Many gardeners are interested in walnuts. Some have doubts about growing this crop in mid-latitudes, since their plants freeze to the snow level. Today, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences Evgeniy Anatolyevich Vasin answers the questions.

I have been working with nut crops for more than 17 years. During this period, I had to visit some places of the northern walnut culture, in the cities of St. Petersburg, Moscow, Voronezh, Orel, Tula; in the Tula region; in Belarus (Minsk region, Samokhvalovichi village), in the city of Shchuchin and others. It is known that the walnut grows and bears fruit in the Pskov, Novgorod, Moscow, Tver, Leningrad regions, in the Volga region, the Urals, Western Siberia and other places. The most northern nuts in our country they grow in St. Petersburg, on the territory of the Botanical Garden of the BIN RAS. However, they do not grow everywhere, but in favorable places that meet certain requirements.

What are these requirements? Taking into account the latest achievements in walnut breeding for successful cultivation its most adapted forms, the sum of average daily temperatures is above 10C during the growing season and should be at least 1900C. The minimum temperature in winter is not lower than -36C, the frost-free period is 130-140 days. At the same time, the plants themselves must have a short growth period, early autumn leaf fall, and a late start of the growing season, which helps avoid spring frosts.

In the Tula region (where I work) such forms are available. The harsh winter of 2005-2006 showed this. Mature trees (25-40 years old) suffered greatly, did not bear fruit, but restored their crown in 2006-2007, and already in 2008 fruiting was noted. Among the experimental plants aged 3-9 years, those that had slight freezing of shoots and still bore fruit were identified. The hybrid nuts F1 (walnut + Manchurian nut) turned out to be the most winter-hardy. The male and female buds of the hybrids withstood frosts of 38.5C without damage. There are also early-fruiting forms, which in the winter of 2005-2006 had freezing of 1-2 points on a 5-point scale, fully recovered in 2006 and bore fruit in 2007.

So that the nut bears fruit well

From experience communicating with gardeners, I know the main mistake when growing walnuts and other southern crops. The fact is that they often purchase planting or seed material of unknown or “inappropriate” southern origin. Such plants freeze almost every winter.

It has been noticed that when propagated by seed, nuts from more northern growing areas adapt better to new conditions. So for central Russia it is best to take planting material(or seeds) from nuts that grow in the eastern regions of Ukraine, the mountains of Central Asia and the Caucasus, some areas of the Krasnodar Territory, as well as in Voronezh, Volgograd and other northern regions. It is not only frosty here, but also the annual amount of heat is closer to mid-latitudes. Nuts from places with a mild, humid climate (Western Ukraine, the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, Western Europe) are not at all suitable. Trees from these places will freeze slightly every year, and they will be grown in greenhouse conditions- not for everybody.

About agricultural technology. Walnuts should be planted in bright places, protected from northern and northeastern winds. The soil under the nut should be medium loamy, maybe sandy loam with a slightly alkaline or neutral reaction. To do this, when landing, you must landing hole add half a bucket of wood ash and rotted manure. The nut does not need rich, rich soil, since it grows wildly on it, but does not ripen well and prepare for winter.

Walnut needs moisture in the first half of the growing season (until mid-June - early July). With abundant watering during the summer and with sufficient warmth, the growth of shoots is delayed, and they also poorly prepare for winter. The result is freezing. Tree trunk circles must be mulched. In summer this is useful for conserving moisture, and in winter it is useful to avoid soil freezing in areas with little snow. You can mulch with compost or other organic material.

How to feed a nut in the first year after planting? On poor soils, it is necessary to add 10 P 10 K 10 (here: N - nitrogen, P - phosphorus, K - potassium, and 10 is the number of grams of active substance (a.i.) per 1 m2). The dose must be calculated depending on percentage element in a particular fertilizer. The following fertilizers are suitable: ammonium nitrate (N), superphosphate (P), potassium salt (K). Keep in mind that for nuts, as for all fruit crops, it is better to apply nitrogen in the spring, and phosphorus-potassium fertilizer in the second half of summer. On cultivated soil, nitrogen can not be applied at all, but only potassium and phosphate fertilizers 10 g.a./m2.

