Watering trees in autumn in the Moscow region. Moisture-recharging winter irrigation. Why do you need moisture-charging irrigation?
Trees consume the most water during the period when shoots are actively growing and fruits are ripening. Is it worth watering the garden in the fall? Let's figure it out together.
In autumn, the garden also needs watering - this will help the trees survive frosts. So don’t rush to hide buckets and watering cans: before severe frosts set in, they will still be useful to you.
Why water trees in the fall?
Trees are watered to saturate them with moisture that evaporates from the surface of leaves and branches. In winter, despite the frost, the process of moisture evaporation continues, although it happens much more slowly. Therefore, trees that have not absorbed enough liquid before wintering begin to “dry out” under the influence of low temperatures in the cold season. To prevent this from happening, the plants need to be watered thoroughly before stable frosts occur.
In addition, well-moistened soil conducts heat better and thus protects tree roots from frostbite.
How to determine whether fruit trees need to be watered in the fall?
It is believed that if there are frequent and heavy rains in the fall, there is no need to additionally moisten the trees. However, it is also important to consider what the summer was like. If it has been dry and arid, autumn rains will not be enough.
There is a more reliable way to check whether the garden needs autumn watering. To determine the degree of soil moisture, you need to dig a hole 30-50 cm deep in the garden between the trees and take a handful of soil from there. If it can be easily formed into a dense lump, there is no need to water the garden. If the earth does not crumble, but crumbles in your hands, the garden requires watering.
A more accurate answer can be obtained by placing a lump of earth removed from the hole on a sheet of newspaper or a paper napkin.
- If the soil leaves a wet mark, there is no need to water the garden.
- If the lump is dense and wet, but does not leave a mark on the paper, you still need to water the trees, but you should reduce the amount of water by 1/3.
- If the lump of earth is dry and crumbles, the trees need full watering.
Rules for winter watering of trees
When watering the garden, you need to moisten the soil abundantly. Watering in small doses weakens the plants. Mature trees must be watered so that moisture penetrates into the ground to a depth of 1-1.5 m. The minimum threshold is 0.6-0.7 m.
A young tree planted this year or the previous one usually requires about 40 liters (4 buckets) of water. Older trees (10-15 years) require from 50 to 70 liters of water, and very mature trees - up to 100 liters of water.
When watering in autumn, it is important not to overdo it and not to overwater the trees. Too much water can force air out of the soil, often causing plant roots to die.
When watering in autumn, you should also take into account the characteristics of the soil on the site. Areas with poor drainage and high groundwater levels should be watered very carefully. In this case, it is recommended to moisten the soil to a depth of 100 cm.
What is water-recharging watering of trees?
Moisture-charging watering of trees is late autumn watering, which should saturate the soil with moisture for winter period. This procedure is especially important for regions where autumn is usually dry and the soil often dries out.
Podzimny water-recharging irrigation provides not only a sufficient amount of moisture, but also creates best conditions so that the trees are well tolerated low temperatures. In addition, wet soil is less susceptible to freezing than dry soil.
Such watering is definitely necessary for fruit trees and coniferous crops. It is advisable to water all trees on a sunny day.
When to water fruit trees in the fall?
Moisture-charging irrigation is carried out after massive leaf fall. At this time, the air temperature drops so much that tree roots stop consuming moisture in large quantities. If you water before the leaves begin to fall, you can provoke the growth of shoots - especially for young trees. In this case, the plants will not overwinter well and will not be able to produce good harvest V next year.
Typically, the garden is watered in October-November (depending on the region). Therefore, it is best to focus on fallen leaves and air temperature: it should be within 2-3°C.
Ways to water trees in autumn
You can water garden crops in different ways: using a bucket, a hose, sprinkling or drip irrigation methods.
Buckets and hoses
When watering from a bucket, it is more convenient to count the amount of water that you apply under the tree. But if the plant is large and requires abundant watering, and also if you have a large garden, you won’t run to every tree with buckets. Therefore, it is much easier to put a hose under the crop. And if you dig irrigation channels, you can even organize watering in such a way that water simultaneously flows to several trees at once.
How to calculate the amount of water when watering with a hose? You need to place the hose in a 10-liter bucket and time how long it takes for it to fill with water. Knowing this, you can calculate the amount of time during which you need to water each specific tree.
These irrigation methods are only suitable for flat areas where water will not flow down the slope from the trees.
