How and what to feed honeysuckle after harvesting, how to fertilize correctly

They began to grow honeysuckle bushes on the plots relatively recently, so many gardeners still make many mistakes. The most common is the lack of dressing after harvest, which occurs in late May - early June. In order for honeysuckle to bear fruit abundantly, it is necessary to provide it with a full care in summer and autumn.

Why feed honeysuckle after harvest

Some gardeners believe that after fruiting, honeysuckle bushes do not need nutrients and can simply grow on the site until next year. However, this opinion is fundamentally wrong. To honeysuckle did not degenerate and continued to bear fruit, it is necessary to feed the bushes after harvesting.

Important! Honeysuckle needs additional feeding after harvest even more than other plants, since the period of fruit ripening in the shrub coincides with the first wave of shoot growth.

What does a shrub need during this period

Like any plant, honeysuckle primarily needs a sufficient amount of potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus. These are the main trace elements that ensure the full development of the bush.

Unlike other plants, honeysuckle after harvesting can and should be fed with nitrogen fertilizers, since during this period the second wave of shoot growth begins. The fruits of honeysuckle ripen at the beginning of summer, so you should not be afraid of the growth of new shoots as a result of feeding - the plant will still have time to prepare for winter.

Potassium also plays an important role in development. Besides improving taste of fruits, it has many other positive effects on the plant:

• increases resistance to a lack of moisture in the soil and air, stabilizing the water balance in the plant;
• improves nitrogen and carbon metabolism in cells;
• activates the processes of photosynthesis and fermentation;
• increases the frost resistance of the plant;
• improves plant immunity, making it immune to certain fungal diseases.

A sufficient amount of phosphorus is necessary for the development of the root system, the regulation of respiratory processes. Thanks to this microelement, the plant receives the necessary energy, without which there is a lag in development, loss of foliage.

Important! Since young bushes cannot be fed after planting, so as not to burn the fragile root system, the necessary nutrients are laid in advance in the planting hole. This amount of fertilizer should be enough for 2-3 years, during which the honeysuckle may not be additionally fed.

Also, do not forget about regular watering with water at room temperature if honeysuckle grows in a region with dry summers. An adult bush needs 30 liters of liquid once every 10 days.

How to feed honeysuckle after harvest

After picking berries, you need to help the plant to restore strength with the help of fertilizing - mineral or organic. Folk fertilizers are also very popular.

Mineral fertilizers

After picking the berries, it is recommended to feed the honeysuckle with nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus... For 1 bush, 3-4 liters of solution are prepared according to the following recipe: 15-20 g of potassium sulfide and superphosphate per 1 bucket of water.

On the poor soils you can make a second feeding according to the same recipe at the end of summer, before the leaves begin to fall off the honeysuckle.

In July, nitrophoska is used for feeding, which contains all 3 elements necessary for the plant. The fertilizer solution is prepared at the rate of 20 g of the drug per 10 l of water.

Important! Mineral fertilizers have a wider spectrum of action than organic fertilizers and act faster.

Organic

To feed honeysuckle after harvest, the following types of organic fertilizers are most often used:

• chicken droppings;
• cattle and horse manure;
• peat, silt, compost;
• sawdust and shredded bark;
• stems of herbaceous plants, mainly legumes.

Along with the above-mentioned organic fertilizers, humus and various bacterial preparations are often used, microorganisms in which stimulate the development of the root system of the plant.

Important! Gardeners who prefer organic fertilizers recommend feeding honeysuckle with manure in July at the rate of 10 liters per bush.

Folk remedies

A popular folk remedy for fertilizing honeysuckle is yeast, which accelerates the decomposition of organic matter in the soil.

Potato peelings are widely used for feeding, since the starch contained in them, especially in combination with ash, has a beneficial effect on the development of the plant.

Important! To extract the maximum amount of starch from the potato peel, it is recommended to prepare an infusion: pour boiling water over the peel in a ratio of 3: 4 and leave for 3 days. Strain the resulting liquid and water the bushes with it. For watering, you can use the water in which the potatoes were boiled.

