What fertilizer is best to feed the grapes in the summer

Grapes are an exquisite culture that requires rather delicate care. In addition to pruning, regular watering and pest control, balanced organic and mineral supplements are required. But growers, especially beginners, should be aware that the need for nutrients in the vineyard at different stages of the growing season varies somewhat. Since an excess of nutrients can be no less harmful than a deficiency, attention should be paid to the study of this issue. Consider, in particular, how grapes are fertilized in the summer.

Why you need to feed the grapes in the summer

In the summer, when the vegetative mass is actively growing, and the fruits begin to form, the vineyard needs special care, without which you cannot count on a full-fledged harvest. Top dressing also plays an important role here.

By the time the fruits ripen, the nutrients introduced into the soil can be completely used up. Lack of nutrition does not allow the berries to fill up fully and accumulate sugar. The result is small, poor quality grapes that taste sour.

What the vineyard needs in summer

Usually grapes begin to bear fruit only in the third year of life. Therefore, summer top dressing in the first two years is not needed for a young vineyard. In the third year of life, fertilizing in the summer is no longer enough.

Many growers use complex fertilizers for this purpose, which are sold in a wide variety in gardening stores. When purchasing a complex fertilizer, we pay attention to the composition. There should be components that grapes need in summer.

Minerals

First of all, for the full development and formation of fruits, grapes require the following minerals and trace elements.

Fertilizer crumbles under the bush or applied in dissolved form. It is important not to exceed the dosage, otherwise you can burn the roots. Instructions for use must be on the packaging of each fertilizer. It is important to know the composition of the soil on which grapes grow. This will allow you to more accurately determine which substances it needs more, and which will only harm the plants.

Phosphorus is necessary for grapes to ripen fruitful shoots. It is best to carry out two top dressings with superphosphate. The first is carried out before flowering, the second in the summer, when the ovary is already formed.

Usually, the need of plants for potassium increases by the beginning of autumn, since a lot of energy is expended on the ripening of the crop. In addition, potassium contributes to the fact that the vineyard will be better prepared and protected before wintering. It is necessary to apply potassium fertilizers in the last decade of August. If harvesting is planned at this time, then top dressing should be done a little earlier. It is important that no fertilizing and watering is carried out 2 weeks before the fruit is harvested.

If the vineyard is cultivated in acidic soils, calcium supplementation may be required in the summer. Calcium neutralizes oxalic acid, which negatively affects plant development and fruit formation. Keep in mind that adding calcium in the summer is the exception rather than the rule. In most cases, such top dressing is not needed.

organic

The best option for organic feeding of grapes in summer is wood ash. It contains all the necessary macro and microelements that contribute to the activation of plant life: phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen. The most useful for feeding the vineyard is sunflower ash. It contains up to 40% potassium, up to 4% phosphorus and other useful components that are easily absorbed by the soil.

You can prepare a solution of rotted humus or compost. Such a solution should also be used sparingly, watering the plant around, and not at the very root. We retreat 50 cm from the trunk and water the plant into the formed groove. For better assimilation of nutrients, grape feeding is combined with regular watering.

It is good to combine mineral and organic top dressing. Organics contribute to the fact that most of the nutrients are not absorbed into the soil, but pass into the plant.

The mullein solution activates the development of beneficial bacteria that help the root system absorb nutrients. Only this organic fertilizer should be applied either after harvesting, or in the spring immediately after the buds awaken. Then in the summer it will be possible to get by with only mineral top dressing.

Working solutions for summer top dressing of the vineyard

20 grams of superphosphate, 10 grams of ammonium nitrate and 5 grams of potassium salt. All this dissolves in a bucket of water. This amount is calculated for 1 bush. It is necessary to feed the grapes with such a solution in June-July.

Mix 50 grams of superphosphate with a glass of ash. Dilute in a bucket of water. Water the bushes during the ripening period.

Conclusion

You can determine what specific fertilizing the grapes need by the appearance of the plant.

1. Yellowish foliage is an indication that the plant needs potassium top dressing;
2. A lack of phosphorus gives out a reddish-purple hue of some leaves;
3. Pale, as if faded leaves are a clear sign of a lack of nitrogen.