Monthly Apple Care Calendar

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The apple tree is perhaps the most common fruit crop. Literally in each yard one or a couple of apple trees grows. So they live on their own, give a harvest, and the gardener is sometimes happy with everything, when he notices that the neighbor has exactly the same variety on identical soil, of equal age, but gives a much larger crop. The gardener begins to study the reason and finds out that it turns out there is a special calendar, that is, simply put, an elementary list of tips for months, which indicates when and what to do.

Content:

January apple care
February apple care
March apple care
Apple tree care in April
May apple care
Apple tree care in June
Apple tree care in July
Apple tree care in August
September apple tree care
October apple care
Apple tree care in November
December apple tree care

January apple care

In January, the trees are at rest and the first thing you can do this cold month is to get the stocks of the apple tree from the basement, cuttings from the trench, and take a winter vaccination. It is also called a desktop or convenient vaccination: you sit in a comfortable room and prepare seedlings.

What can be the troubles in the garden in January? Of course, this is the sticking of wet snow on the shoots, especially young ones, so you have to go to the garden and gently knock down the snow from the branches and lay out the poison from rodents, otherwise your apple trees may die. Well, if from the fall you took care and protected the trunks from rodents, then it was easier for you to do this.

If there is little snow in the garden, then try to trample it so that it does not melt, and does not evaporate quickly in the spring, but is absorbed into the soil, enriching the garden with moisture. In addition, trampled snow also interferes with movement along the site of rodents.

In heat-loving apple varieties, one needs to check the stems - whether they are covered, whether the shelter has torn off by the wind, if necessary, having corrected it.

In January, you should pay a little more attention to the young apple tree seedlings planted in the fall. Their shoots are very thin and fragile, and even a small amount of snow on them can cause breaks. Therefore, go through the garden and gently tap the snow from the shoots. Sometimes the tops of young seedlings are even bent under the weight of snow - the seedlings also need to be removed from the snow on the tops of the tops.

February apple care

In February, the forced rest of trees continues, and gardeners continue to be grafted. But for the vaccination, of course, do not forget about the apple trees in the area: wet, heavy and sticky snow may fall, and it also needs to be shaken off, and new poisoned baits should be decomposed from rodents.

In February, in addition to sticky snow, it often rains ice, it’s beautiful - the trees stand, as if from a fairy tale, chained with ice, as if silvered, but this miracle is very dangerous, because branches under the weight of heavy ice can break very easily.

It is difficult to cope with such a misfortune - you can try to lightly tap the branches with a stick, you look at a piece of ice and fall off, but it is better to wait for the thaw, albeit briefly, and try to shake the plants, maybe it will be possible to free the apple trees from the ice shell.

Also in February, you can do the breakdown of the crust (a compressed layer of snow), along which rodents move freely and from which, as from a mirror, the sun's rays are reflected and burn the trunks. This is a useful activity, it can also contribute to the retention of snow, if it can be trampled. In February, if there is no forecast for freezing rain, it is quite possible to do whitewashing trunks and skeletal branches, select a fine day and do this work.

At the very end of the month, you can already begin pruning apple trees. As a rule, during this not cold time, it is possible to carry out both sanitary and shaping trimmings, but with the obligatory removal of shoots on the ring and glossing over the slices with a heated garden var.

Also during this period, you can harvest the cuttings of apple trees for spring copying, placing them in the snow or in the refrigerator.

March apple care

Usually this month the apple tree is still at rest, but slowly closer to the middle of the first ten days of March sap flow begins and the kidneys begin to swell. During this period, it is quite possible to continue the winter vaccination in a comfortable room, as well as go into the garden and perform pruning - doing it in accordance with all the rules.

In March, frequent changes of plus and minus temperatures can be a problem, and therefore the soil can even be exposed around the tree stands, which is especially dangerous for young seedlings, because at night there can be severe frost and the roots may freeze. To avoid this in the daytime, you need to throw snow and condense it on the bare sections of the tree-trunk strips, nothing will be bad if we do it again.

Take a walk in the garden, carefully examine the young apple trees that you planted in the autumn, there may be broken shoots, they must be removed immediately. Any damage to the trunks and shoots should be greased with garden paint or garden var.