How to cover in the first winter? The most vulnerable zone for plants is the ground layer, that is, up to 1 m above the surface, where winter time the temperature is several degrees lower than in the air. Therefore, in particularly harsh conditions, the soil must be mulched with manure in a 10 cm layer for the winter, but the stem should not be covered. Aboveground part It is useful to cover with coniferous branches. The nut bole can be wrapped in several layers of newspaper, but only after the first frost. This saves you from cold weather below - 40C.

I don't hide my nuts. The main thing is to ensure timely and good ripening of the wood. And this requires a set of measures, which were mentioned above. Let me remind you once again that with an excess of nitrogen in the soil, the nut will grow strongly and for a long time, but will ripen poorly. Periodically, every three years, it is necessary to add dolomite or lime flour to the trunk circles. The roots extend wider than the projection of the tree crown, and this must be taken into account when scattering fertilizers.

And now about the walnut variety Osipov. Most often, the Osipov variety is called Oripov, and less often - Osipov. This early fruiting nut from Uzbekistan, so it is doubtful that it can withstand frosts below - 45C. Krasnodar nuts can withstand up to - 32...- 35C, but there the sum of temperatures above 10C reaches 3500-3800C. Walnut can withstand low temperatures, however, it has a genetically determined relationship to the annual amount of heat. Therefore, even seed offspring from heat-loving forms and varieties are prone to heat. In our conditions, these plants do not have time to fully complete the entire development cycle and prepare for winter. We can talk about the Oripov variety if the seedling is obtained by grafting, and the author of the question most likely has a seedling. In this case, it is difficult to predict his reaction to climatic conditions Nizhny Novgorod region. And the requirements for nuts for successful growth and fruiting is the same for everyone, they are outlined above.

If your walnut freezes slightly every year, then this is a sign that the plant originated from a milder climate that does not correspond to the climate of the new place. From such a nut you can only get leaves, but this is also a great benefit - a very valuable medicinal raw material. Of course, the nut can be grown in slate form. To do this, the shoot or branch is given a horizontal position. This technique is carried out during the ripening of the shoots in August-September, when they are no longer brittle, but they do it very carefully. Bent shoots are fixed in this position until spring. The height of the bend (or slate) depends on the depth of the snow cover in winter. Additionally, bent shoots can be covered with reed mats or branches. Experiments on slate walnut culture were carried out in Moscow, on the Lenin Hills, in the 40-50s of the last century under the leadership of A.M. Ozola, who received the first fruiting nuts in Moscow in 1949.

As for Tula walnuts, they are as diverse as all nuts. Their winter hardiness varies from year to year. So, the same trees survived without damage - 35C, and in another year they froze at - 30...- 32C. Yields are relatively regular in all but very years. harsh winters(- 35C). But, again, I want to remind you that with good agricultural technology and proper placement of the plant, short-term frosts - 35 ... - 38 C are not terrible for walnuts. As a more promising crop in harsh areas, one can name hybrid nuts (walnut + Manchurian nut), which can withstand lower temperatures without damage.

For reference. Everyone is used to seeing gray-brown hard walnuts. But it turned out that not everyone knows what young fruits look like. They are enclosed in a light green fleshy peel - plus. When ripe, the plush darkens, becomes thin and finally bursts. Ripe nuts fall out of it onto the ground.

It is useful for those who are planning to grow walnuts to know that in size an adult tree is comparable to our oak. The crown is very wide, the trunk is powerful. You can be proud of such a giant in your garden, if the size of the plot allows it.

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This crop begins to bear fruit in its infancy. There are three forms of walnut in cultivation: early-fruited, large-fruited and ordinary. Precocious form can bear the first fruits within three to four years after planting.

Varieties and fruiting dates

Common walnut is one of the largest fruit plants V middle lane. Its size reaches 6 meters already at the age of 6 years. And the crown grows in diameter up to 20 meters. A fifty-year-old walnut can grow up to 12 meters in height, and in some specimens the trunk circumference at a height of one meter is more than 200 centimeters. The average weight of nuts of ordinary shape is 10-12 g.

The peculiarity of the walnut is that with age its yield increases and the quality of the fruit improves. If in the first five years of life up to a kilogram of nuts ripens on a tree, then in the second it is already more than 10 kg, and from trees over 50 years old you can collect up to 100 kg of fruits.

