Pre-winter-autumn important garden care work
Contents ✓
PRE-WINTER WORK IN THE GARDEN
In November, the preparation of the garden for winter is completed: it is necessary to cover the seedlings in the pit, as well as the soil near the trees planted on the mounds, prepare cuttings for winter and spring vaccinations, take measures to protect the garden from rodents and chemical treatments from pests and diseases, complete the whitewashing of the trunks fruit trees to prevent sunburn in the spring, and put away all inventory for winter storage.
SOIL AND PLANTS CARE
mid-November, we recommend that you finish digging the soil, if you are doing it. In the process of digging the sod, turn it over, cut it into layers and lay it with the roots up without breaking it into pieces. This method of digging contributes to better retention of snow. Most of the exposed roots of grasses and weeds will die under the influence of frost, turning into humus. So the layers of turf will become loose by the spring, it will be easy to process them with a rake.
In November, whitewash the stems and bases of the skeletal branches. This must be done to protect fruit trees from sunburn in the winter-spring period. If you do not do this now, then whitewashing will have to be carried out in late February - early March. And this, as you understand, is quite difficult to do, since there is snow in the garden.
At the same time, the bright sun, which begins to burn strongly already at the end of February and in March, causes burns of the bark of trees, and frost cracks appear. And a fungal infection easily sits on the wounds of the freezer. As a result, the trees become sick, the yield is reduced and the plants may even die. Therefore, we advise you to make whitewashing a must-have autumn event.
How does whitewash work? The white color reflects the sun's rays, as a result, the heating of the trunk and branches is reduced, which means that the cells of the cortex do not awaken under the influence of high temperature. If whitewashing is not carried out, then under the sun's rays the bark begins to "work", and frosts come at night. As a result of the temperature difference - frost holes.
Moreover, it is best to whitewash not with a simple whitewash, which is easily washed off by rains (in this case, whitewashing will have to be repeated in the spring), but with a special modern paint that is not washed off during the winter period. For example, use sunscreen garden paint (these are sold in stores). If it is not possible to buy it, prepare the whitewash yourself: in a bucket of warm water (10 l), dilute 2-3 kg of fresh slaked lime or chalk, 50-100 g of casein glue, 400-500 g of copper sulfate, previously dissolved in hot water. Dilute the solution with water to the consistency of the density of sour cream. Such a composition is not washed off by rain for a long time, and due to the content of copper sulfate, it better protects and disinfects the bark, and prevents the penetration of a fungal infection.
AUTUMN PREPARATION OF CUTTINGS
After the snow falls and the first frosts come, start harvesting cuttings for winter and spring grafting. Previously, cuttings should not be cut. They must be hardened. To harden the cuttings, the weather should stand for a week with an air temperature of minus 5-10 °. After such hardening, the cuttings are better stored.
Why is it impossible to prepare cuttings in the spring, immediately before grafting? This option is possible if the winter is mild. If the winter is severe, then the buds on the shoots will most likely be damaged by frost, which means that the vaccination will be unsuccessful - because the buds have died. Since we cannot know in advance what kind of winter it will be, we advise you to harvest cuttings in November, in advance, in order to be sure of their safety.
It is better to store the prepared cuttings in a snow pile: wrap them in a film along with the snow, and bury the bundle in a snow pile. If the winter is not snowy, then you can store the cuttings on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator at a temperature of 4-5 °. For convenience, the cuttings can be cut into 2-3 parts, then wrapped in a damp cloth or paper, and on top - in a thin plastic bag.
Reference by topic: Harvesting cuttings for vaccinations in December WHAT, WHEN AND HOW?
FIGHT AGAINST PESTS, DISEASES AND RODENTS IN AUTUMN
This summer has been quite hot. Such weather caused the rapid development of pests - for example, apple flower beetle, pear mite, codling moth, sawfly, as well as pathogens of fungal diseases - scab, coccomycosis, moniliosis, rosporiosis, powdery mildew, etc. Now, in November, when the weather is fine, treat tree crowns with a 7% urea solution.
Fallen leaves can be removed, but if you do not, then spray these leaves with a solution of urea for disinfection. After all, leaves are a good insulating material for the root system, and besides, they overheat and become organic fertilizer. That is why many gardeners do not remove foliage. But it is necessary to destroy the infection on it.
Now it is important to sanitize fruit trees: clean boles and skeletal branches from fungi and
lichens, dead bark and moss. To do this, use wire brushes. Together with the bark, you will remove the cocoons of caterpillars, laying eggs of various pests that have settled there for the winter. After processing is carried out, burn all removed parts.
