Proper planting of fruit seedlings with soil preparation and selection of fruit seedlings are the most important factors when growing an orchard. That is why special attention should be paid to them.
The first decision before planting is to choose the plot for planting as well as to decide whether it will be an amateur orchard, homogeneous or mixed, intensive, row or meadow orchard.
The best time to plant a fruit seedling is in the fall, as soon as the leaves fall! The last period is in spring before the vegetation starts, but it is of multiple use for the fruit to be planted all winter long, to keep the soil well rooted and to keep fine root hairs connected to the soil and ready to feed the seedling as soon as the vegetation begins. The problem of spring planting is poorer response and poorer seedling growth in the first year, as well as the need for more irrigation in the first year.
The following operations must be performed when planting a fruit seedling:
1. Land preparation
Land preparation consists of clearing the ground, leveling, ameliorating and deep plowing. If the land has been previously cultivated and often plowed, the structure of the land needs to be recovered and the best way to do this is to turn it into a wasteland for some time or make a meadow. Attention also needs to be paid to removing excess water by drainage.
2. Measuring and marking of planting spots
Measuring and marking the spot for planting the fruit seedlings are performed after leveling the ground and fine preparation of the land for planting. Wooden markers that are 10-15 mm thick and about 40 cm long are used for marking. In order to speed up planting and get a good row direction, two markers can be used for each planting spot as well as a specially made lath 1.5-2 m long with two notches at the end and one in the middle, called the "straight edge tool".
Particular attention should be paid to the distance between the end rows and the boundaries of the plot. The unwritten rule is that the end rows should be away from the boundaries of the plot for at least half the distance between the rows, but it has to be taken into account that one should easily pass between them with the planned mechanization. If the plants are fenced, the fence should be 50 cm away from the boundaries of the plot.
3. Choice of type, variety and substrate
Before planting, it is necessary to decide on the fruit type to be planted and to accordingly choose the varieties, taking into account that most fruit are not self-fertilizing and that they need a pollinator variety. In addition to deciding which type of fruit to plant, it is also necessary to decide on the substrate on which that type of fruit is grafted. The choice of the substrate influences the lushness, so when it comes to their lushness the substrates can be divided into lush, medium-lush and undeveloped, that is, poorly lush. The lushness of the substrate directly influences the decision on the spacing of the fruit as well as the choice of the crown we will form (vase, pyramid, spindle…), you can read more about it in the article Forming the crown shape after planting.
The selection of the substrate is also made based on the composition of the land on which seedlings are planted and the composition can be found out by analyzing the land, for which it is best to contact the agricultural advisory services in your municipality or city.
The most important thing is to take into account the ecological conditions of the area due to the different microclimate, relief and soil quality.
4. Digging holes
Holes 50-80 cm in diameter (30 cm for berries) and 30-40 cm deep are dug on land that has been previously deeply plowed or tilled.
On land that has not been previously deeply plowed or tilled, pits that are 1.5-2.5 meters wide and up to 60 cm deep are dug.
Holes or pits are dug by removing the first layer of surface soil (up to 20 cm) to one side and the second layer to the other side of the hole. When digging deeper than 40 cm, that layer only gets overdug and left at the same depth. Holes should remain open for 2-3 weeks.
5. Removing your grafts or buying seedlings
When removing the seedlings that we have produced, the root, especially the fine root hairs, should be preserved as much as possible, so this work should be done slowly and patiently, with as little tearing as possible. Using a shovel, it is first necessary to dig and cut the root hairs at a distance of 20-30 cm around the fruit seedling, and then, when the seedling is sufficiently freed, tilt it to the side and cut the central root hair going below the seedling straight down.
When removing or buying fruit seedlings, be sure to take care of the buds! Fruit seedlings must have all the buds, especially between 50 and 100 cm in height, as the buds will form branches that will form the crown. Having no buds is a very big and often unsolvable problem and the sprouts are very easily removed by grasping the fruit seedlings by hand when removing or transporting them.
