Growing your own fruit is empowering and exciting. Whether you are new to gardening or a seasoned grower, you know that garden maintenance is the first step to a great harvest. This week, make sure that you have completed your spring cleaning for your fruit trees and shrubs. Early spraying and pruning leads to healthier, larger harvests with less pest issues during the growing season.
- Apply a dormant oil spray to kill overwintering pests or fungi. Dormant spray should be applied on a frost free dry day. Dormant spray kits contain two products: Horticultural oil and lime sulphur. Both these products can be used individually to treat a variety of health and insect problems in plants. Easter weekend is a good benchmark to use when considering when to apply dormant oil.
- Apply a granular fertilizer! Organic fertilizers with a high nitrogen concentration are the most effective on fruit trees. We often recommend GreenFlag Granular Fruit tree and shrub fertilizer. It is easy to apply, and Canadian made!
- WAIT TO PRUNE! Your fruit trees are busy setting buds for fruit right now! After the blossoms have been spent, then examine your fruit trees for any white, brittle, or damaged branches. When scratched, healthy branches are green and moist. Dead branches often have no green and snap easily. Prune your fruit trees and shrubs with sterilized equipment. Apply rubbing alcohol or bleach to your pruners after each cut. Remove any diseased, dead, or damaged wood.
Horticultural oil is a great low-impact pesticide. In this case, it is used to treat trees and shrubs that are particularly vulnerable to attack by insects like scale and mites. It works by smothering insects (or the eggs of insects) that overwinter in the bark of the tree.
Lime sulphur is a fungicide. It is used primarily to prevent fungal diseases that affect fruit on trees, such as apple and pear scab. When applied in fall, lime sulphur controls overwintering fungal diseases. When applied in spring, it will help prevent these diseases from becoming a problem during the growing season. It also has a secondary effect on insects and mites.
