Selection of the optimal soil for planting an apple tree: we determine the acidity and alkalinity, what kind of soil is needed
The apple tree is an unpretentious plant, but in order for it to bear fruit well, it needs special care. The soil for planting an apple tree must be suitable and have optimal acidity. Therefore, before planting a plant, it is necessary to study the acidity of the soil, after which it can be cultivated. If the indicators are normal, the seedling can be planted without pre-treatment.
The value of soil when growing an apple tree
You can't plant an apple tree anywhere. When planting it, it is necessary to take into account the composition of the soil, since this will greatly affect the further fruiting of the tree. Consider how exactly the soil affects the state of the apple tree:
- If the soil is clayey (the so-called heavy soil), then an insufficient amount of oxygen is supplied to the roots. As a result, the tree has a weak immunity, it develops poorly, gives small fruits.
- Apple trees can tolerate acidic soil. But if it is overly acidified, this leads to wilting of the tree, which is why it often gets sick.
- Alkaline soils are also not good for apple trees. They negatively affect the condition of trees.
- It is not recommended to plant seedlings in places where groundwater flows. This reduces the winter hardiness of the plant; it can die even with slight winter frosts. Also, if the roots reach water, they can start to rot. And this can lead to the death of the tree.
Therefore, before planting a seedling in the soil, it is recommended to carry out some analyzes or study the vegetation of the area.
What should be the soil?
The apple tree loves loose, plowed, sufficiently moist soils. Black soil, sandy loam and loamy soils are suitable for her. In this case, groundwater should lie at least 1.5-2 m from the surface.
Before planting seedlings, it is recommended to dig up the territory.
If the earth is acidic, it is watered with alkaline water - dilute 100 g of lime in 5 liters of water. If the soil on the site is not suitable (for example, alkaline), local cultivation can be carried out. To do this, you need to dig a hole, plant a tree, and fill it with fertile soil on top. It can be taken in the forest or in the field. But in this case, after 2-3 years, it will be necessary to undermine the area around the tree, and add fertile soil there too.
How to determine acidity?
Each type of soil has a particular acidity, which may or may not be suitable for planting an apple tree. Therefore, it is recommended to study the table below.
| Soil type | Acidity | Suitability for planting apple trees |
| Peat-podzolic | 3-5 | Doesn't fit. |
| Podzolic | 4,5-5,5 | Doesn't fit. But local domestication is allowed. |
| Gray | 4,5-6,5 | Suitable. But sometimes liming is required. |
| Taiga | 4,5-7,5 | Suitable. |
| Chernozem | 6,5-7,5 | The most optimal option. |
| Salt marshes | 7,5-9,5 | Doesn't fit. |
To approximately identify the acidity of the soil, you need to pay attention to the growing weeds. The fact is that for their normal growth, a certain soil composition is also required:
- on very acidic soils, mosses, mariannik, crowberry grow;
- medium acid soil is optimal for wild rosemary, mint, bearberry;
- on slightly acidic and neutral, rose hips, bells, kupena, quinoa, coltsfoot can grow; nettle;
- alkaline are suitable for wormwood, alfalfa, sedge.
To more accurately determine acidity, you can use litmus strips. They can be purchased at some drugstores, but are more commonly found in specialized chemical stores. To carry out the study, it is necessary to take a small amount of soil at a depth of 30 cm, fill it with distilled water to get a mushy mass.
After 15-20 minutes, lower the litmus strip into the resulting solution. It will immediately turn into a specific color. It must be compared with a special scale on the packaging.
You can also do the following at home. Take 50 g of the test soil, add 1 tsp to it. crushed chalk and 100 ml of water. Pour the prepared mixture into a glass bottle, and cover it with a rubber fingertip on top. If it gradually starts to rise, then the environment is acidic.
Correction of soil acidity
Before you start cultivating the soil, you need to know the approximate acidity. After all, the apple tree tolerates acidic soil better than alkaline. Therefore, it is necessary to apply lime carefully, in small portions. If the soil is slightly acidic, it is enough to add a small amount of wood ash or horse manure to it. This will not only reduce the acidity of the soil, but also increase its fertility.
