With the arrival of autumn, gardeners begin to have new worries related to preparing for winter. It's not a secret for anyone that the next year's harvest is laid in the fall of the previous one. As all plants overwinter, such a harvest should be expected from them. This issue is especially relevant when a cold winter with very low temperatures is possible. And since it is difficult to determine what the coming winter will be like, then gardeners have to prepare for the worst.
Preparing flowers for winter
We start preparing flowers for winter. Before the onset of the first frosts, you need to dig out and place in the wintering places the bulbs, tubers of your flowers, for example: dahlia, cannes, etc. But for those plants that remain in the ground, before wintering, they should be treated with a solution of copper sulfate (3%).
Peonies must be shortened before wintering. The size to which peonies are shortened ranges from 10 to 15 cm, and all the stems must be removed. Hydrangea undergoes decorative pruning and does not require additional actions. Perennial asters and evergreen shrubs do not need insulation as such. If you still take them and insulate them, then the excess moisture that appears can lead to damage by fungal diseases.
Before wintering, tubers of dahlias, gladioli, begonias, rhizomes of cannes are dug without fail.
Roses do not tolerate cold and frost very badly, and therefore, together with them, clematis, Korean chrysanthemums and Japanese angemon, crocosmia are usually insulated. Such crops are covered with wood shavings, it is also possible with leaves. Then, frames with stretched plastic wrap are installed above them. Before this operation, they are pruned, dry branches and dried leaves are removed, and the soil around the roots is spud and fed. Tulips, lilies of the valley and hyacinths are planted in open ground sometime in late October.
Preparing trees and shrubs for winter
For such shrubs as currants, blackberries, raspberries, honeysuckle, etc., old and underdeveloped branches are removed before wintering, it will be correct to loosen the soil and fertilize. Blackberries and raspberries for the winter. Bushes for the winter can be tied, and blackberries and raspberries can be bent to the ground.
The trees must be carefully examined, while removing unnecessary fruits, and then the fallen leaves are raked up. It is better to burn the leaves, as they may contain various parasites and pathogens. Fruit trees are cut at a temperature not lower than -10 ° C. Lower temperatures can damage trees by making the branches brittle.
First you need to remove dry, broken or diseased branches. During the pruning process, you need to ensure that the correct crown formation occurs. Branches that are directed towards the inside of the crown are also removed. The branches are cut neatly, and even cuts are treated with garden varnish for the fastest healing. Before processing the cut, it is sprayed with copper sulfate (2% solution). Garden var is sold at hardware stores. As a last resort, you can cook it yourself.To do this, you need to take 6 parts of paraffin and melt, after which 3 parts of rosin must be added to the paraffin. This composition is brought to a boil, after which vegetable oil (2 parts) is added to the mixture. The whole composition is cooked for 10 minutes. After cooling, the mixture kneads well. The garden var is stored in a tightly closed container. During pruning, do not forget about removing mosses, lichens, and old dead bark from tree trunks. In such places, pests usually hibernate.
Treatment against pests and diseases
During this period, fruit trees and shrubs are treated against pests and diseases. Spraying with 5% urea solution (500 g per 10 liters of water) helps against most diseases such as scab, powdery mildew, various spots, coccomycosis, etc. Trees with not yet fallen leaves are treated with this liquid. After harvesting the leaves, the soil around the trees is sprayed with 7% (700 g per 10 l of water) urea solution. If there is no urea, then other mixtures can be used, for example, a solution of soap and soda ash (for 10 liters of water, 30 g of soap and 300 g of soda). It is possible to use ready-made, purchased drugs like Horua, Skora, Tipovita Jet, Homa, OXI Homa and others. This procedure is carried out at the end of October in dry weather. Spraying can be repeated after 5-7 days.
Ready-made preparations such as Aktellik, Aktara, Karbofos, Ventra and others can be used against pests.
Digging and loosening the soil
Most pests are found in the soil, at a depth of about 15-20 cm. Therefore, digging up the soil gives good results in terms of pest control. It is better to loosen the ground with a pitchfork so as not to severely injure the root system. In the process of digging into the soil, you can add some ash, which also helps with pests. In addition, ash is a good fertilizer. She is able, among other things, to protect the root system from freezing.
Before wintering plants, when frosts have not yet come, additional watering of plants and shrubs should be carried out. This will create a certain amount of moisture in the root system, which will have a positive effect on stimulating growth. Pre-winter watering will prevent the root system from dying in the frozen ground, which can lead to the drying out of the plant.
Young seedlings are watered around the trunk circle in the same way as young trees. As for fruiting trees, the water is distributed over the area of the available crown. Watering is carried out at the rate of 50 liters of water per 1 square meter of land. The temperature of the irrigation water is taken 3-5 ° C higher than the ambient temperature. So that the water does not stagnate, the plant is watered in several approaches. For different ages of the tree, the area of the trunk circle is determined. As a rule, the sizes have the following meanings: 1-2 years - about 2 meters in diameter, 3-4 years - 2.5 meters, 5-6 years - about 3 meters, 7-8 years - about 3, 5 meters, 9-10 years old - in the area of 4 meters, 11 years and older - within 5 meters.
Whitewashing of fruit plants
Most trees need to be whitewashed in the fall, although many do this in the spring. Before whitewashing, you need to carefully examine the tree trunk and if there are wounds on it, then they must be covered with garden varnish. The trunk is whitened completely, starting from the roots and ending with the beginning of the first branches. Whitewashing solution can be prepared by yourself or used ready-made, such as "Fas" or "Gardener". To prepare your own, you need to take 2.5 kg of lime and 0.5 kg of copper sulfate, then stir the mixture by adding water to it. After readiness, 200 g of wood glue per 10 liters of water is added to the solution. If there is glue, the whitewash will stand until spring and the rain will not be able to wash it off during this time.
Preparing your lawn for winter
As a rule, with the arrival of autumn, all foliage is removed from the lawns, since it can cause fungal diseases. If in some areas the grass has not grown, then during this period new grass can be sown. Subsequently, these areas need to be watered.To strengthen the root system of plants planted on the lawn, potash fertilizers are required. If by the wintering period the height of the grass on the lawn reaches 5 cm, then this is very good. If the grass is high enough, then it is better to mow it, otherwise in winter it will fall to the ground, after which, with the onset of heat, it will begin to rot. In winter, it is not recommended to walk on the lawn so as not to disturb the dormant growth buds, especially if there is no snow on it.
In order for green spaces to delight others with their beauty for many years, you need to constantly look after them. This departure can stretch from early spring to late autumn, but it's worth it.
