Content
The fruiting period pulls a large amount of nutrients from raspberry bushes. If you do not take any measures to restore the balance of the soil, then in the coming year the growth of bushes and fruiting of berries will deteriorate significantly. In view of this, autumn feeding of raspberries is a mandatory event for every gardener.
This article will talk about what fertilizers are needed and which ones should not be added to the soil when growing raspberries in the fall. You will also learn what care this plant needs before the onset of winter cold.
Nitrogen. Should it be added to the soil in the fall?
Before it is executed feeding raspberries in the fall, removal from row spacing is carried out weedy plants. Then you should dig up the soil between the rows to a depth of about 15 cm, and in the rows between raspberry bushes - to 8 cm in depth.
Once every 3 years, before digging, manure is applied into the rows at the rate of 4 kg per 1 m2. Nitrogen fertilizers stimulate the growth of shoots, which prevents their maturation. As a result, the winter hardiness of raspberries is reduced.Some gardeners, based on this, come to the wrong conclusion, which is that nitrogen cannot be added to the soil at the end of summer.
However, starting in August, secondary root growth begins in perennial plants, including raspberries. During this period, it is very important that there is a sufficient amount of nitrogen in the soil. It is usually not necessary to specifically feed the bushes with this microelement, since there is still a sufficient amount of it in the soil during this period, provided that it was fertilized in the summer. In addition, during this period, plants redistribute the nitrogen received in the summer, which was stored as a reserve in leaves and shoots.
What fertilizers are best suited for autumn feeding?
Gardeners and gardeners prefer to add organic matter as fertilizer for raspberries. Among the organic fertilizers:
- Compost.
- Ash.
- Manure.
- Green manure.
- Bird droppings.
- Peat.
Let's look at each of these fertilizers separately.
Compost. Its features and advantages
If compost is prepared correctly, its effectiveness can be higher than when fertilizing the soil with manure. Sufficiently rotted compost saturates the soil with nutrients. In addition, it kills pathogens that may well settle in the soil during the raspberry growing season.
To prepare high-quality compost, you need to throw into the pit:
- Sawdust.
- Kitchen waste (vegetables, tea leaves, fruits, coffee grounds and cereals).
- Hay and straw.
- Mown grass.
- Thin stems and branches of garden trees and bushes.
- Seaweed.
- Recycled wood that has been put through a garden shredder.
- Chopped weeds.
- Rotted leaves and other garden waste.
- Rotted manure.
- Natural materials such as paper and fabric.
- Mown grass.
Manure is a natural organic fertilizer
To feed raspberries, you should use rotted manure. It will not only serve the bushes as a fertilizer, but will also protect the roots of the bushes from the cold, as it has good thermal insulation properties. How manure is used to fertilize raspberries in the fall has already been mentioned in the article above.
Manure is very useful for raspberries, as it promotes the rapid growth of early bushes. in the spring. Saturates the soil with all the microelements necessary for raspberries.
Ash as fertilizer for raspberries
After harvesting, you can scatter ash under the raspberry bushes. This fertilizer is rich in potassium, which, when accumulated in tissues, produces a harvest of sweet berries. In addition, the ash contains lime, which acts as a neutralizer of acidity in the soil, which raspberries really don’t like. Ash from burnt grass, wood and straw is best suited for fertilizing raspberries.
Bird droppings
This organic fertilizer is the most concentrated. In view of this, it can only be used in diluted form. It is considered the most suitable for fertilizing raspberries chicken droppings. It is diluted in a ratio of 1:20. It is important to distribute the fertilizer evenly.
Warning! If you make a stronger concentrate than 1:20, then the roots of the plants can get serious burns, which will cause them not only to get sick, but even to die.Therefore, bird droppings should be used very carefully.
Peat as a fertilizer for raspberries
Peat does not contain as many useful substances as other types of organic fertilizers, however, its application to raspberry soil has a very good effect on the bushes. The fact is that it is peat that improves the soil structure. It is often used as mulch.
The soil into which peat has been added becomes looser, due to which the roots are provided with good oxygen exchange. Peat is often used as part of peat manure composts.
Using green manure
Green manure is a plant planted between rows that serves as an excellent feed for raspberries in the fall. They are sown in late July or early August. Clover, mustard and vetch can serve as green manure. After harvesting, the row spacing is mowed and dug up along with the soil. Thus, the green mass rots by spring, enriching the soil with all the microelements necessary for the full development of raspberry bushes.
Application of mineral fertilizers
If you do not have the opportunity to add organic matter to the soil, then you can replace it with mineral fertilizers containing potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen. If we talk about nitrogen-containing fertilizers, they are applied in spring and early summer. In this case, you will need ammonium nitrate per 1 m2 – 13 g of fertilizer. You can also fertilize raspberries with urea in a proportion of 9 g per 1 m2.
In the autumn, the soil of the raspberry tree needs potassium fertilizers. However, their composition should not contain chlorine. As a top dressing, you can use potassium sulfate at the rate of 25 g of fertilizer per 1 m2. The application of potassium fertilizers increases the frost resistance of raspberries.
In addition to the above-mentioned fertilizers, monophosphate and monopotassium phosphate can be added to the soil. These drugs are highly soluble and are completely absorbed by raspberries, without residue. However, the fertilizer must be buried in the soil, closer to the roots of the plants. You will need 40 g of product per bush. Potassium magnesia is another potassium-containing drug. It also contains magnesium. The product is not very concentrated, so its dose can be doubled.
Mulching as a means of frost protection
In order for the applied fertilizers to bring maximum benefit to the bushes, the roots must be covered before wintering. This is due to the fact that the soil cleared of weeds dries out faster and also does not protect the root system from freezing.
Sawdust, peat and mown grass are often used as covering materials. If you live in a harsh climate, then the bushes can also be bent and covered with non-woven material to protect them from severe cold. This is especially important if your area receives little rainfall during the winter. Of course, the covering material should be secured, for example, with stones.
Fertilizing and preparing raspberries for winter is an important stage in growing this healthy and very tasty berry. Such activities do not require any special skills, so even an inexperienced gardener can cope with them. By spending a few hours caring for raspberries in the fall, you will get a bountiful harvest next season.
We invite you to watch a video about how and what is the best way to fertilize raspberries:
