaining he althier food, richer in nutrients. Krzysztof Abramek, the author of the e-book Vitamins, Minerals and Supplements, drew attention to the problem of the content of these ingredients in our food in an interesting way, who states that at present:
"… fruits and vegetables contain much less vitamins than even thirty years ago.The amount of vitamins and minerals contained in 1 kg of plants that were cultivated 100 years ago is compared to what is contained in 10 kg today. For example, tomatoes you see in a supermarket contain up to 90% less vitamin C than their counterparts that grew outdoors thirty years ago. "
Isn't it scary? There are many reasons for this. Here, however, I would like to draw your attention to one of them, which is the lack of nutrients in the soil. Here is how the author of the above-mentioned e-book put it:
" If only 3 components (NPK) are supplied to the ground, and plants extract several dozen from it as they grow, they begin to lack them. It is estimated that the soil in Poland yielded approximately 1,200 times and that when it was cultivated using natural methods, the balance of minerals was maintained - after the introduction of artificial fertilization, the soil was sterilized. "
" Therefore, it is important that, in addition to organic fertilization, in the area of the future orchard, also plants for the so-calledgreen fertilizer. Thanks to this, you will get a soil that is plump and rich in nutrients, which will then be available for the newly planted fruit plants. So, after applying fertilizers and digging up the soil with peat, sow the plants for green manure, e.g. phacelia. Sowing must be carried out at the beginning of August. It is this procedure that determines the early date of soil preparation for the cultivation of fruit trees. Until autumn, the phacelia will grow a bit, and as soon as it starts to bloom, you can dig it with soil. To speed up the breakdown of green matter, pour some nitrogen fertilizer onto the phacelia. Then the plants need to be crushed and thoroughly dug. "
In such a prepared position, you can successfully plant fruit shrubs and trees.
