Content
Caring for a peach is not an easy task. The tree is heat-loving, so it reacts sharply to temperature changes. Peaches are cultivated in subtropical countries. But thanks to the emergence of new frost-resistant varieties, fruit growing has become possible in our latitudes. To ensure regular and abundant fruiting, peach trees should be cared for all year round. Compliance with agrotechnical measures and care rules will allow you to obtain ripe fruits even in Siberian conditions.
How to care for a peach
Large-scale maintenance work during the peach growing process occurs in the spring. After wintering, the tree needs to recover and enter the growing season. Basic stages of peach care.
- Sanitary pruning. The procedure is performed with the arrival of heat, when the air temperature is not lower than + 5 °C. If the winter was frosty, then there is no need to rush. Gardeners advise postponing pruning until the peach begins to actively grow. Then it will be possible to more accurately determine the degree of frostbite of the crown. If the peach is severely damaged, then it should be trimmed in stages.Simultaneous removal of all frostbitten branches will reduce immunity. Trim dry, broken, frostbitten branches. The spring care procedure helps to form the upper part of the seedling and renew the crown of mature trees. The procedure promotes optimal distribution of nutrients, improves fruiting, and maintains a balance between the crown and root system.
- Graft. In March or early April, peach grafting is performed. The best rootstocks are plum, apricot, and cherry plum. You cannot vaccinate after spraying the leaves with fungicides or insecticides. The method of grafting is chosen by the gardener himself, depending on his experience.
- Treatment against diseases and pests. When growing peach, this point must be given due attention. After all, a sick plant will not be able to fully grow and bear fruit. Preventive treatment against infections and pests can be combined.
Time and method of comprehensive protection:
- in March - whitewashing of trunks;
- the moment the buds appear - spraying the branches;
- budding - crown treatment;
- after flowering - spraying the foliage.
How often should you water a peach?
Excess and lack of liquid equally lead to the death of the peach. Therefore, watering the fruit tree is carried out in moderate doses, but regularly. Lack of moisture during active growth will lead to the development of weak, deformed leaf blades, the process of photosynthesis will slow down, and all the buds will not hatch after winter.
Number of water treatments per growing season: for early varieties 2-3, for late varieties – up to 6 times. Use 3-5 buckets of clean water at a time.Amount depending on the age of the fruit crop:
- for a one-year or two-year-old peach, the required volume of water is 15 liters per 1 sq. m area of the tree trunk circle;
- if the tree is older than two years - 20 liters per 1 sq. m area of the trunk circle.
The peach tree is moistened for the first time after wintering at the end of May. Especially if the winter was not snowy, but the spring was without rain. The remaining two times are held in the summer, in July and August. During the period of fruit ripening, peach should not be watered. Approximately 3 weeks before the expected harvest, you should stop moistening the tree. Otherwise, the fruits will lose their sugar content and become watery.
It is better to carry out the care procedure itself in the early morning or evening. It is important that the water reaches the roots, the depth is 60-70 cm. First of all, furrows are made along the perimeter of the circle around the trunk. The depth of these ditches is 7-10 cm. For a young plant, one furrow is enough. For older trees, 2-3 grooves are formed. The distance between them is 30-40 cm.
In the fall, moisture-recharging watering is performed - this is an important stage in peach care. Because the procedure increases the frost resistance of peach. For 1 sq. m area of the tree trunk circle will require 1 bucket of water.
Loosening the soil and controlling weeds
Preparing the site and caring for the peach begins with leveling the surface of the earth, removing large stones and bushes, and digging up the ground. The land is cultivated to a depth of 70-80 cm. Fertile soils are cultivated to a depth of 40-50 cm. In order to provide the soil with air, the soil is loosened. This peach care procedure allows you to:
- reduce the risk of fungal diseases in conditions of high humidity;
- update the layer of waste soil;
- destroy soil crusts;
- eliminate weed roots.
It is recommended to loosen the substrate after each moistening. Tools for caring for a peach will require a hoe, hoe or rake. The loosening procedure reduces moisture evaporation from the ground and increases water absorption.