6. Providing fertilizer
It would be ideal if you could get a burned manure, and if this is not possible, then an artificial fertilizer with more potassium in NPK formulation, for example 0:15:30, 8:16:24 etc. Quantity is approximately two to three shovels of burned manure or one handful of artificial fertilizer per seedling. There are also dehydrated manure in the form of pellets which are a great substitute for manure. Artificial fertilizers should be avoided as much as possible as they destroy the soil.
It is best if we prepare the compost ourselves.
7. Preparing the root
The root is pruned by cutting all the thick root hairs, while the damaged ones are cut to the place behind the damage, and the central ones are completely removed. Root hairs should not be cut too much, they should be left longer but let the ends of thick ones have a clear cut-off with scissors.
It is very useful if you find a cow dung to soak the root hairs before planting, the seedlings in this mixture should stand for 12-24 hours. If we do not have one, and think it will be a dry summer, we can dip the root into the hydrogel solution. Immersion in the solution of phytohormone, naphthyl acetic (NAA) and indolbutyric (IBA) acid at a concentration of 0.03-0,05% also showed excellent results. Root hairs should stand in this solution for 10-12 hours.
8. Disinfection of seedlings
Before planting, copper solution is applied to fruit seedlings as described in the article Autumn Bordeaux Mixture. The root that needs to be pruned beforehand should also be washed, then disinfected and then dipped in the solution described in point 6.
9. Planting
After we have done all the work, we start planting. Only the number of fruit seedlings we can get to plant that day should be removed from the pit or soil. Place the fruit seedlings next to the holes and start planting.
First, the soil from the first pile we separated, that is, the surface layer of soil, should be put back in the hole. This soil can be mixed with burnt manure, but in the half-and-half ratio by most, do not put too much manure in the bottom of the hole because it blocks the flow of water from the deeper layers of the earth in summer. If we are also putting in manure, we need to add some soil without manure at the end, the root hairs should not be in direct contact with the fertilizer.
Be extremely careful about the planting depth! Seedlings of fruit must be planted so that their grafting point is 10 cm above the ground, in no way under the ground, as there will be propagation of the grafting site, which can be destructive. Planting should not be done too low, so as not to cause freezing, nor too deep, it is best if you can still see the trace leading to the depth where planting was done in the nursery.
Make a small hill in the middle to which a seedling is placed. A little beside it drive a stake. The stake must be impregnated in 3% solution of blue stone so that it can withstand up to 7 years without rotting, as the rot would transfer to the root of the seedling which could be devastating. The stake is set at this stage because subsequent insertion of the stake after planting can damage the root of the seedling.
Then, along with the rest of the first pile, the seedlings are filled either by hoeing or shoveling. When the root is well covered, the seedling is being hold straight upright and the ground is well stepped on. Then a handful of artificial fertilizer is placed.
Next, a little bit of soil is added, it is stepped up a bit and so on 2-3 occasions. At the end, the soil that was at the bottom of the hole when digging is now added. If it is too solid or cloddish, then the surrounding soil is inserted from the surface.
If we have unburned manure, we can put it on the top of the hole and put some soil over it.
The fruit seedling is tied to a stake by a willow trunk or a thicker rope, in the shape of an eight, without tightening too much. The stake is not as important in the first as is in the coming years when the seedling is branched and there is a lot of leaf mass, and it bends due to the wind, which causes the fine root hairs to burst. The stake is also good for bending branches so they have something to be tied on. Even if they were tied to rocks, bags of soil, etc. without a stake, they could be torn off in high winds.
10. Plant protection against pests
Fruit seedlings need protection from rabbits, does and other pests. As for rabbits, facade netting has proved to be an effective protection, there are also dedicated nettings, but the facade one is significantly cheaper. When placed around a seedling, it is further sewn with a staple or a thin rope is longitudinally pulled through the openings.
When it comes to does, the only way to protect against them is to raise the fence around the orchard at least 2 meters high. There are also unproven claims that hanging socks with human hair that you can get in a hair salon repel does that smell the presence of a human.
It is not necessary to apply lime to fruit seedlings for the first 2-3 years until the trunk thickens.
11. Shortening of seedlings
The fruit seedlings are shortened to the desired height in the spring and when forming of the crown starts.