Apple trees need balanced feeding for good fruiting. Beginning gardeners consider the most important period for applying fertilizers to be spring, when the plant’s vitality awakens and young shoots begin to grow. However, experience shows that applying the right products to the soil in the fall can significantly improve yields.
Autumn feeding is carried out after the apples ripen and are harvested. During this period, the soil still remains quite warm and moist, and the plant is just preparing for hibernation. You need to focus not on calendar dates, but on the temperature and timing of fruit ripening.
Fertilizers are applied along the perimeter of the trunk, retreating from it by about half a meter. Some gardeners recommend retreating from the trunk at a distance equal to the diameter of the crown. Organic fertilizers can be applied to the soil, scattering them over the entire area, without large indentations.
The two main substances that apple trees need before winter are potassium and phosphorus. Nitrogen fertilizers, which stimulate growth, are contraindicated in the fall. It is better to leave them for the spring.
Each gardener uses his own means to feed apple trees. Below are five of the best fall fertilizers.
Mineral fertilizers
In the fall, these can be phosphorus, potassium or combined phosphorus-potassium products.The correct dose can be calculated taking into account the manufacturer's recommendations, the variety and age of the apple tree. The older the tree, the more fertilizer it usually needs. Separate instructions exist for young trees that have not yet produced their first harvest.
Ash
It is a good source of essential fall minerals. Ash is more suitable for soil with high acidity because it has a strong alkaline reaction. If the soil is not acidic enough, ash cannot be used.
Manure
One of the best organic fertilizers for apple trees. The main condition is that the manure must be well rotted. The soil above the roots of the apple tree is moistened with slurry, not very far from the trunk.
Humus
The effect of this fertilizer is similar to manure. The recommendations are the same - the humus must be of good “condition”. Organic matter that has not completely decomposed will not yield its benefits during the cold season, remaining in the ground as useless ballast until spring.
Bone flour
It is recommended for beginning gardeners as a good source of phosphorus. You can easily “overdo it” with industrially produced mineral fertilizers due to inexperience. Bone meal is safer in this regard.
The selected fertilizers can be in dry form (bone meal, ash) or liquid form (slurry, liquid minerals). Any fertilizing is applied to the soil after good watering. Dry fertilizers are scattered over the selected area and dug up along with the soil to a depth of about 20 cm. Liquid fertilizers are simply watered evenly over the desired areas.
Autumn fertilizers will allow the apple tree to better withstand the winter, restore the energy spent on growing and ripening the fruit, and help maintain (or increase) the yield for the next year.