In March, sunburns are often observed, so it is advisable to whitewash the standard apple trees to skeletal branches. Try for whitewashing to choose a period when there is no rain according to the forecast, otherwise, after the rain has passed, whitewashing will have to be done again.

Toward the middle or end of March, which depends on the arrival of real spring, very heavy snowmelt can begin and, if your garden is even on a small slope, the roots can be eroded by water. Given this, it is necessary to construct drainage canals, and if the site cannot boast of an abundance of moisture during the growing season, then dig holes to the depth of the shovel bayonet so that melt water accumulates there.

Pay attention to the crowns of trees if you did not do this in the autumn and winter: all mummified fruits urgently need to be collected and burned, because they will serve as a breeding ground for diseases and pests.

In March, you can conduct the first spraying of plants with 1% Bordeaux liquid, as a preventive measure.

Apple tree care in April

It is already spring, apple trees are actively waking up, the kidneys are increasing in size every day. At this time, you can safely begin to plant a variety of varieties of apple trees on your site, nothing bad will happen to them. But if you tighten with planting and the kidneys crack, exposing a green cone, then the seedling may not take root or be sick for a long time.

At the very end of April, the time of copulation begins, that is, grafting the apple tree with the cuttings, during this period active sap flow begins, and if you make an oblique cut on the scion and rootstock, you can feel the abundant moisture by running your finger across the cut. These days you can safely do copulation. The main thing at the same time is not to be vaccinated in the cold when below +5^°C and when it rains, and the top of the scion should definitely be covered with garden var.

If the snow remains on the branches, then it is quite possible to throw it off, under the snow mosses and lichens can begin to grow, and the apple tree is completely unnecessary.

If you carried out the hilling of the stem, warming it for the winter, then you need to carefully dig the soil so that the root neck is at the level of the soil.

In early April, it is time to tie apple trees with pruning, but if you find dry, broken shoots and those that grow deep into the crown, which will certainly lead to its thickening, or shoots of competitors, you can remove them. Just be sure to cut “into the ring” and by all means isolate the slices with garden var.

In addition to the vaccination, which we have already talked about, you can also re-vaccinate. Suppose an old apple tree grows on your site, the fruits of which you don’t like, but this apple tree gives the tops of the shoot regularly. So, using the improved copulation method, graft a couple of tops of cuttings with the cutlery from the variety you like, remove the remaining tops (also on the ring), isolating the cut with a garden var. Young shoots will go from the grafted graft sideways, on which fruits will soon appear that suit your taste.

Do not forget to periodically inspect the garden. For example, if you notice a hollow, then with a sharp garden knife, strip it to a healthy tissue, and then just cement it and the tree will be lively and healthy (you get a kind of dental filling).

In April, apple trees can be fed while there is enough moisture in the soil, three important procedures can be combined: first, to loosen the soil to rid the soil of the crust, and secondly, to pour nitroammophoski under a tablespoon under each tree older than five years and half from of this amount - under a tree under five years old, and thirdly, to mulch the trunk strip with humus layer in a couple of centimeters.

April is also a construction month: they noticed a dozen spinning tops on the apple tree, that is, vertically growing shoots that are no use, select five of them, cut the rest into a ring, and bend the remaining ones at angles close to 90⁰in different directions, but so as not to break. It is better to use twine for this. Under a twine, put a piece of elastic, and secure the twine to a lower growing branch or peg. At the end of the year, the top will grow in the right direction, and next year will give the first crop.

At the very end of April, young trees can “fall” into the planting pits, this problem must be urgently addressed: slightly raise the tree and put a layer of nutritious soil under it, then compact and align everything well.

Do not forget about the birds, in April there is still not much food and feeders will not hinder them.

In April, before budding, the apple trees can be treated with chemicals from wintering parasites.

May apple care

Beloved by many months, when everything truly wakes up, lives, blossoms, enjoys life, whispers in sheets. This month, it is imperative to combat a number of diseases, pests and ticks and all this in the evening, wearing protective equipment and doing everything in strict accordance with the instructions on the package, using only those drugs that are allowed in the current season.

In May, when the bird cherry blossoms, return frosts are not uncommon, the apple tree blossoms at this time, frost can corrode most of the flowers and leave you without a crop. The best option is to make smoky fires along the borders of the site, but you need to do this in strict agreement with your neighbors and be present yourself without throwing fires unattended.

