What and how to feed raspberries in the fall?

One of the agrotechnical rules for growing raspberries is timely feeding. Autumn fertilization is of great importance for the plant.

Raspberry is one of those plants in which the root system is located close to the surface of the earth, and therefore it does not tolerate frost well.

To have a good harvest, it is necessary to form young shoots and a large number of new fruit buds. Autumn fertilization will allow the soil to accumulate the necessary mineral and organic components for the next growing season. Raspberries will have a nutritious diet that will ensure good growth and fruiting.

The timing of the autumn feeding in different regions of Russia will differ slightly due to climatic conditions. Usually, in winter, raspberries are fed a month after the end of fruiting, but a month before the arrival of the rainy season and about 2 or 2.5 months before the onset of cold weather. In addition, since weather conditions may differ in different years, the timing of feeding will also change.

Approximate timing of fertilization in autumn in different regions of the country:

• in central Russia - in the second half of September;
• in the Far East - from August 20 to the first ten days of September;
• in Eastern Siberia - in the 1st half of September;
• in Western Siberia - from 7 to 20 September;
• in the Urals - from 10 to 25 September.

Repaired raspberries bear fruit twice: last year's branches give the first harvest, and the berry ripens in July. The second time the berries ripen on the shoots of a given year in September.

The long fruiting period is also reflected in the timing of top dressing: they are shifted by about 2 or 3 weeks. So, in the middle lane, the period for feeding remontant raspberries is approximately the end of September-beginning of October.

Raspberries, including remontant ones, need nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Nitrogen is applied only in spring. And in the fall, raspberries need phosphorus and potassium.

Phosphorus is necessary for the plant to grow and develop a strong and powerful root system. In such a plant, the ground part will also be strong and healthy. Phosphorus is needed because all nutrients are absorbed from the soil by raspberries with the participation of phosphorus compounds.

In plants, most of the potassium (up to 80%) is in the cell sap. Potassium is highly mobile and can even be washed out of the green mass by rain. After the entry of potassium into the root system, the excess of the substance passes into the soil, and then is reabsorbed by raspberries.

Potassium is necessary for the plant for the biosynthesis of sugars and other carbons in the leaves, which are then transferred to other parts of the plant, and it also contributes to metabolic processes. With the combined use of phosphorus and potassium, the frost resistance and immunity of raspberries to diseases increases. These substances contribute to the faster formation of fruit buds and mature bark, and therefore, successful wintering.

Potash-phosphorus fertilizers accumulated in the soil are absorbed by raspberries gradually, as needed, that is, they have an extended period of action. Therefore, fertilizers applied in the fall will be consumed by the crop for the entire next season.

Organic matter not only replenishes the soil with nutrients, but also enriches it with humus, makes the soil loose. It is an excellent habitat for worms and various soil microorganisms that improve soil structure. Raspberries are fertilized with some types of organic matter.

• Chicken litter. It contains all the components necessary for raspberries: potassium and phosphorus, magnesium and nitrogen, calcium, which contribute to the full and active growth of the shrub.
• Cow dung. Manure is not only fertilized with raspberries, but also used as mulch to protect plant roots in winter. In addition to phosphorus and potassium, overripe manure contains a large amount of other trace elements that are necessary for plant immunity, for the absorption of nutrients, and also affecting the process of berry formation.
• Compost. It is a product of decomposition of waste of various origins - plant and animal (chicken manure, cow, horse manure). For the formation of plant compost, weeds, fallen leaves, vegetable peelings, corn cobs and cabbage stubs are used. Dung or manure is often added to plant components. After overheating, a very valuable nutritious fertilizer is formed.
• Bone meal. This type of feeding contains a lot of phosphorus and calcium and may well replace ready-made complex fertilizers. Since the nitrogen content in flour is minimal, it is ideal for feeding in the fall. The process of decomposition of flour in the soil takes a long time, and there are enough nutrients for the plant for a long time.
• Wood ash. It also contains phosphorus, potassium and other beneficial trace elements.
• Siderata. These are plants that are grown for subsequent digging into the ground for the winter in order to improve the structure of the soil and enrich it with nutrients, vitamins and trace elements. The following plants are used as siderates: oats, mustard, wormwood, clover, lupine, vetch.
• Mineral. These fertilizers have such an undeniable advantage as lightness and ease of use. They are available in granules and powder. Complex mineral compositions are convenient because they contain all the nutrients necessary for the plant in a balanced form. For each state of the plant, you can select a specific composition and control the dosage. Granules are most convenient to use because they are applied dry and are simply scattered under the bushes or lightly sprinkled between the rows. In moist soil, after watering, they dissolve and saturate the soil with nutrients. They also have a long lifespan, feeding the soil for about 6-7 months.

For feeding raspberries in the fall, the following mineral fertilizers are used:

• superphosphates (simple and double);
• sulfates: potassium and zinc, iron and magnesium;
• potassium magnesium and karbofos, copper oxychloride.

When carrying out autumn feeding, you should adhere to some rules. First of all, you need to remember that the simultaneous use of both mineral and organic fertilizers in one year is not recommended. However, if they are nevertheless used in combination, then the dosage of both must be halved.