Sprinkling
If the garden area has a slope, it is better to water by sprinkling. This will allow moisture to be absorbed into the soil more evenly. But take note that sprinkling increases the air humidity around the trees, which is not always good, as it can lead to the development of various diseases.
Drip irrigation
This method is suitable for any site and is considered the best. In order not to buy a special irrigation system, you can water the trees in this way using hoses pierced in different places. They need to be connected to the water supply or connected to the main hose and laid in a ring along the edge of the tree trunk circle.
The width of the moistened area under the tree should be equal to the diameter of the crown.
It is important for every gardener to remember that the work in the garden does not end with the arrival of autumn. After harvest, crops especially need proper care. Therefore, in the fall it is so important to carry out autumn pruning correctly and autumn feeding, as well as properly water the trees before the garden completely falls into winter sleep.
In late autumn, you need to remember to water the garden. In winter, trees continue to evaporate water. If there is not enough of it, the plants will dry out. Therefore, watering fruit trees in the fall is on the list of mandatory activities for every gardener.
Which trees need autumn watering?
The site has to be completely watered in the fall. In winter, young and old will need water fruit trees all breeds and varieties, berry bushes, raspberries and strawberries. Watering is not only needed fruit crops, but also ornamental trees, including conifers.
At least 10 buckets are poured under each tree, half as many under bushes. The purpose of watering is to wet the ground by 50 cm, or better yet by 1-2 m.
Fruit crops according to their moisture requirements are arranged in the following order:
- quince;
- apple;
- pear;
- stone fruits
Plants grafted onto wildflowers are more drought-resistant. Trees on clonal rootstocks are demanding of moisture.
Columnar or dwarf trees. Their root system does not go deep into the soil and can cover only a limited volume of soil.
Coniferous plants need watering more than deciduous ones. Their needles do not fall off during the winter, which means that water evaporation does not stop. The same applies to plants with overwintering leaves. For the winter, you definitely need to water heucheras, bergenias and other evergreens well, not forgetting about strawberries, which also go under the snow with green leaves.
Rhododendrons love water. These plants evaporate a lot of moisture from the soil and will not be able to survive the winter without autumn watering. Good gas station relatives of rhododendrons - heathers - will also need moisture.
If it rains frequently in the fall and the soil in the garden is wet to a great depth, moisture-recharging irrigation is not needed. If the weather is dry, the watering rate is doubled. But usually autumn rain is not a help to the gardener. You have to grab the hose, even if it’s drizzling for several days in a row.
The fact is that precipitation only soaks top layer soil. Already at a depth of 50 cm the ground remains dry. Meanwhile, the roots of stone fruits go to a depth of at least a meter, and those of pome trees go even deeper. This means that mature trees will remain without moisture in winter.
In the Moscow region and Middle lane The garden is watered in mid-October. At this time, dry and sunny weather sets in, although without much warmth. In Siberia and the Urals, hoses are picked up at the end of September.
If the perennial plantings did not have enough water throughout the entire season, for example, the summer was very dry, it is better to delay watering the trees in the fall for 1-2 weeks, otherwise, having drunk the beneficial moisture, the plants will come to life and may even bloom.
The plants themselves will tell you the exact timing for watering. The event can begin when the trees have shed more than half of their leaves. There is no need to delay. Water that gets into the soil late will not solve the problem of ensuring autumn growth of the root system. This wave of growth begins as early as September. Perennials begin to grow new young roots. At this time they need a lot of moisture, so moisture-recharging watering will be very useful.
How to water
Over the summer, tree roots dry out the soil to a depth of 2.5 m, so in the fall you will need to pour a lot of water onto the site. In order not to devote a whole week to this work, you need to water wisely.
Watering rules
The hose stream does not need to be directed long time under the trunk There are no suction roots in this place. The tree will not be able to absorb water poured at the trunk. The zone of suction roots is located along the perimeter of the crown. This is where most of the liquid should be distributed.
If the site is on a slope, some of the water will be lost, taking the soil with it. To reduce losses, before watering, the soil is dug up onto the bayonet of a shovel. Every season you need to increase the moisture capacity of the soil by adding organic matter, and in heavy soils - sand.
Water-recharging watering of trees in the fall is necessary in the garden. I think this truth does not need much proof to experienced gardeners, especially here in Kuban. During the summer, which is almost always dry in our country, a moisture deficit has probably developed. And if autumn does not indulge in rain, then there can be no doubt about this at all. Even if you water your garden plants from time to time throughout the growing season, even if it rains in the fall, water-recharging watering of the trees will not be superfluous; on the contrary, it is necessary.