Do not forget about loosening the near-tree strip of the apple tree, watering, removing weeds. Usually, you first need to water the tree, spending a couple of buckets of water every week, then, on wet soil, pull out the weeds directly with your hands, loosen the soil and only after that make fertilizers. At this time, you can use superphosphate (10-15 g) and potassium sulfate (8-10 g) for each plant. Then it remains to mulch the soil with humus layer in a couple of centimeters.

It is advisable to carry out a couple more treatments with 1% Bordeaux liquid during budding and immediately after flowering, and a couple of days after the second treatment, pickle the apple trees with fungicide - but strictly after flowering.

In small kindergartens, where there are only about a dozen trees, you can simply hang pheromone traps in the plots and attach hunting belts to the trunks (dry, glue, poisoned - this is not so important).

At the very end of May, you can also continue planting apple trees, but only apple trees with a closed root system can be planted at this time of the year, otherwise they will most likely not take root, how often do not water them.

In mid-May, you can clean the apple trees from the old bark and lichens. To do this, you first need to walk well with a wooden scraper, then treat the areas where you cleaned the bark with 1% Bordeaux liquid, allow to dry and isolate with garden varieties.

Apple tree care in June

In June, there is a massive shedding of the ovary, which every gardener knows about, this is a completely normal biological phenomenon and you should not be afraid of it, but if the apple tree lacks moisture, food, light and it is not infected with the moth, then the showered ovary will be much less than usual.

In June, return frosts are also possible, as a rule, their intensity is noticeably lower than that of those in May, however, if the neighbors do not mind, then smoky fires on the periphery of the site can still be built and needed.

In June, outbreaks of diseases and pests can again be observed, in such cases it is necessary to act according to the old scheme worked out over the years - in the evening, putting on protective clothing, you need to process apple trees - against fungal infections, pests and ticks.

Before carrying out the treatments, pay attention to the duration of the drugs, because some of them may no longer be applicable due to the length of the action, that is, part of the toxic substances may remain in / on the fruit. You need to choose the safest of them.

In June, the death of those cuttings that we planted unsuccessfully is quite often observed. This arises from the fact that we could not combine the scion and rootstock tight enough, not grease the crown with garden varieties, vaccinate in cold or rain, and use cuttings with flower buds. Now you don’t need to hurry and re-take anything, wait for the summer and make the most popular type of vaccination - budding.

Green work: here, first of all, we continue to pinch the green shoots of the apple tree, which, most likely, will not have time to ripen and the bending of the vertical branches to angles close to 90⁰.

Aphids can also appear actively; it can be fought endlessly using insecticides, but it is better to destroy the ants that carry it once and for all; there are a lot of means for exterminating ants.

When there is a minute, walk through the garden again, maybe at one time you did not notice a crack that needs to be covered, a hollow that needs to be closed, or a broken branch that needs to be sawed off and covered with a garden var.

Do not forget about weeding and watering, although June is not as hot as July, watering is still necessary at least once a week, pour at that time a bucket of water under each apple tree. Especially moisture is needed in the period after flowering, when there is an increase in the ovary.

At this time, plants can be fed with potassium sulfate, dissolving 15 g of this fertilizer in a bucket of water and pouring it under each tree, but superphosphate, poorly soluble in water, can simply be poured into pre-loosened soil in an amount of 5-6 g for each tree younger than five age and twice as much - under an old tree.

Do not forget to check and change to new pheromone traps and trapping belts, otherwise they will be filled so much that they will lose all meaning for pests.

Apple tree care in July

July is the hottest month of summer, at this time watering can be carried out at least every day, if there is no rain, pouring a bucket of water under each apple tree into the previously loosened soil.

By the way, in July it is necessary to actively destroy weeds, because these are real competitors, and if apple trees older than five years old can be cut grass, then it is better to manually weed out young plants in the near-trunk strip.

You should know that in July, apple trees grow actively, therefore, generative buds are formed that will yield the next year's crop, therefore, plants should not be deficient in moisture or nutrition, but no pure nitrogen fertilizers. The maximum is nitroammophosk in the amount of 15 g of water dissolved in a bucket for each plant over five years of age and half as much for a young plant.