But if the soil is characterized by a high alkali content, then it will not be easy to cultivate it. In this case, it is better to dig a hole and replace the soil in it with purchased compounds. Perfect for this purpose are:
- "Aquais". It contains high-moor peat, which slightly acidifies the alkaline soil. This is a very fertile soil mixture. Thanks to its use, the plant will develop well.
- Ekoflora. It is a versatile soil containing peat, sand and vermiculite. Has acidity suitable for apple trees.
- "Garden land". It is characterized by an optimal pH level of 5.5-6.0.
To ensure the normal growth and development of the tree and get good yields, you will need to regularly dig up the upper layers of the soil, adding ammonium sulfate and peat.
How to increase fertility?
To get a good harvest of apples, trees must be planted in fertile soil. To increase its fertility, you can do the following:
- Water the area regularly. Thanks to this, earthworms will crawl to him. Good soil is one that allows moisture and minerals to pass through well. To do this, it must have a uniform structure and not be clogged. Earthworms are natural cultivators. They perfectly loosen it and form biohumus. In addition, worms do not have a negative effect on the human body, they are completely safe.
- Application of organic fertilizers. Chemicals can be used, but organics are safer. Compost is a great option. But you can use other means as well. For example, some gardeners recommend water the apple tree tincture of weeds. To prepare it, you need to collect 50 liters of rainwater and 5 kg of weeds. Plants can be shredded or dropped into a barrel unchanged.Leave to infuse for 10 days, strain and use such water for irrigation (it must be diluted beforehand - take 5 liters of water for 1 liter of liquid).
- Planting siderata. These are plants that are called "green fertilizers". They improve the structure and composition of the soil. It becomes porous, due to which it passes water well. In addition, green manures enrich it with phosphorus, nitrogen, calcium and other macronutrients. Therefore, it is recommended that legumes, cereals, radish, clover grow next to the apple tree.
- Crop rotation. The apple tree is recommended to be planted in a place where various crops grew. For this, crop rotation is recommended - an annual rotation of crops. If potatoes, corn, tomatoes and other plants were constantly growing on the site, this impoverishes the soil. Therefore, it is not recommended to plant fruit trees in this place.
- Mulching. Every year, before the onset of cold weather, it is recommended to mulch the root zone. That is, it should be covered with mature compost, peat, dried grass. This will not only prevent the freezing of the apple tree, but also serve as an excellent fertilizer.
To quickly enrich the soil composition, you can use several methods at once.
Selection of fertilizers by soil type
Soils are divided into types because they differ in the amount of humus contained and in porosity. From this we can say that different species provide the plant with the necessary elements in different ways. Therefore, you need to make certain fertilizers, choosing which, you must take into account the type of soil:
- you can fertilize clay soil with peat, vegetable compost, humus, wood ash;
- horse manure and wood ash are suitable for loam;
- peat, cow dung, azofoska and other fertilizers are suitable to improve the characteristics of sandy soil;
- peat-boggy soil can be fertilized with compost, sawdust, manure, as well as chemical phosphorus-potassium fertilizers;
- podzolic soils are fertilized with manure, humus and phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.
Organic fertilizers are suitable for almost all types of soil. Moreover, they are safer, but no less effective.
Common mistakes in soil selection
Very often, when choosing a soil for planting an apple tree, inexperienced gardeners make some mistakes:
- Choose any free seat. If the land on this site is of poor quality, the plant will grow poorly or die.
- They plant a tree where the old apple tree grew. This is wrong, since a glycoside has accumulated in the soil, which negatively affects young plants. But in the place where the plum or cherry grew, the seedling will be fine.
- Soil cultivation is carried out without preliminary research. If it was alkaline, the addition of lime will make it more alkaline. Therefore, it will become unusable.
In addition, you need to choose the right terrain for landing. If there is a slope, it is better to plant the apple tree at the top. Below, it will be more exposed to spring frosts, so the flowers may fall off.
Thus, you need to choose a suitable soil for the apple tree. Otherwise, the plant will suffer and bear poor fruit.