Young seedlings aged 3-5 years must be protected from rodents. Even slight damage to the teeth of mice or voles can cost the plant its life. Tie young seedlings with roofing material, fiberglass, spruce branches or install a metal mesh at a height of 70-80 cm from the ground.
On sale there are special nets for protection against rodents - they are most convenient to use. If it is not possible to purchase them, here is another way to protect the boles of young trees. Take plastic bottles with a capacity of 1,5-2 liters, cut off the bottom and top of them, then cut them lengthwise and wrap them around the headquarters.
Secure the bottle with rope or wire. Place the first bottle so that its lower part is buried in the soil. Then above this bottle above, place the second one, with a slight overlap, and so on until the first skeletal branch. Lightly cover the bottom of the tree with earth. Such a home-made device will protect not only from hares and mouse-like rodents, but also from winter desiccation, sunburn.
AUTUMN GARDEN CARE - MY SCHEDULE
I love the autumn season very much, when the exhausting summer heat ends and in the country there is an opportunity to inhale the fresh cool air with pleasure. Despite the fact that the main crop of vegetables and fruits has already been harvested in the fall, there are no urgent matters on the site.
"REFILLING" FOR THE WINTER
During this period, I pay special attention to my garden. After all, the autumn months for fruit and berry crops are very responsible: they are preparing for winter, and I hasten to help them with this. In such unpredictable weather conditions, which have been set in winter in our region in recent years, the correct preparation of horticultural crops for wintering becomes the key to a good harvest for the next season.
Immediately after fruiting, I feed fruit trees and berries with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers. For these purposes, I use double superphosphate and potassium sulfate, the application rates of which I calculate depending on the culture and its age (see table). These fertilizers contribute to better maturation of shoots and increase the winter hardiness of plants.
Application rates of mineral fertilizers for fruit and berry crops in autumn
culture | Application rate, g / sq. m | |
Double superphosphate | Potassium sulphate | |
Young apple trees | 60-75 | 40-50 |
adult apple trees | 170-220 | 120-140 |
Cherries, plums, apricot | 50-70 | 35-45 |
Gooseberries and currants | 35-50 | 25-35 |
Raspberries | 20 | 15 |
I WATER EVEN IN THE RAIN
Abundant moisture-charging watering, which I spend in October, helps to increase the frost resistance of the root system of any horticultural crop, even if there is enough rainfall at that time. In more severe regions, it is better to do this earlier - in September. Deeply moistened soil freezes and thaws more slowly in winter, which protects plant roots from damage during severe frosts and sharp thaws.
REMOVE EXTRA
After collecting late-ripening fruit varieties, I carefully examine the trees and remove all mummified fruits from the branches, if I find any. From the ground I must remove all the pada
face. After all, both what hangs on trees and what lies under them is a breeding ground for infections and pests, so I never leave them in the garden, but destroy them by burning or digging in the far corner of the site.
After leaf fall, I rake up all the fallen leaves in the garden so that it does not serve as a refuge for rodents and cause the spread of diseases in the new season. I use the foliage to obtain compost, laying and layering with earth in a specially designated place.
CUTTING FOR HEALTH
The next important event that I spend annually in the autumn period is the pruning of trees and shrubs. On trees, I remove all damaged, dried and diseased branches. Then I cut out all the shoots that thicken and grow inside the crown and shorten the annual growth by about a third. If necessary, I reduce the crown of the tree, shortening the skeletal branches to a well-developed side shoot, looking in the direction I need. After pruning, I cover all sections with garden pitch.
On currant and gooseberry bushes, I remove shoots damaged by diseases and located close to the ground. Then I thin out the bushes, cutting out the weak and rubbing against each other annual branches to zero.
I also do pruning in raspberries. Here I cut out, without leaving stumps, all fruit-bearing, as well as weak and damaged shoots of gall midge. I shorten the tops of young stems by 10-15 cm.
Council
In order to rid the garden of pests that have gathered to spend the winter on plants and in their near-trunk circles, as well as for the treatment or prevention of fungal diseases after pruning, it is advisable to spray trees and shrubs with a 5-7% urea solution, paying attention to the soil in the projection of their crowns. This treatment also serves as an excellent top dressing, which promotes active growth and development of plants in the spring months.
WHITEWASHING IS NOT JUST FOR BEAUTY
A few days after this treatment, I start whitewashing the trees. I spend this event in order to protect their wood from frost and sunburn, which so often happen in winter if the plants are not whitewashed in the fall. This procedure also rids the trees of pests and protects the bark from damage by rodents.