Around July 15, a less active, but still second wave of sap flow begins, when everyone begins to plant kidneys of various varieties on a stock. This is where you can take advantage of the moment: if the spring grafting of the apple tree has not taken root, then do a budding. The easiest way - in the "T" shaped incision, where the kidney is placed, as if in a pocket.

In July, diseases and pests reappear on apple trees, and again, with special care, it is necessary to apply protection against pests and diseases, only if the time is still available, because in July early varieties of apples can begin to ripen.

The rest, as in June: we update hunting belts, look for and eliminate hollows, weed, water, and under the branches of an apple tree with a large load from the fruit we put staghorns to maintain heavy branches with the crop.

Apple tree care in August

Autumn is coming, August outside the windows and somehow it immediately becomes sad: how is it, because there is a whole month of heat ahead, but no, and the nights are already cold, and the person who fell in the rain will not dry out in a couple of minutes, as in July.

In August, the growth of apple shoots is inhibited, and they begin to lignify. All shoots that still grow need to be nipped, otherwise they will not corny ripen before winter and freeze.

On the tree, fruit begins to ripen actively. Check once again whether the supports stand under the shoots that are most overloaded with the crop - this seems to be a trifle, but very important.

At this time, treatment of apple trees against diseases and pests with serious chemistry should be abandoned, because such products have too long a waiting time from treatment to eating fruits, although treatments with bio-insecticides are still possible. Do not forget to change pheromone traps and clean trapping belts more often.

The early varieties of apples have already ripened, and it’s time to harvest them, as a rule, they are not stored for a long time, but in order to lie down for at least some time, be sure to tear them together with the stem, literally twisting it and lay it, rather than drop it, in plastic bucket. Use gloves when removing.

After you harvest the entire crop from an early grade apple tree, loosen the soil under it, remove all weeds and feed it with potassium sulfate in an amount of 12-15 g and superphosphate in an amount of 18-20 g.

September apple tree care

Medium varieties of apples ripen this month, in fact, all the work in September echoes the work in August with the only difference that the apples harvested in September, as a rule, are longer, so you need to be more careful about picking them.

The fertilizer application rates after harvesting the middle varieties are the same, but the amount of irrigation water can be doubled by carrying out water-charging irrigation, because winter is getting closer and the water reserves in the soil are needed so that apple trees can survive it adequately.

In addition to harvesting, September is a great time to pick and plant apple seedlings. We advise you to buy them only in the nursery of your region and plant strictly according to all the rules, and then there will definitely not be problems with growing apple trees in your area.

October apple care

We remove late varieties of apple trees, you need to be as careful as possible, any damage will lead to spoilage of apples, and they will begin to rot, but it has been noticed that late varieties of apples open their taste qualities only after a certain storage period.

In the same period, active leaf fall begins, in order to avoid infection in the soil from fallen leaves, they must be collected and burned outside the site.

At the end of October, try to inspect all the crowns of the fruit trees that are on your site, there should not be any fruits on them - remove each fruit and if it is spoiled, then burn it - this is an obvious carrier of infection.

Do exactly the same with all the plant debris on the site - in the spring you may not have time to do everything properly, because this is a fleeting time, it is better to do it now when there is more free time, it is not very cold and there is no snow.

At the end of October, under each apple tree, you need to add a teaspoon of potassium sulfate and superphosphate to the soil that was previously loosened and poured with a bucket of water, and then cover it with a layer of humus a couple of centimeters thick.

Apple tree care in November

Apple trees begin to plunge into peace, here and there leaves fall off, which can be collected and burned. If you did not install protective nets from rodents, then now you can do it. In addition to nets, you can build a strong fence or scatter the poison.

You can do the removal of all the supports that the crop used to rest on. By the way, they will last longer if they are simply coated with waterproof varnish.

At the end of November, plants can be whitened to the first skeletal branching with breathable acrylics.

December apple tree care

Apple trees alone, now they can only be harmed by rodents, so go to the garden and lay out the poisoned bait. You can sprinkle more snow on young seedlings to make them warmer or wrap them with spruce branches to save them from freezing rain. In December, when there is free time, you can trample the snow, this will prevent it from spreading over the site by the wind and retain moisture in the soil.

Conclusion That's the whole apple tree care calendar. As you can see, in each month you can find some kind of work, get out into the garden and devote a couple of hours to very useful things, and then your apple trees will give you a chic crop.