Selecting the optimal soil for planting an apple tree: determining 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 importance of soil when growing apple trees

You can’t plant an apple tree just anywhere.When planting it, it is necessary to take into account the composition of the soil, as this will greatly influence the further fruiting of the tree. Let's consider how exactly the soil affects the condition of the apple tree:

• If the soil is clayey (so-called heavy soil), then insufficient oxygen reaches the roots. As a result, the tree has weak immunity, it develops poorly, and produces small fruits.
• Apple trees can tolerate acidic soil. But if it is excessively acidified, this leads to the tree wilting, which is why it often gets sick.
• Alkaline soils are also not suitable 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 minor winter frosts. Additionally, if the roots reach water, they may begin to rot. And this can lead to the death of the tree.

Therefore, before planting a seedling in the soil, it is recommended to conduct some tests or study the vegetation of the area.

What should the soil be like?

The apple tree loves loose, plowed, sufficiently moist soil. Chernozem, sandy loam and loamy soils are suitable for it. In this case, groundwater should lie at least 1.5-2 m from the surface.

It is recommended to dig up the area before planting seedlings.

If the soil is acidic, water it with alkaline water - dilute 100 g of lime in 5 liters of water. If the soil on the site is unsuitable (for example, alkaline), local cultivation can be carried out. To do this, you need to dig a hole, plant a tree, and fill the top with fertile soil. You can take it in the forest or in the field. But in this case, after 2-3 years it will be necessary to dig up the area around the tree and add fertile soil there too.

How to determine acidity?

Each soil type has a particular acidity that may or may not be suitable for planting an apple tree. Therefore, it is recommended to study the table below.

To approximately determine the acidity of the soil, you need to pay attention to growing weeds. The fact is that for their normal growth a certain soil composition is also required:

• on very acidic soils, mosses, marian grass, and crowberry grow;
• medium acidic soil is optimal for wild rosemary, mint, and bearberry;
• on slightly acidic and neutral soils rose hips, bells, kupena, quinoa, coltsfoot can grow; nettle;
• alkaline ones are suitable for wormwood, alfalfa, and sedge.

To more accurately determine acidity, you can use litmus strips. They can be purchased at some pharmacies, but more often they are found in specialized chemical stores. To conduct the study, it is necessary to take a small amount of soil at a depth of 30 cm, fill it with distilled water to obtain a paste-like mass.

After 15-20 minutes, dip a litmus strip into the resulting solution. It will immediately turn a certain 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 soil being tested, add 1 tsp to it. crushed chalk and 100 ml of water. Pour the finished mixture into a glass bottle and cover it with a rubber fingertip on top. If it gradually begins to rise, it means the environment is acidic.

Correction of soil acidity

Before you start cultivating the soil, you need to know the approximate acidity. After all, apple trees tolerate acidic soil better than alkaline soil. Therefore, it is necessary to add 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:

• "Aquays". 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.
• "Ecoflora". This is a universal soil, which includes peat, sand and vermiculite. It has the right acidity for apples.
• "Garden soil". It is characterized by an optimal pH level of 5.5-6.0.

To ensure normal growth and development of the tree and get good yields, you will need to regularly dig up the top layers of soil, adding ammonium sulfate and peat.

How to increase fertility?

To obtain 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 it. High-quality 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 loosen it well and form vermicompost.In addition, worms do not have a negative effect on the human body; they are completely safe.
• Application of organic fertilizers. You can use chemicals, but organics are safer. A great option is compost. But other means can also be used. For example, some gardeners recommend water the apple tree weed tincture. To prepare it, you need to collect 50 liters of rainwater and 5 kg of weeds. Plants can be chopped or thrown into a barrel unchanged. Leave to infuse for 10 days, strain and use this water for irrigation (it must be diluted first - take 5 liters of water per 1 liter of liquid).
• Planting green manure. These are plants that are called “green manure”. They improve the structure and composition of the soil. It becomes porous, allowing water to pass through well. In addition, green manure enriches it with phosphorus, nitrogen, calcium and other macroelements. Therefore, it is recommended that legumes, cereals, radishes, and clover grow next to the apple tree.
• Crop rotation. It is recommended to plant an apple tree in a place where various crops grew. For this purpose, crop rotation is recommended - annual alternation of crops. If potatoes, corn, tomatoes and other plants constantly grew on the site, this depletes 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, and dried grass. This will not only prevent the apple tree from freezing, but will also serve as an excellent fertilizer.

To quickly enrich the soil composition, you can use several methods simultaneously.

Selection of fertilizers according to soil type

Soils are divided into types because they differ in the amount of humus they contain and their porosity. From this we can say that different species provide the plant with the necessary elements in different ways. Therefore, you need to apply certain fertilizers when choosing which, you must take into account the type of soil:

• You can fertilize clay soil with peat, vegetable compost, humus, and wood ash;
• Horse manure and wood ash are suitable for loam;
• peat, cow manure, azofoska and other fertilizers are suitable to improve the characteristics of sandy soil;
• You can fertilize peaty-swampy soil with compost, sawdust, manure, and also chemicals. phosphorus-potassium fertilizers;
• Podzolic soils are fertilized with manure, humus and phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.

Organic fertilizers are suitable for almost all types of soil. At the same time, they are safer, but no less effective.

Common mistakes when choosing soil

Very often, when choosing soil for planting an apple tree, inexperienced gardeners make some mistakes:

• Choose any free place. If the soil in this area is of poor quality, the plant will grow poorly or die.
• They plant a tree where the old apple tree grew. This is incorrect, 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 do well.
• Soil cultivation is carried out without preliminary research. If it was alkaline, adding lime will cause even greater alkalization. Therefore it will become unusable.

In addition, you need to choose the right area for planting. If there is a slope, it is better to plant the apple tree on the top. At the bottom it will be more susceptible to spring frosts, so the flowers may fall off.

Thus, you need to choose suitable soil for the apple tree. Otherwise, the plant will suffer and bear fruit poorly.