First, I clean the trunks and skeletal branches, removing the dead bark to the height that I can reach. If I find hollows and cracks in the wood, I clean them to healthy tissues, treat them with a 1% solution of copper sulfate and cover them with a thick mash based on clay and mullein. After that, I whitewash with a solution, which I prepare from 3 kg of lime, 0,5 kg of copper sulfate and 200 g of carpentry (mezdrovo) glue (in liquid form) based on 10 liters of water.
LOOSENING AND DIGGING
I carefully loosen the near-trunk circles of shrubs, young seedlings and raspberry aisles, and dig up the soil under adult trees for half a bayonet of a shovel, and I don’t break clods of earth. This technique improves air exchange in the soil, and in spring it better retains moisture from melting snow.
SHELTER
Then I spend shelter for the winter of those crops that need it. I fall asleep planting strawberries with fallen needles from a nearby pine forest. In the near-trunk circles of berry bushes and young trees I lay dried plant mulch, a thick layer of which protects their root system from freezing.
So that in winter small rodents do not huddle in this mulch, I layer it with dry branches of lemon balm and mint, which grow in abundance on my site - the animals do not tolerate this smell. The stems and lower skeletal branches of young trees are additionally wrapped with old nylon tights. This protects them from damage not only by mice, but also by hares.
These simple activities allow me to fully prepare the garden for the upcoming winter and protect it from all the hardships that garden crops are exposed to in the cold season.
© Author: Anatoly Petrovich DRUZHNIKOV, Belgorod Region, Stary Oskol
HOW TO PREPARE THE GARDEN FOR FROST AT THE BEGINNING OF WINTER
Before the onset of severe frosts, pruning of trees and shrubs is possible. Roses and blueberries should preferably be cut when the air temperature is above 0°. But the shelter should be installed after the start of frost, so that the bushes do not prop up.
Shelter of seedlings and young trees, protection from hares and mice - everything that is at hand is suitable for these purposes: the remains of covering material, cardboard, old newspapers, sawdust or straw. Trunks can be coated with store-bought rodent poisons or pungent odors to repel hares and mice. Low seedlings and undersized conifers can be covered completely by first tying the branches.
Sorting of own seeds. In winter, it's time to deal with a lot of bags and bags of seed. If there is no collection date or expiration date on the package (on the retail packaging), do a control seed germination. For the procedure, it is necessary to prepare a low container lined with wet wipes or a substrate for seedlings. From each bag of seeds, select at least 10-20 seeds, do not soak them and do not treat them with growth stimulants. Spread the seeds (each type in a separate container), cover with a film or sprinkle with soil mixture and leave in a warm place for germination. Watch the seeds: after one to two weeks, most crops will sprout if the seeds are not lost. Set aside those suitable for planting for the next season, throw out the unsuitable ones. Germinated seeds can be planted in pots or cassettes and left in a greenhouse or on a windowsill.
Control germination is more reliable than testing germination by dipping seeds in water.
First aid kit for plants. We check the availability of means to protect against diseases and pests. We draw up lists of missing preparations - mineral mixtures, fertilizers, components for the preparation of greenhouse soil.
Disinfection of the winter greenhouse in late autumn - early winter is mandatory if the plants are cultivated all year round. Many summer residents prefer sulfur treatment (sulfur blocks, burning sulfur powder, etc.) - this is an unsafe undertaking that does not always give the desired result. Firstly, it is enough to wash a small polycarbonate greenhouse with warm water and laundry soap, because after treatment with sulfur, sulfur cinders can settle on the surface of polycarbonate, film or other coating. Secondly, sulfur vapor will destroy all living plants in the greenhouse. Before deciding on such a method of disinfection, think carefully and take care of the protection of the respiratory system, vision and skin.
Inspection of vegetables in the cellar, preparation of materials for the manufacture of snow-retaining gratings or shields, bird feeders, putting tools in order - have time to do all these works in the winter.
Do not forget about the supports for the lower branches of fruit trees: under the weight of snow, the branches break off. Snow can be removed from trees only if it has not iced over, otherwise the tree bark will suffer.
Reference by topic: 10 mandatory and important gardening activities in October-November which you CAN’t miss
GARDEN PREPARATION FOR WINTER - VIDEO
© Author: D. KOLESOV, gardener
Below other entries on the topic "Dacha and garden - with their own hands"
- Why do they put a stone under the roots when planting a walnut?
- Container garden with own hands and plants for a mini garden
- Pruning trees for beginners
- Reproduction of coniferous cuttings
- How to combine trees and flowers on the site - tips for placement and care
- Instructions for planting seedlings in autumn from a nurseryman
- Irgi pruning scheme and tips for beginners to grow this tree
- How to cut the bushes
- How to cut a tree on a site - a master class and tips
- Rusty spots on chestnut leaves - how to treat?
Subscribe to updates in our groups and share.
Let's be friends!