In addition to the above means, the following are often used:

1. Sleeping coffee grounds from natural ground coffee, containing a large amount of nitrogen. Before fertilizing, the soil around the honeysuckle must be loosened and well moistened. The liquid is poured into a previously prepared hole at the rate of 100 ml per 1 bush. It is recommended to carry out such feeding once every 3 days for 14 days. Tea brewing can be used in the same way.
2. Aquarium water that is high in nutrients and has a neutral pH. It is recommended to water the honeysuckle 1-2 times after harvest.
3. Banana peel, which is a great source of nutrients. 4 banana skins are dried in the oven, crushed to a powdery state, crushed shell of 1 egg is added. For 1 liter of water, take 2 tbsp. l. powder and 20 g of magnesium sulfate and infused for 3 hours. The bushes are sprayed early in the morning or in the evening in dry weather. The procedure is repeated in 1-2 weeks.

How to choose a top dressing

The choice of a suitable top dressing largely depends on the general condition of the plant, as well as on the preferences of the gardener.

If the bush develops normally, it is better to give preference to multicomponent preparations, for example, nitrophoske, for general feeding of the bush. If a lack of one of the elements is noticeable in the outward appearance of the plant, it is necessary to additionally use a one-component fertilizer.

The assimilation of nutrients from mineral supplements is faster and more complete than from organic ones. Due to this, their number required for one bush is almost twice as low.

Top dressing can be applied both under the root and by spraying the leaves. Root top dressing, in turn, can be done by watering or by dry method: scattering in the root zone, mulching, embedding in the soil.

If urea is used for fertilization, it is evenly scattered around the bush. Compost, green manure and manure are embedded in the soil during digging.

Important! Organic fertilizers are not mixed with mineral fertilizers. The transfer of a plant from one type of dressing to another can be carried out only in the new vegetative season.

Fertilization instructions

For foliar feeding, honeysuckle leaves are sprayed with a product prepared from 50 g of urea per 10 l of water, or 1% solution of ammonium nitrate - 100 g per 1 l of water. After 3-4 days, the procedure is repeated.

Another recipe for foliar feeding of honeysuckle is also used: 1 tbsp. l. urea and superphosphate, ½ tbsp. l. potassium sulfate per 10 liters of water. This allows you to provide the plant with all the necessary elements at the same time.

Often foliar feeding is done with micronutrient fertilizers containing other elements necessary for the plant, in addition to nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus.

Complex mineral fertilizers in granules are embedded in the soil - 20 g per 1 sq. m of the root zone. Top dressing is carried out every 3-4 weeks until the first yellowed leaves appear on the bush.

Important! When embedding fertilizers in the soil, it must be remembered that the root system of the honeysuckle is located under the very surface of the soil, therefore, it is important to be extremely careful when feeding.

Organic dressings are prepared according to the following recipes:

1. 1/3 part of chicken droppings is dissolved in 1/2 part of water and infused for 2 days. 1 liter of the resulting infusion is diluted with 5 liters of water. Top dressing is carried out strictly at the root, avoiding contact with the bush.
2. Take 1 bucket of mullein for 5 buckets of water. The resulting mixture is infused for 10 days, stirring daily. It is best to use the resulting infusion for feeding in July and August. Fertilizer is applied in dry cool weather.

Experienced gardening tips

Insofar as honeysuckle bears fruit early, in regions with warm, sunny autumn, it can bloom again in September. In this case, the bushes will have several very large flowers. They are immediately cut off so that the plant does not expend energy and can prepare for a successful winter.

During flowering, ovary formation and harvesting, any chemical treatment of honeysuckle bushes is unacceptable.

Conclusion

A bountiful harvest of useful honeysuckle berries, harvested at the beginning of summer, should not mislead the gardener about the need for top dressing.

In order for the plant to retain the ability to bear fruit and grow healthy, it is important to regularly care for it and fertilize it throughout the summer.