What do you think of the gardeners? My grandfather taught that if you drive a nail into an apple tree, a miracle will happen. Even if the tree has not given birth for several years, expect a generous harvest after this procedure. Why does this strange method work? Let's deal with it.
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I always loved to roam the apple garden of my grandfather. He, a gardener with 50 years of experience, even the most decrepit apple trees were fruiting until old age. One day I saw a rusty nail sticking out of wood. She demanded clarification. Grandfather smiled in a thick mustache and gave a fascinating lecture.
Our ancestors performed this procedure to bring the apple tree back to life. According to legend, the owner of the garden once threatened an old tree to cut it down under the root if it did not begin to give birth. He backed up his words with a nail. “I will cut down the wood for the firewood, if you do not bloom!”, he promised the obstinate. In the same year, the tree gave ovaries and a dozen sweet fruits.
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Working method Why did it work? Some people think it's iron. It saturates the tree and stimulates its growth. This explanation seems far-fetched to me. Hardly a single nail is capable of such feats.
The following argument seems more plausible to me. Each plant has a program to give as many offspring as possible. The damage caused by the gardener is a threat to the life of the tree. Therefore, it gives all its strength to growth and development, even to the detriment of itself.
Follow the following rules and precautions to get the desired effect:
- The method only works with apple trees! We are suitable for adult healthy trees that have not borne fruit for 3 years or more.
- Put a nail in the trunk in late autumn before frost or early spring. That is, during the period when the tree is preparing for winter sleep or flowering.
- This procedure can be beneficial but also harmful. To reduce stress for the tree, feed it first.
How to properly drive a nail into an apple tree? Gardeners agree that for greater effect, you should drive 3 rusty nails at once. The first is located 70 cm from the ground. The other two are 30 cm apart. Hit the nail at a 45° angle. It should enter the barrel no more than 2-3 cm.
Be sure to disinfect the nail with an alcohol-containing liquid or antiseptic. If this is not done, the wound can be infected, causing the infection to spread throughout the tree.
If you find the “nail method” inhumane, you can accelerate the fruiting of apple trees in another way.
Next, we will talk about methods that reduce the outflow of nutrients from branches to roots.
- Tight-wire stretching. This is how we disrupt the juice movement. We pull in spring and remove the wire in autumn.
- Cutting.. We make a small damage (notch) at the base of the main lateral branches. Lubricate a drop of garden brew. Thus, useful substances suspend their natural outflow. Next year, the apple tree will release more fruit buds.
- Reflection. For early fruiting, we bend the main lateral branches and put supports. But do not overthink, otherwise the skeletal branches will break under the weight of the fruit.
- Ringing. Carefully remove the bark with a ring 1 cm wide on the skeletal branches. In order not to bring an infection into the apple tree, we cover the wound with garden smear.
Note that all these methods - humane and not very - help to get a more lush and early harvest. They will be able to make the tree grow faster and shorter. In order not to injure the branches and trunk, you can do much easier. For example, feed your favorite apple tree with iron-based drugs. If you drive a nail into an apple tree, you seem quite blasphemous!
How do you encourage your fruit trees to grow? Share with us in the comments.