Once the most suitable fruit tree has been chosen, other equally important questions come to mind in terms of its maintenance, questions that we intend to help you solve in this article by giving you useful advice on planting, pruning, disease prevention and pests .
Land preparation
For the planting to be a success, it is better to be a bit proactive and a month in advance make a hole of at least 1 m in diameter and 80 cm deep, to later fill it again, taking advantage of to enrich the soil with a bottom fertilizer like worm castings.
If in the first years it is going to be necessary to fix the fruit tree to a guide, it would be convenient to place the frame or tutor before filling the holes or trenches made with earth to soften the ground and improve its quality and aeration.
Planting fruit trees from a pot
The appropriate time for planting is the one in which there will no longer be any risks of frost that prevent sprouting and the formation of new roots. The steps to follow would be:
- Dig a hole slightly larger than the root ball
- Immerse the root ball in a container with water so that the root ball substrate is thoroughly moistened before removing it from the pot
- Insert the root ball at the bottom of the hole, ensuring that the top of the root ball is flush with the ground
- Fill the hole without tamping the dirt
- Make a tree hole around the trunk with a hoe and water abundantly
- Prune the master branches one third to balance the aerial part (crown) with the underground part (roots)
Winter pruning
One of the most decisive maintenance tasks in obtaining a good harvest and which is given less importance is pruning, which is very necessary in trees already established every 4 or 5 years, since it is a way to rejuvenate the tree and favor the formation of new shoots.
The best time to perform this task is in November , when the tree is entering vegetative rest.
Fertilization
Fruit trees are one of the crops that consume the most nutrients, so in addition to making a fertilizer during the spring and the time of fruit formation with a specific fertilizer for fruit trees, a previous fertilization with abundant organic matter with manure, compost or earthworm humus, which would be applied to the foot of the tree up to the vertical of the branches, in late winter immediately before vegetative development begins.
Padding
A practice that will help us considerably is the application of organic mulch, a layer of at least 5 cm deep, of straw, cut grass or pine bark, which when distributed at the foot of the tree will limit the growth of weeds and it will also maintain a degree of moisture beneficial to the superficial roots.