when should i fertilise my plants?

Javi.xeneize

Hi

Is there any guide about when and how often should i fertilise every type of fruit trees? i have a strawberry and an apple tree, so i would like to have some information about this. Im reading spring, but it is a bit vague

Also i dont know if it just a one off, or if i should fertilise every 2 weeks or something like that

Any guide where i can read and learn about it will be appreciated

Thanks!

AnniD

Advice here from the RHS which might help 
https://www.rhs.org.uk/fruit/fruit-trees/feeding-and-mulching

hannamoor1696

Javi.xeneize said:

Hi

Is there any guide about when and how often should i fertilise every type of fruit trees? i have a strawberry and an apple tree, so i would like to have some information about this. Im reading spring, but it is a bit vague

Also i dont know if it just a one off, or if i should fertilise every 2 weeks or something like that

Any guide where i can read and learn about it will be appreciated

Thanks!

It is impossible to achieve high productivity of fruit plantations without the use of a balanced fertilizer system. Unlike field crops, where competent crop rotation in some cases can cover up to half of the problems associated with the removal of nutrients, the peculiarity of fruit crops is that they are grown for a long time in one place and constantly remove the same nutrients from the soil. Therefore, when calculating the rate of fertilizer you need to consider the supply of soil elements, the need for them and the nature of the use of specific varieties of fruit plants. The fertilizer system must simultaneously provide a high yield of fruit crops with good quality products, a positive balance of the main indicators of soil fertility and be at the same time economically justified. Such a system of fertilizers should create optimal conditions for the use of macronutrients, and micronutrients and biologically active substances in the nutrition system of fruit-trees will help in this

The most important trace elements for quality apple and pear cultivation are boron, zinc, calcium, magnesium, manganese and iron. If trees are deficient in these elements, even in the absence of visible symptoms, the yield and quality of fruits will be low. Zinc and boron are important for flowering and fruit formation; calcium for fruit development, quality and preservation of yield; magnesium, manganese and iron for overall tree health and leaf quality.

Fairygirl

When you say a strawberry tree, is that what you mean, or do you just mean strawberries @Javi.xeneize?  

The RHS site is certainly useful for your apple.
If it's just strawberries, they need a good bit of food at this time of year, and enough water, and that should be enough, unless the soil they're in isn't healthy enough, in which case a good mulch of compost, or rotted manure will help them 

punkdoc

With respect @hannamoor1696 your post provides no practical advice at all.
I don’t grow fruit so can’t help.

Javi.xeneize

Fairygirl said:

When you say a strawberry tree, is that what you mean, or do you just mean strawberries @Javi.xeneize?  

The RHS site is certainly useful for your apple.
If it's just strawberries, they need a good bit of food at this time of year, and enough water, and that should be enough, unless the soil they're in isn't healthy enough, in which case a good mulch of compost, or rotted manure will help them 

yeah, just strawberries in a pot, you know, i call tree everything that has roots

that page was useful, and your answer brings another question, which is something im probably doing wrong too. Watering. What is enough water? I am always worried about putting too much water so i think im doing the opposite and not watering enough. 

I have heard about some sensors to measure the water level in the soil (i have most of my fruits in pots). Are those useful? Is there any guideline for how much water you should put on each type of plant?

Thanks

philippasmith2

Gauging the amount of water your strawb plants will need is quite easy really but it does depend how much natural rainfall they get or whether they are under cover.  The general look of the plants and the weight of the pots is quite a handy method as is sticking your finger into the top couple of inches of soil.
Not sure about Apple trees as I've only had them in the ground and I'm assuming yours is in a pot ?
@pansyface may be able to advise on that 

Fairygirl

A good thing to do if your strawbs are potted, is to loft the pot when the soil is fairly dry, then water, and lift the pot again to tell the difference. Strawbs will also wilt a bit when they get dry.
It's impossible to really gauge it and say - do this or that amount etc, because your climate plays a part, as @philippasmith2 says. If the soil is nice and friable, pots will drain well, and in hot spells will need watering every day if there's no appreciable rainfall. In damper, cooler weather, they won't dry out so quickly.
Tailoring the soil in your pots to the type of climate you have, is also quite important, but strawbs are fairly tolerant, as long as they have adequate drainage.
When they have a lot of foliage on them during the main season, the rain doesn't penetrate the foliage so easily either, so just check them so that they aren't drying out too quickly. 

Obelixx

@Javi.xeneize It would help if you told us where you are gardening as that will affect climate and thus heat and rainfall.

Generally, if you are growing things in the ground you feed the soil, not the plant, and this leads to increased fertility and moisture retention in dry spells when plants are in active growth and/or fruiting.   

If you grow things in pots, then you alone are responsible for providing the best compost in which to grow the pants plus regular watering as well as feeding thru the growing season.   

As for trees, these are plants with a particular structure but which can come in many forms but they all have bark in some shape or form.  Strawberries are herbaceous perennials.  Not trees.

Javi.xeneize

Yeah I know those are not trees, it’s my fault

im in the Milton Keynes area

thanks!