How & When To Fertilize & Spray Your Stone Fruit Trees
Вставка
- Опубліковано 15 лют 2023
- Welcome back for Part 2 of this fruit tree series! Now that you've pruned, we're going to tackle two key things: fertilizing & spraying. Note that everything here is specific to stone fruit.
0:42 When & How to Fertilize
You prune when the tree is dormant, but you DON'T want to fertilize at the same time because the plant isn't going to absorb the nutrients. Flowers will be the first sign that the tree is waking up, and that is the time to fertilize.
Start with compost. This will feed the soil some organic matter which will allow your trees to take in nutrients. You then protect that damp compost with mulch. Note that mulch should not go right up against your tree trunk. Give it a drink and then add in fertilizer too if you need it.
We always recommend an organic fertilizer, and there are some that are specific to your tree. Think of fertilizer as steroids, so it's more of an emergency item than something you have to do all of the time. You should always measure the amount. There is certainly a thing as TOO MUCH fertilizer.
When applying fertilizer, it should go around the dripline, not close to the trunk. Imagine a line going down straight from your tree branches down under the ground.
8:52 Spraying Trees
Horticultural oil suffocates insects and should be applied 3-4 times during the winter. You want to be careful with oil. That means you don't want to apply it right in the middle of the day, and you also don't want to apply it if rain is in the forecast.
Copper fungicide helps prevent things like leaf curl. You want to get as many as five applications starting once the leaves have started to drop. All applications need to happen BEFORE you get flowers.
Throughout the year, also wash your trees with a jet spray. This can help remove insects that are taking up residence on your trees. A clean tree will be able to stay healthier for more time throughout the year.
KEEP LEARNING
→Want more gardening tips? Head over to the LEARN dropdown: sandiegoseedcompany.com/blog/
→Sign up for one of our on-demand classes (go through it at your own speed): "Organic Gardening: Grow Your Own Food" and our famous "Seed Starting Academy" are available at organicgardening.teachable.co...
GET STOCKED UP:
→Vegetables: sandiegoseedcompany.com/produ...
→Flowers: sandiegoseedcompany.com/produ...
→Herbs: sandiegoseedcompany.com/produ...
→Rare Seeds: sandiegoseedcompany.com/produ...
→Tools & Merchandise: sandiegoseedcompany.com/produ...
CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
→Instagram: / sandiegoseedcompany
→Facebook: / sandiegoseedcompany - Навчання та стиль
I use fresh chicken manure that I soak a in a 5 gallon bucket and my citrus love it
Great two part series. Hope you can do one on citrus as well.
You're in luck! That video is coming the second week of March
Thank you for these videos. I have just started my orchard and know little to nothing about tree care.
Been waiting for Part 2! 👍🏼
Very helpful video. Thanks.
This is so helpful and timely.
Thank you.
Great video! Thanks
Wow, this is the best video on fertilizing and spraying I've ever seen. Thank you guys so much! One question: I just planted some citrus and stone fruits a few weeks ago. The stone fruits are starting to bud/flower. Do I need to fertilize and spray newly-planted baby fruit trees the same way? Thank you!!
Keep an eye on them, but it may be late to spray if they're budding. They should be fine this first year, but give them a rinse every now and again. If your soil is good, they may not need fertilizer either. You definitely don't want to over-do it with a small tree.
@@SanDiegoSeedCompany That's so helpful. Thank you so much for what you're doing for the So Cal community, Brigette!
Great series! Could you also tie this back with the drip irrigation series and explain how you'd setup a drip system for fruit trees as well as things to have in mind and for how long to run them depending on the size and age of the tree?
Yes, that's a great idea. I have some of that covered in the videos coming out in the next week, but not all of that so I'll connect with Craig on that some more.
😱😱😱 oh no I just sprayed on the flowers two weeks ago and fertilized near the trunk.
Thank you for the very informative video. I see SD is forecast for a sizeable multi-day storm next week. Would you advocate applying fertilizer to the early blossoming trees now, or does that run the risk of being washed out, and therefore we ought to wait?
If the rain is going to be heavy in your area, especially if you live on a slope, you can wait until after
@@SanDiegoSeedCompany Thanks for the response!
So if we are already flowering, it's too late to spray oil or copper, so the only thing we can do now is wash down our trees over the summer with a jet of water and then know to spray over next winter?
I have a mealie and spider mite problem right now. My guava is being hit by mealies and half of my tomatoes have spider mites. My guava is starting to put on new growth with flower buds starting to show. I was going to spray with the horticulture oil but you said not to when it starts flowering (which is where I am). Do you have any recommendations for this? I've tried neem oil and honestly they laugh at that! I'm in zone 9b/10a in FL.
We just moved into a house that has a tree that budded soon after we moved in and is covered with tiny stone fruit-looks like apricots! It hasn’t been sprayed or fertilized at all. Anything we can do to avoid the bugs and fungus now?
How exciting! Keep an eye out for leaf curl. If you see any, pick those leaves off and throw them in the trash. You can definitely fertilize and water. You'll also want to thin the fruit if they're too close together. In the fall/winter, you can prune and spray.
Horticultural oil and copper fungicide need to be applied during the dormant season then yes?
Yes, that's correct. BEFORE the buds
Do you suggest spraying the oil and fungicide at the same time (i.e. mixed in the same sprayer) or do two separate applications each time.
I mix the oil and copper together. Definitely check your product labels to see if it’s ok to do so. There are some sprays that can’t be mixed together.
It looks like I am not allowed to spray copper fungicide (sulfate) in my zone 10a NorCal county. Are there alternatives for that? I am specifically worried about fire blight. Thanks.
I’m in Bay Area Cali, why not?
@@ChefIsaac925 Illegal in many bay area counties...Amazon refuses to ship it here. Accumulation is toxic to aquatic plants.
@@jeannamcgregor9967 The big box stores, construction supply/hardware stores, and local nurseries in Yolo and Solano County sell it. Lemuria Nursery in Dixon would be able to help you with specific questions as well.