How to feed a peach tree
Peach needs feeding every year. The amount and composition of chemicals depends on the fertility of the soil. If the tree is planted in poor soil, then organic and mineral substances need to be added. If the soil is fertile, then only the latter will be sufficient. Organic fertilizers are added to the substrate once every 3 years.
- In March, before the buds swell, the fruit crop is treated with a 7% urea solution. The mineral compound fills the plant with nitrogen, stimulates the growth of green mass, and destroys fungal infections that have overwintered in the bark. However, if the buds have blossomed, the nitrogenous solution will burn them.
- If spraying was not done in a timely manner, then the work of caring for the peach can be replaced with root feeding. Urea 50 g per 1 square meter is added to freshly loosened soil. m or 70-80 g of ammonium nitrate. The substances are scattered into the grooves of the circumferential circle. Every 2-3 years, increase the dosage by 20 g.
- In the summer, peach is fed by spraying the crown. A suitable solution for this care procedure is: 40 g urea, 50 g ammonium nitrate, 60-80 g potassium sulfate, 60 g ammonium sulfate, 50 g calcium chloride, 150 g aqueous superphosphate solution, 10 g borax, 15 g manganese. When the fruits ripen on the tree, the last two components should be removed.
- For rich color and increased sugar content, foliar treatments are added: 30 g of potassium salt per bucket of water.
How to feed peach after fruiting
In autumn, peach also needs care, in particular, feeding. Fertilizers are applied to the tree trunk furrow. It is recommended to choose mineral complex products and organic substances. Dosage for aged peach tree:
- 1-2 years - you need 10 kg of compost or manure, 80 g of superphosphate, 30 g of potassium salt;
- 3-6 years – 15 kg of manure, 60 g of ammonium nitrate, 100 g of superphosphate, 50 g of potassium salt are required;
- 6-8 years - you need 30 kg of manure, 130 g of ammonium nitrate, 100 g of potassium salt;
- adult trees will need 30 kg of manure, 120 g of ammonium nitrate, 100 g of potassium salt.
Preparing peaches for winter
Gardeners carefully care for the peach tree throughout the season. However, to preserve the health of the crop, autumn care work is no less important.
Digging and mulching around the trunk circle. In order for the peach to easily survive the wintering period, it is necessary, in addition to the planned care measures, to cultivate the land. Deep loosening of the soil will help get rid of harmful insects in it. You should dig at least 10 cm from the surface and at a distance of half a meter from the trunk. Under such conditions, the root system will remain intact.
After digging, they move on to the next care procedure - mulching the circle around the trunk. The main purpose of this type of care:
- soil moisture retention;
- additional food for the tree;
- preventing weed growth;
- giving a decorative appearance to the tree trunk circle.
The following are used as mulch: crushed pine bark, sawdust, peat, hay, straw. Layer thickness 5-10 cm.To prevent natural components from rotting, air circulation is necessary. This is achieved by leaving a distance from the trunk to the mulch.
Tree shelters for the winter. Peaches are very afraid of cold weather. A sharp change in temperature can destroy the plant. In order for a tree to survive the winter without loss, shelter is required. After the leaves have fallen, when the temperature outside has not yet dropped below 0 °C, the seedlings are bent to the ground. They are secured with pegs, but you need to be careful with fragile shoots. It is better to cut off old branches and treat the areas with garden varnish. The top of the peach is covered with an airtight material.
The crown of an adult tree, which can no longer be bent down, is wrapped in material. The main thing is that the fabric is not dense, otherwise the care activities will not give positive results. Without air, the peach will dry out.
Protection from rodents. In addition to the cold weather, peach is saved from rodents in winter. The first method: the trunk and low-growing branches are wrapped in various materials. Mesh, spruce branches, and roofing felt work well. The second method of peach care involves the use of chemicals. The repellent mixture consists of fish oil and naphthalene in a ratio of 8:1, respectively.
Autumn spraying. One of the components of peach care after fruiting is protection from enemies, diseases and parasites. It is in the fall that fungal spores become active. Treatment will help destroy infections so that by spring they do not spread throughout the tree.