It will have a good effect on the condition of your trees or shrubs next year, increase their frost resistance, increase productivity, and reduce or completely eliminate root freezing during severe frosts. In addition, if the root system of trees experienced a moisture deficit in summer or autumn, then abundant pre-winter watering will create necessary conditions for laying fruit buds, for preparing trees and shrubs for overwintering.
What is moisture-recharging or moisture-charging irrigation? This is watering trees and bushes in order to replenish and charge the root layer with moisture so that the plant goes into the winter saturated with water.
There will be no abundant late-autumn watering - there will be a risk of individual branches drying out. This is especially dangerous during frosts, strong winds, and when there is no snow.
Also, without a supply of water, trees can get sunburn on their bark.
In columnar or dwarf fruit trees, the root system is close to the surface of the earth, so they most need abundant autumn watering, since in low-moisture soil, strange as it may sound to some, there is a risk of roots freezing.
When should water-recharging irrigation be carried out? You can water trees and shrubs immediately after harvesting. Young trees that have not yet produced fruit also need moisture in summer and autumn.
The optimal time for winter watering of trees and shrubs is autumn. For the middle zone - this is mid-October, for Kuban - the end of October - the beginning of November.
The purpose of winter watering is to increase frost resistance and winter hardiness, since moist soil freezes more slowly. Moreover, the depth of soil freezing decreases.
How much water do you need? Amount of water under the tree or berry bush depends on the size and age of the plant. For example, for a bush of currants, honeysuckle, and blackberries, 3-5 buckets of water are enough. For a fruit tree 5-7 years old - from 5 to 10 buckets. If you water from a hose, then with low pressure it will take 10-20 minutes of watering. But don’t try to pour that amount of water under the plant at once - distribute it into 2-3 doses.
For large fruit trees, the norms are as follows: up to 60-90 liters per 1 m 2 of crown projection.
The amount of water introduced under fruit plants, also depends on the moisture content of the soil - if it is wet - a lump of earth, squeezed in your hand, does not crumble - then reduce the volume of water, distribute it not 2-3 times, but larger number watering
Especially do not skimp on water, if the weather is dry in the fall - increase the water rate by at least 2 times.
Here and there I came across warning information, they say, it is better not to top up than to overfill, they say, plant cells begin to collapse when excessive watering. I consulted agronomists about this. They just smiled... The plant cannot absorb more moisture than it can, it cannot be “over-watered” - it itself regulates the amount of water absorbed - the leaves and roots that absorb excess moisture will not take up excess moisture. But, naturally, there is no need to create a swamp under a tree.
If you have fruit trees planted on the lawn, or rather, lawn or some other grass is sown under the trees, then do not dig up the soil under the trees. At a distance of 0.5-2 m from the trunk, punctures are made in the lawn with a wooden stake or a metal crowbar along the perimeter of the tree crown. Water will flow to the roots of the plants through these holes. By the way, the dose should be reduced - turf holds moisture well. Pre-winter watering should be divided into 2-3 doses.
If you don’t have a lawn, dig up the soil around the tree. The diameter of the digging depends on the size of the crown - usually trunk circle equal to its diameter. Step back from the trunk - 30-50 cm, dig up the ground with a digging fork or shovel. When you dig like this, you will get 2 grooves under the tree. Water along these grooves. After watering, mulch the soil with peat or dry grass so that the sun does not compact the soil and so that an earthen crust does not form - the soil will remain moist longer, retain its structure better, and it will be easier for air to penetrate to the roots.
In gardens, water-recharging watering of trees carried out in optimal timing, according to all the rules, ensures good wetting of the near-trunk area of soil to the depth of the bulk of the root system of perennial woody or shrub plants. So, for example, after a dry summer or a rainy autumn, abundant autumn watering helps to moisten the root system of a fruiting apple tree on weak or medium-sized rootstocks from 80 to 100 cm in depth, for cherries and plums - from 60 to 70 cm, for shrubs from 40 to 60 cm.
So, the main goal of pre-winter irrigation is to ensure garden plants adaptation, resistance to winter frosts, dry winds. In addition, autumn moisture-recharging watering for trees or shrubs is enough until spring. Such plants will bloom 3-5 days later. And this means they will “leave” spring frosts and their productivity will increase.
