Hello friends, I received some advice from another fruit tree grower to fertilize my orchard with liquid fish emulsion in the spring and fall. I have always fertilized in the spring, but never in the fall. Does anyone have any advice regarding fall fertilization of the orchard??
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I could understand seaweed extract in the Fall but not fish emulsion.
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fall fertilization is ok if the plants have gone dormant. if you do fertilize in the fall you shouldnt have to do so again in the spring. i do this as spring is pretty busy so doing it in the cool fall is easier for me. i generally top drees with manure bedding so it slowly breaks down and feeds over winter. i like to hit the fruit tress/ shrubs with a quick acting fertilizer designed for fruit production thatâs high in P and K but lower in N just as the fruitlets set. seen a difference in size and fruit quality since doing this.
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Could you go into specifics, i.e., what source of P, K, and how much? Thanks.
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Thanks to Richard and Steve. that was my instinct as well, to fertilize in spring, with fish emulsion and skip the fall. I also would be interested in more information re the P and K fertilizer. My apricot tree grows like a house afire, but flowers sparsely. I have been advised to fertilize with P and K. (perhaps it has too much N, although I have not fertilized it at all. - did not seem to need it)⌠Peggy
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With a few exceptions, late summer/early fall is the best time to fertilize most trees, shrubs, and perennials. The warmer soil temps mean the Nitrogen is more available, and the trees are in the mode of storing nutrients in their trunk and roots for rapid availability in the spring. You actually get more N available to support the first spring flush by fertilizing in the fall before the trees go dormant. Thatâs also because the plants are mostly running on stored nutrients at that point.
If youâre really looking to max out growth (such as on a new tree), do the fall as well as early summer and maybe again in July.
There are some species that may respond with an unwanted flush of growth, but theyâre in the minority.
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i was turned on to greenway biotech tomato fertilizer npk 4-18-38 years ago by Drew51 but any fruit fertilizer will work. i use 1/2 tsp per gal. per instructions a in my 29 gal sprayer on my utv and give about a half gallon for bushes to a gal. for the bigger trees. my plantings are still young and for stuff like cane fruit, i donât fertilize anymore. also if they have lush growth i dont fertilize.
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ive read alot more recommendations lately to plant in the fall as well for the same reasons. the tree puts out roots in the warmer soil instead of trying to grow up top. a good layer of mulch helps keep it warmer for longer by insulating the soil around the tree.
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Definitely! The other benefit is you donât have to spend the whole summer watering the plant(s) to help them establish. Theyâre usually good to go by spring. Most of the reason we plant things in the spring is because thatâs the way weâve always done it, and because nurseries are geared around their bread-and-butter of annuals, which primarily sell in the spring.
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only problem is supply. many nurseries ship too late in the fall for me. nov. the ground is already starting to freeze or is covered in snow.
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Any particular reason to apply sea-weed extract which is a bio-stimulant?
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I think most nurseries have to wait for DWN to ship the trees in December.
is there any evidence that high phosphorus fertilizer helps increase flowers and fruits? I have read that the typical âbloom boosterâ ferts donât do much.
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Non that I know of. My trees are very fruitful and I donât apply any P.
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Fall is not the best time to fertilize. My idea is i liken fall to bed time at my house. The fertilizer will cause trees to rapidly grow which you dont want in the fall in my area. It is time for trees to slow down and sleep for the winter. Hold onto your fish emulsions until spring. In my opinion i would say use it on the tomatoes is best. I dont usually fertilize my fruit trees a lot unless they need it. Fish emulsions is really hot fertilizer due to the nitrogen in it. Fruit trees can be fertilized with it but water it down really good first. If you cut fertilizer with enough water it would be ok.
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well the ones i did fertilize had more fruit and slightly bigger compared to the ones i didnt. Drew51 has similar results but his are in pots. i usually only apply to still growing trees and bushes needing a little help. probably could get away with not doing it at all but i see the difference and some years, like this one, it was the only fertilizing they got.
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In my experience, once they start hardening off for the fall, thereâs not much you can do to induce a new flush of growth (for most trees, anyway). 2 1/2 weeks ago, I gave all my persimmons, pears, peaches, apricots, apples, pawpaws, cherry, and currants one last high N feeding, and larger than I usually do. My walnut tree, too. None of them have shown any signs of starting back up on top growth. If they had still been actively putting out fresh growth, it would probably be a different story. The trees are storing nutrients now, not using them. Much like I am storing the calories from the extra slice of pizza I had at lunchđ.
Seriously, though. Trees are running on stored nutrients in the spring, not what you put down in the spring. Thatâs why grafting on established rights works so well. If the freshly applied fertilizer was the main driver, youâd get results just as good on freshly transplanted rootstocks or berry grafting mid-July and juicing with Nitrogen. Fall fertilizing isnât always the right choice, such as for my grape and mulberry that donât want to settle down. But most of the time, you get more bang for your buck applying in the fall.
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Iâm not sure if this is the right post for me to ask but when I lived in New Jersey I would buy my fruit trees from ( I think) white oak or something like that , they were Amish and they were near Lancaster Pennsylvania. They didnât sell any stone fruit in the fall. I donât know the reason for that. But they said to always plant in spring. But I like what someone is saying about planting in the fall. Seems to me that it would be less stressful for the tree and less worry about watering constantly in the spring. Now I know that you would still have to water in the spring but the roots should be established by spring.
The old conventional wisdom was spring planting in the North, fall planting in the South. The idea being to avoid the harshest season while the plant was establishing. Thereâs nothing wrong with that and it works. However, weâve since learned that there are many benefits to fall planting even in the North, and the trees do just fine. There are exceptions, of course. From what Iâve read and limited personal experience, pawpaws, persimmons, and warm season grasses definitely seem to resent being planted as things start to cool down.
As for watering, yes, youâd still need to water in the spring. But you usually donât have to be nearly as on top of it as if you had planted in the spring. For a lot of perennials, especially native ones, you can often get away with just a watering or two with the fall planting and theyâre all set from there on out.
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Soluble fish fertilizer is not hot at least compared to salt based fertilizers. I have fertilized seedlings as young as 10 days with fish emulsion/fertilizer without any issues. I have had plants burnt for overdoing Soy isolate (14-0-0).
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