Features of growing peaches in different regions:
Growing peach on a summer cottage in the Moscow region will not surprise anyone. However, this is not done by enthusiasts, but by gardeners with many years of experience.Because the process of growing and caring for a fruit tree involves a number of subtleties.
In outskirts of Moscow
The climate in the Moscow region is temperate continental, with relatively warm winters, humid summers and frosts in spring. For such weather conditions, it is important to choose the appropriate peach variety. The best representatives of peaches for cultivation in this region are characterized by:
- early or mid-early fruiting period;
- resistance to low temperature conditions in winter;
- ability to withstand returning spring frosts.
As a rule, seedlings for the Moscow region are sold in local nurseries. If cultivation and care technologies are followed, peaches will ripen in open ground in the Moscow region without any problems. It is recommended to use the following agrotechnical measures and methods of caring for peach.
- In the fall, before wintering, cut out the tree conductor, leaving only the 4 lower shortened shoots.
- Mandatory mulching of the tree trunk circle for the winter.
- Provide reliable shelter for the peach in the form of spruce, burlap, and foliage.
- Arrange regular watering during dry summers. Young seedlings need to be watered more often than mature trees.
- The standard liquid rate for one tree is 50 liters.
- Nitrogen-containing preparations are used as fertilizers, which stimulate the rapid appearance of green mass.
- In summer and autumn, potassium-phosphorus fertilizers are applied.
The climatic features of the Moscow region require: care and preparation of peaches for wintering, proper shelter of the plantings. Trees need to be insulated after fertilizing, bending them to the ground.
In Central Russia
Peaches are not picky about soil composition. But at the same time, good aeration and low acidity of the soil are important.When growing peaches in central Russia, you need to choose sunny, wind-protected places. The best option is a site located on the south side of the building.
It is recommended to plant seedlings and care in early spring, before the buds swell. They must have time to acclimatize in a new place, take root and begin to grow after spring frosts.
An important criterion for the safety of a tree in central Russia is proper wintering shelter. Fruit buds tolerate frost down to -27 °C. If temperatures drop below, then waiting for flowering in the spring is pointless. The tree can withstand temperatures down to -35°C.
In order not to jeopardize the health of the peach, you should take care of reliable shelter. Dry tops, straw, and dry grass are used as materials. Cover the top with roofing felt or polyethylene. The third layer is snow 20-25 cm thick. If there is none, you can use bags of sawdust.
In central Russia, peach trees are grown in greenhouses with grapes. Or they make special houses from plywood.
In Siberia
Caring for peach before and after harvesting involves: regular watering, but not more than once every 7 days, mulching the circle around the trunk with sand or humus with a layer of 5-8 cm, eliminating weeds. It is not recommended to feed the fruit tree for the first 3 years after planting. It is necessary to exclude nitrogen fertilizers, which reduce the frost resistance of the crop.
Winter care involves shelter for the peach. A homemade wooden frame covered with film is perfect. As long as it's not cold outside, the ends remain open. At temperatures below - 7 ° C, the top of the shelter is covered with roofing felt, and the ends are sealed. If snow falls, it is thrown onto the frame.You need to make sure that the snow remains on the roof; if necessary, cover it with branches or boards.
The roof over the peach is not dismantled until the end of the spring frosts. Open the sides for ventilation. Autumn spraying with a solution of Bordeaux mixture helps peach to cope well with the winter in Siberia. The skeletal branches of the tree are whitened with lime.
After removing the frame, cut off dry, frostbitten, broken shoots. Remove shoots that thicken the crown or give small growth. Thanks to the shelter, the growing season of the peach is delayed, and it blooms after May 20. Then return frosts are no longer dangerous for the inflorescences. Thus, caring for and growing peach in Siberia becomes possible, taking into account the choice of a frost-resistant variety.
Conclusion
Caring for peach is divided into a number of main stages, the implementation of which leads to obtaining the desired harvest. Growing a tree is comparable to real art. A gardener learns from the mistakes of others and his own. Constantly improved in the process of growing peach. Caring for a fruit tree is becoming an interesting activity that is being picked up by enthusiasts not only in the southern, but also in the northern regions of the country.