Many publications recommend refraining from abundantly moistening the soil under the cherry tree in the fall. This is motivated by the fact that, firstly, it has enough rain moisture. And the second reason is the early awakening of cherries in the spring. They say that if the soil is excessively wet, the berries will crack when ripe. But my experience and reviews of many gardeners say just the opposite.
Yes, the berries on cherries begin to ripen early, even before the heat sets in. And usually cherry fruits begin to burst after spring rains during the ripening period precisely because they could not be saturated with moisture coming from the roots. And, wetted by rain, they burst from excess moisture on the surface of the fruit. It has been repeatedly noted that on well-watered cherries in the fall and during the ripening period there are no bursting berries, or not many of them. So do not exclude cherries from moisture-recharging irrigation.
But it happens like this: it didn’t work out to do a moisture charge in the fall... Is it possible to do it in the spring? If so, when? It is possible and necessary! But a number of factors should be taken into account.
If your site is in a lowland or the groundwater level is high, then you should stop watering.
The best time to carry out water-recharging irrigation in the spring is before fruit crops begin to bloom.
The gardening season is coming to an end. The last finishing work remains. One of them is winter or moisture-recharging irrigation. In gardening textbooks, this procedure is advised to be carried out after the trees and shrubs have shed their leaves. In central Russia, October is the right time.
However, among gardeners there are different opinions about whether such watering is needed at all. Moreover, opinions are sometimes completely opposite, and sometimes even categorical. What to do? As always, the decision is ours and everyone must make it for themselves. Let's look at the pros and cons.
First opinion: “I never water”
Valery Konstantinovich Zhelezov - experienced gardener with many years of experience. He grows apples, pears, plums, apricots and even peaches in Siberia. He calls his garden extreme because in difficult climatic conditions harvests tender southern crops.
“I have many gardener friends with already established experience. And attitude towards winter watering miscellaneous. Some do everything according to strict literary recommendations: abundant watering late autumn. The explanation is simple - damp and then frozen soil allows less frost to reach the roots of trees.
But then one of his gardening friends did some winter watering, and his previously prosperous garden died. In addition, he adhered to another traditional agricultural practice - he completely destroyed all the turf in the tree trunk circles every year. It was frosty, but there was no snow. The “bare” earth has cracked. As the owner himself explained, the palm could easily pass through the cracks, which meant frost.
All 5 apple trees in the garden of another friend of mine died, although the garden was covered with sod. As he tells it, he threw a hose with a powerful stream of water at the tree trunk for an hour, sincerely believing that he was saving the roots of the trees from the upcoming frost.
Well, and then mine personal experience. I'll start with general considerations. In their historical homeland, cultivated varieties of fruit trees have maximum adaptation to the local climate. Their billion-year-old instinct allows them to know exactly (better than the local weather station!) what kind of fall and winter lies ahead of them.
There will be a dry autumn without rain - they will drop the leaves in advance to save soil moisture for winter life. There will be heavy autumn rains - the leaves will remain until last days, pumping out EXCESSIVE, and therefore DANGEROUS, moisture from the soil and evaporating through the still green leaves, preserved despite the cold.
Why is there excess moisture? The main thing for the tree is to maintain a certain balance (concentration) of the sap produced by the roots. Remember two points from the school curriculum:
The deeper, the more saturated with salts and minerals the groundwater. This means that at a lower temperature they freeze, being brought up by us (wells) or trees (central root). As an example - non-freezing springs gushing out from under the ground.
Let's remember why frozen people and animals cannot be revived. Since we consist of more than 80% water, ice crystals destroy living tissue, primarily the smallest blood vessels.
What about the trees? The usual picture is that there was enough rain in the fall, and by spring the bark with the cambium (the conductor of liquid - “antifreeze”) is torn so that “bare” wood is exposed. My simple explanation is that the “antifreeze” was “watery”, or rather watered down.
The situation is aggravated by the fact that in the North of Russia and throughout Siberia, ALL fruit trees are EMIGRANTS. Their historical experience in a NEW place only hinders them, and they make mistake after mistake. They may wake up during the late autumn thaw and even bloom, and then, at a minimum, goodbye to the harvest.
By the way, trees are not so “hopeless”. Common sense allows us, the majority of Siberian gardeners, to grow our own root crops only as rootstocks for subsequent grafting of “emigrants”. And we have our own rootstocks - local, frost-resistant. Let them also be “emigrants,” but already adapted to specific local climatic conditions.
