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Whatever plants gardeners grow on their plots, they need timely feeding. They are carried out throughout the growing season. Grapes are no exception. But the most important fertilizing for the grapevine must be done in the fall before covering the vine for the winter.
It is at this time that the wood ripens and the grapes accumulate nutrients for fruiting in the next season. And by autumn the soil was depleted, some of the nutrients went to the plant itself, and some were washed away with precipitation. Therefore, you need to think about how to feed the grapes in the fall.
Nutrients needed by grapes
The grapes are fed with organic and mineral fertilizers. Moreover, this issue is decided by gardeners individually. The fact is that in recent years there has been a tendency to grow environmentally friendly products. And organic fertilizers contain many macroelements that are contained in chemical products for fertilizing.
Each of the macroelements plays a specific role in the life of grapes during the growing season and in preparation for winter:
- fertilizers containing nitrogen are necessary for the growth and strengthening of shoots;
- It is also necessary to fertilize grapes with superphosphate containing phosphorus. It is applied when the berries on the plants ripen. The ripening process is accelerated, and the grape bushes have enough time to prepare for winter.
- Potassium fertilizing carried out in the fall promotes the ripening of shoots. Moreover, the grapes become less susceptible to cold weather, overwinter better, and next year’s harvest will be sweeter, since sugar formation improves;
- Copper-containing fertilizers strengthen the immunity of the grapevine and accelerate the development of shoots.
Microelements such as iron, magnesium, sulfur, boron are added to grape plantings in the autumn so that the plants can winter well.
Advice from experienced gardeners:
Fertilizers for autumn feeding
Grape fertilizers are divided into organic and mineral. Each of them must be applied during autumn fertilizing. In addition to the main “work” - feeding the grapevine, they contribute to the formation of the future harvest and improve the taste of the finished product.
Let's start the excursion with organics.
Group of organic fertilizers
These include:
- manure and bird droppings;
- humus and compote;
- peat and wood ash.
By fertilizing the vineyard with manure and chicken droppings, gardeners not only enrich the soil with essential nutrients, but also improve its structure. It becomes loose and breathable, and therefore the root system receives enough oxygen.
As for peat, humus, compost or ash, they cannot be called an independent fertilizer. Despite the fact that they contain various microelements, they work more to improve the physical and chemical properties of the soil.
Mineral fertilizers
Grapes are fertilized in the fall with both single-component and multi-component mineral fertilizers.
Among the top dressings, one-component mineral fertilizers are most often used:
- superphosphate in granules;
- potassium salt, potassium sulfate or chloride, potassium magnesium;
- urea;
- ammonium nitrate.
Ammofoska and nitrophoska, as a variant of mineral fertilizers with many components, also need to be applied during the autumn feeding of grapes. These are potassium and phosphorus containing fertilizers.
Autumn feeding plan
You need to feed the grapes carefully. The fact is that too much of a nutrient can cause more harm than too little. To fertilize grapes, it is advisable to draw up a rough plan. Why exemplary? You just need to pay attention to the condition of the plants before fertilizing. The choice of fertilizers applied to grapes in the fall depends on the composition of the soil.
Any fertilizing is carried out on well-watered soil. It would be a good idea to loosen it further so that the fertilizer gets to its intended destination sooner. At the first stage, the plants need to be fertilized with organic matter. Dry substances are added to the plants: chicken droppings, compost, manure (choose one of the fertilizers) and ash.Such fertilizing is necessary to enrich the soil with microelements and nutrients. After all, during the fruiting period the soil and grapes were depleted. This feeding is carried out in early September.
At the second stage, it is better to use mineral fertilizers for autumn feeding. As a rule, it is carried out 10-14 days after adding organic matter. And here you need to pay attention to soil acidity. If it is normal, then there will be enough potassium and phosphorus fertilizers. You can use ammophoska or nitrophoska.
It is not necessary to enter them separately. It is best to prepare an effective fertilizer by combining superphosphate (20 grams) and potassium salt (10 grams). They are added to 10 liters of water and poured over the grape bushes.
If the soil is in good condition, you can get by with ash and peat. Both of these components are mixed in equal proportions and poured under the root, mixing with the soil.
In addition to root feeding, it is necessary to spray the leaves of the grapes with the same fertilizers. With foliar spraying, nutrients are absorbed better.
How to determine soil acidity
Increased soil acidity is harmful to many plants, including grapes. Not every gardener can afford a professional soil analysis. But it is not necessary to contact specialists. You can use the leaves of garden plants for this. Currant and cherry leaves work better than litmus test.
Boiling water is poured into a liter jar with leaves. After the water has cooled, add a little earth:
- if the water turns red, the soil is acidic;
- blue water indicates weak acidity;
- if the color turns blue, the soil is neutral.
Mulching
A fertilized vineyard is well watered. This is a mandatory procedure before wintering plants. To conserve water and fertilizing applied, tree trunk circles are mulched before the onset of frost.
For this operation, you can use pine needles, mown grass, and humus. This surface covering also additionally fertilizes the grapes. Moreover, the supply of nutrients occurs gradually.
Fertilizing the autumn vineyard:
Useful tips
In autumn, the vineyard is fertilized without fail.
Mineral fertilizers can be applied in different ways: dry or with water. Liquid fertilizing is more effective. If dry granules of mineral fertilizers are poured under the grapes, then they cannot be poured under the trunk of the plant. It is best to dig a ditch around the grapes, add fertilizer and mix it with the soil.
Organics are also added from a distance. They retreat from the trunk by 0.5-0.8 m and dig a hole. The fertilizer needs to be buried half a meter.