Besides, you cannot feed raspberries with potassium chloride fertilizers, such as potassium chloride, potassium salt, as they cause chlorosis in the plant.

Before feeding the raspberries, you first need to remove all the weeds and loosen the soil. Fertilizers can only be applied to wet soil, so dry soil is pre-watered.

It is important to know which nutrients are missing in raspberries. Their lack is reflected in its appearance:

• with a nitrogen deficiency in raspberries, the lower leaves turn yellow;
• if there is not enough phosphorus and its compounds, young shoots weaken and become thin, and the foliage has a shade of purple;
• an insufficient amount of potassium leads to the fact that the edges of the leaves dry out;
• lack of magnesium is manifested in the fact that yellowness spreads from the middle of the sheet to the edge;
• with a lack of iron, the leaves turn yellow, although the veins do not change their green color.

A complex fertilizer is selected with a specific composition in accordance with what substances the plant lacks.

Organics are used in such ways.

Chicken manure can be used either dry or in aqueous solution. It is prepared from 1 part of droppings and 20 or 30 parts of water and is applied after it has fermented well. The finished solution is filtered and fertilized at the rate of half a liter per bush.

Chicken manure has a high concentration, so it is laid out under the plants in a thin layer (no more than 1 cm), and then covered with earth. For an adult bush, 5 or 6 handfuls of dry droppings will be enough, but not more than 1 kg / 1 sq. m. The norm of the finished granulated store droppings is 50g / 1kv. m.

It is possible to introduce both solution and dry droppings into shallow grooves near the shrub, which are then covered with earth.

Place humus and compost under the raspberries in 3 to 5 cm thick layers. The rate of manure feeding is 0.5-1 bucket per 1 sq. m.

The addition of ash (several handfuls) to the manure promotes the rapid restoration of soil with high acidity.

Ash can be used as an aqueous mixture or dry. The simplest method of applying ash is to simply sprinkle ash between the rows of raspberries on the ground, and then slightly loosen the soil and sprinkle with water. For 1 sq. m it requires about 300 g. The water mixture is prepared from 2 glasses of ash and 10 liters of water. The finished solution is applied as follows: near each raspberry bush, shallow grooves are made, where the dressing is poured, after stirring it well, and covered with soil.

Compost flour is introduced into the soil in an amount of 150 to 200 g per 1 sq. m, but even with an overdose, it does not harm the plant.

Mineral fertilizers are used to feed raspberries in different ways.

From complex compounds containing phosphorus, ammonium sulfate and potassium, water solutions are made in the proportion of 250 g of fertilizer per 5 liters of water. Zinc sulfates (30 g) and magnesium (5 g) are also dissolved in 5 l, and wood ash (50 g) and superphosphate (50 g) are dissolved in 1 l of water. A solution of ferrous sulfate is prepared in a proportion of 100g / 10l of water.

This number of solutions is calculated for 1 sq. m of shrub.

Oxychloride and karbofos are used for spraying raspberries. 30 g of copper oxychloride or 20 g of malofos is diluted in 10 liters of water.

The consumption of aqueous solutions of mineral fertilizers depends on the type of planting of raspberries: when landing in a row - they consume 10l / 1sq. m, when planting in separate bushes - 10 liters per bush.

The rate of application of simple superphosphate per 1 sq. m is about 40-60 g, and double - from 15 to 25 g. Granules will need up to 60 g per bush, and they are sprinkled with earth by at least 7 cm.

With the combined use of phosphorus and potassium dressings, the amount of potassium sulfate is 40 g, potassium magnesium - no more than 30 g per bush.This rate corresponds to an adult bush, and for young raspberries, this rate is reduced by 2 times.

The method of application to the soil should be such that the top dressing reaches the roots. Since the root system of raspberries is located no deeper than 30 cm from the surface, it is better to apply fertilizers in this way:

• first you need to dig grooves 20-30 cm deep along each row of raspberries at a distance of 30 to 40 cm from the bush stem;
• scatter the granules and fill in the grooves.

Fertilization of remontant raspberries is also carried out with the same types of fertilizers, but there are some peculiarities. At the end of fruiting, this raspberry can be cut at the root or the shrub can be left uncut for the winter.

Autumn dressing is applied only under uncut bushes. For example, you can use 1 teaspoon of superphosphate and potassium as fertilizers, scattering under each bush. Then the raspberry is covered with a layer of mulch or compost mulch.

Cut bushes for the winter are mulched with manure or compost. In spring, this will be the source of nutrients for raspberries.

In addition to the generally accepted methods of feeding raspberries, experienced gardeners use other options. The most commonly used herbal infusions.

Nettle and comfrey, taken in the same quantity, are poured with 10 liters of water and infused in the sun for 2 weeks. The finished infusion is diluted with water in a ratio of 1/10 before use. The consumption rate for a bush is 2 liters of infusion.

For the preparation of herbal infusions, you can also use any herb, even weeds.

Manure (3kg), ash (1 glass) and nettle (1kg) are placed in water (2 buckets) and put in the sun for a week. Before use, the infusion is also diluted with water (1/10). 1 bush requires 1 liter of composition.

For information on how to feed raspberries in the fall, see the next video.