What peach care is needed in the fall to prepare for the cold

Juicy sweet peach fruit is a favorite treat for children and adults. They are rich in vitamins A, B, C, as well as phosphorus, calcium, potassium. Thanks to the magnesium content, peaches help relieve bad mood and anxiety. Therefore, in Hungary they are called the fruits of tranquility.

Peach is grown mainly in the south of Russia, in the Krasnodar Territory and in the Crimea. This is a southern plant that is demanding for heat and light. Tree care consists in timely watering, feeding, pruning, protection from diseases and pests. In the article you will find information on caring for peaches in the fall after harvest.

The importance of peach care in autumn

After the end of the fruiting period, the plant prepares for wintering. At this time, it is important to add mineral and organic fertilizers to the soil that will feed the peach until spring, protect the tree from diseases and pests, prune and insulate the root system and stem.

In late summer - early autumn, the peach begins to form new flower buds. How successfully they overwinter depends on soil moisture in the fall. Therefore, water-charging watering is an obligatory stage of autumn care.

Proper autumn care for fruit trees, and in particular for a peach, is the key to obtaining a harvest of large, healthy fruits in the next season.

Autumn care activities

Autumn care activities begin with processing the tree trunk circle.

Digging the soil

This procedure is extremely important for fruit trees, although it requires significant labor and time. Let's list its main advantages:

1. Digging up the ground around the trunk will destroy the pests' wintering grounds. Indeed, some insects overwinter not in foliage or fallen fruits, but in the upper layer of the soil.
2. Improve air and water exchange in the soil. The soil will be saturated with oxygen, moisture will freely penetrate into the ground, and its excess will evaporate.
3. Kill the weeds that take away food and moisture from the peach.
4. If the soil is fertile, then the area around the trunk can be used to grow shade-loving fast growing garden crops or flowering plants.
5. After the work is completed, the soil surface is mulched. This will prevent the roots from freezing and serve as food for the plant in spring.

A competently carried out digging will bring undoubted benefits to the tree.

It is important not to make mistakes that will harm the plant:

1. Too deep digging, injuring the roots, - the shovel is stuck to a depth of 10-15 cm, no more, otherwise the root system is exposed and damaged.
2. In regions with severe winters, the root system is insulated after digging and watering, otherwise the roots located close to the surface will freeze. This is especially important for young, immature seedlings.
3. Digging up light and sandy soils blows out the fertile layer. In this case, it is enough to loosen the top layer by breaking the soil crust.

Watering

In the fall, the peach tree begins to form new flower buds. Their successful wintering depends on soil moisture in the fall.

Podzimny moisture-charging watering is carried out before the plant is warmed for the winter. 9-10 buckets of water are consumed per 1 m² of the trunk circle.

Fertilization

The amount and composition of fertilizers depends on the quality of the soil on the site.If it is poor, then both organic and mineral fertilizers are applied. If not, then organic fertilizers are applied once every 2-3 years.

Compost or humus is used as organic matter. An alternative to such feeding is the cultivation of siderates in the aisles. It can be rapeseed, oil radish, lupine.

From mineral fertilizers during digging add 50 g of calcium chloride and 40 g of superphosphate per 1 m².

Pruning

With the help of a sharp pruner or a garden saw, all dried, old or disease-damaged branches are carefully cut from the tree. They also remove those branches that grow inside the crown and thicken it. Only completely healthy branches and stems are left on the plant, which will bear fruit in the next season.

Whitewash

Whitewashing of fruit trees is carried out after the foliage has been dropped with the arrival of a steady cooling. This whitewash is considered the main one.

Training

Before whitewashing, the soil around the plants is cleaned of debris and covered with a film so that diseased bark, mosses, lichens, peeled off the tree, do not fall on the ground. The trunk is cleaned with wooden or plastic scrapers to remove old bark, overgrown mosses and lichens.

Deep cracks and hollows are sealed with garden varnish, RanNet paste or other compounds. After that, all the garbage accumulated on the film is removed from the site and burned.

Disinfection

The next stage of preparation for whitewashing is spraying the bark with disinfectants. For example, a solution of copper or iron sulfate (300-500 g per 10 liters of water). The trunk and skeletal branches are processed.

Attention. Treatment with iron or copper sulfate is carried out every 4-5 years, since the drugs accumulate in the soil, poisoning it.

In advanced cases, instead of copper sulfate, Nitrafen is used - a more concentrated, but also more dangerous drug for living organisms.

From folk remedies for disinfection, solutions of mineral salts are used in high concentration. For 10 liters of water, take one of the following ingredients:

• 1 kg of table salt;
• 600 g of urea;
• 650 g of nitroammophoska or azofoska;
• 550 g of potassium carbonate;
• 350 g of potassium chloride.

After spraying, they begin to whiten after 2-3 days, when the disinfectant solution is absorbed into the bark.

Important. For young seedlings, less concentrated disinfectants are prepared. In a separate container, the prepared mixture is diluted with water 2 times.

Whitewashing compounds

Fruit trees are whitened both with self-prepared solutions and with purchased products.

The composition is independently prepared from slaked lime (2-2.5 kg per 10 l of water) and laundry soap (50 g) or casein glue (400 g).

Commercial whitewash solutions include all the ingredients you need, including disinfectants and adhesives. This, for example, garden whitewash "Gardener" and paint for trees.

Whitewashing rules

During the procedure, the following rules are followed:

1. The composition is applied to the trunk and skeletal branches with a layer of up to 2 mm. It is recommended to apply two coats one after the other.
2. The slurry should be smooth and thick enough not to run down the trunk.
3. Particular attention is paid to the treatment of cracks and scratches on the bark.
4. The painting of the trunk is finished a few centimeters below ground level. To do this, the soil below is raked from the trunk and, after whitewashing, is returned back.
5. The entire stem and 1/3 of the skeletal branches are whitened. Particular attention is paid to areas cleared of lichen and moss.

Garbage collection

The main purpose of the autumn harvesting of young growth, fallen leaves and fruits is to deprive insect pests of wintering places. All collected garbage is removed from the site and burned.

Protection against diseases and pests

Pest and disease control begins with prevention. In autumn, all fruit and leaf litter is removed from under the crown. Sick and cracked shoots are pruned. The collected garbage is taken outside the garden and burned.

For the prevention of diseases, peaches are sprayed with 2-3% Bordeaux liquid after the leaves fall off.To protect against pests, they are treated with bioinsecticides ("Lepidocid", "Fitoverm", "Bitoxybacillin") and biofungicides ("Mikosan", "Fitosporin", "Gamair", "Alirin").

Council. Before you start preparing solutions, carefully read the instructions and check the biological products for compatibility.

Laundry soap is added to the prepared mixture for better adhesion. After rains, spraying is repeated. Correct preparation and use of biological products qualitatively protects the culture from pests and diseases.

Preparing for winter

Peach is a southern and thermophilic crop, not adapted for wintering in harsh conditions. Therefore, when grown in central Russia, in the Urals and in Siberia, the plant is wrapped for the winter. It is especially important to take care of young trees.

Insulate the seedling like this:

1. In the immediate vicinity of the trunk, two columns are driven into the height of the trunk (before the start of branching).
2. Then the posts and the stem are wrapped with a covering material. You can use burlap or other thick fabric for this purpose.

Another method of insulation is the construction of a cardboard or wooden box. It is installed around the trunk.

If winters in your region are mild (the temperature does not drop below -10 ° C), then you can get by with hilling the stem of the plant to a height of 0.5 m.

It is also good to cover the tree circle with a thick layer of mulch (such as peat, sawdust or straw). The layer thickness should be at least 10 cm. In addition to keeping warm, mulch prevents moisture evaporation from the soil surface.

Care features

Let's highlight the main features of the care of seedlings, as well as the nuances of care, depending on the region and variety of culture.

Saplings

Caring for mature and young trees is somewhat different. When processing seedlings in autumn, the following features are taken into account:

1. When carrying out autumn pruning of young trees, it is important to plan in advance how the crown will develop. With formative pruning, 3-4 skeletal branches are left, forming them in the shape of a bowl.
2. When spraying against pests and diseases, disinfection and whitewashing, weakly concentrated solutions are used so as not to provoke burns.
3. When caring for peach seedlings, special attention is paid to their insulation for the winter. An undeveloped root system located close to the surface of the earth is defenseless against frost.

Also, in caring for a young peach, fertilizing is included to activate growth and development.

Depending on the region and variety

Caring for peach trees when grown in the southern regions is limited to timely fertilizing and watering. In central Russia, in the Urals and in Siberia, it is necessary to take care of the shelter of the plant for the winter. All peach trees are sheltered here, regardless of their variety. Even if it is indicated that the variety is winter-hardy, the plants are still covered for the winter.

In the middle lane, seedlings are planted both in autumn and spring. With the onset of early cold weather with long rains, it is better to dig them in and plant them in the spring, as soon as the spring frosts pass. The soil in the upper layer should warm up to + 12 ... + 15 ° С.

To the north, frost-resistant varieties of peaches take root well when planted in spring. Having strengthened during the spring and summer period, peaches tolerate winter cold better.

In the south, it is preferable to plant seedlings in the fall (in September-October). Before the cold weather arrives, young plants will have time to take root and adapt to a new place.

Autumn spraying of seedlings with "Tsinebom" or 1% Bordeaux liquid will prevent the appearance of curly leaves and other diseases.

Experienced gardening tips

Recommendations and advice from experienced gardeners will help beginners grow peach trees on their site:

1. The peach is planted in autumn or spring. Plants should have time to take root before the onset of cold weather, so they are planted at the end of September. When planting in spring, it is important to have time before the seedlings wake up and the buds open.
2. Saplings are chosen up to 1.5 m high, with a developed root system and bark without damage.
3. Pay special attention to the choice of location landing... It should be sunny and protected from the north wind. A site near a south-facing wall is a good choice.
4. When pruning in the fall and spring, use a pruning shear with sharp blades. Then the slices will be even and heal quickly.
5. The crown of the tree should not be thickened. Peaches need a lot of sunlight and air to grow and develop.
6. Trees are treated with drugs for pests and diseases before the buds open in the spring and after the leaves fall off in the fall.
7. Peach is picky about watering in late spring and early summer. Moisture is essential for fruit set and growth. In the second half of summer, watering is reduced. Before wintering, they carry out abundant water-loading irrigation, which is necessary for successful wintering.

It is interesting:

Step-by-step instructions on how to properly cover the figs for the winter.

How and how to properly feed grapes in the fall.

How and when to collect currant and raspberry leaves for drying for the winter.

A guide on how to plant cherries correctly in the fall and avoid mistakes.

Conclusion

Taking care of fruit trees in autumn will allow them to successfully winter and please you with an excellent harvest next summer. Preparations for the new season begin after harvest. Care activities include watering, fertilizing, pruning, pest and disease control.