Large-fruited forms produce fruits weighing more than 12 g and are considered more valuable, since the size of the crown and trunk do not differ from the others and have no special care requirements.

Precocious forms

Precocious forms have an undeniable advantage, a short period of entry into fruiting. If an ordinary and large-fruited nut begins to bear fruit at 6-7 years, then the first nuts on a tree of the early-fruiting variety will appear twice as fast. This variety of nuts was discovered by scientists less than 80 years ago in the Tashkent region. They bloom in the third year, begin to bear fruit, and next year are already producing a noticeable harvest.

The flowers of this variety are collected in a raceme, on which several nuts are tied and ripen. And 12 days after the first flowering phase, the second begins. If during the first flowering up to four fruits are formed on the fruit, then during the second - more than ten. Other forms do not have this feature.

Conditions and care

In order for fruiting to occur as early as possible, a number of conditions must be met when planting a walnut and caring for it. Firstly, it is worth purchasing a frost-resistant variety, since walnuts freeze at temperatures below –30°C. Secondly, green foliage in spring young nut should be protected from return frosts. Thirdly, this plant is light-loving and may die in shade, especially in the first years after planting.

Walnuts are moisture-loving and will not grow in dry soil. The best soils for it are soils with a high humus content, loamy, sandy loam or soddy-podzolic soils.

Pine nuts on Siberian pine and Siberian cedar. These trees live up to 200 years and reach a height of 50 m. The cones ripen for a long time, about 15 months, and the tree itself begins to bear fruit for the first time at the age of at least 20-30 years. Each cone contains about 150 seeds, which then become pine nuts, and approximately 12 kg of them are collected from one tree. Among all the nuts, the most expensive are pine nuts.

Hazelnut or hazel

Another name is Lombard nut. This nut is divided into three varieties, the most common at present: badem, Crimean and kerasund. They have the same properties, but differ in the shape and thickness of the shell externally. Hazelnuts grow on large hazel, a tree with thin long branches and large leaves. Hazelnuts, which now grow everywhere, were obtained through repeated crossing and selection of the most large varieties, which would have the thinnest skin.

Cashew

This unusually shaped nut grows in Brazil. In fact, from a botanical point of view, these fruits are not nuts, since the main part of the cashew is the stalk, or apple. This is a very juicy and tasty red-orange fruit that quickly deteriorates after ripening and therefore cannot be transported.

The curved nuts themselves are in a hard shell that contains oil that causes burns. Therefore, before sale, the nuts are cut by hand and then roasted to remove traces of toxic oil.

Almond

The almond tree belongs to the Rosaceae family and produces single white or very pink flowers. beautiful flowers. Nuts are very popular all over the world, have great taste and beneficial properties. Many people think of almonds as a nut, but they are not - they are a stone fruit.

There are bitter and sweet almonds. The latter is eaten. Bitter is used to prepare aromatic almond oil, but the nut itself cannot be eaten, as it contains many alkaloids.

Real pistachio

This multi-stemmed tree is a relative of the cashew and grows in the mountainous areas of Central Asia, Syria, and Mesopotamia. Reaches a height of 4-6 m, forming a wide, dense crown. Tree bark with deep cracks, gray-brown color. The pistachio lives for a very long time, 300-400 years. In culinary terms, the pistachio is called a nut, but in reality, it is a seed. Pistachios ripen from September to November, and at this moment their shells crack.

Ground nut - peanut

The most inexpensive and widespread of all nuts is a legume plant, and its fruits grow underground, getting there very in an interesting way. Peanut flowers are located on long stalks, and only the lowest ones are capable of producing offspring. After the flower is fertilized, it grows and produces a long shaft, the gynophore. First, this rod grows upward, and then bends and grows 9-10 cm into the soil. This is where the cylindrical peanut beans ripen. Under the ground, its fruit is protected from premature drying. The homeland of peanuts is hot countries.

Walnut is a late-bearing crop. Most trees of seed origin produce their first fruits only 7-12 years after planting in the garden. The exception is the early-fruiting forms of the well-known Ideal variety.

Is it possible to actively influence the precocity of a walnut tree? If you follow the required agricultural technology and some special agricultural practices, you can get the first fruits 2-3 years earlier. But first things first.

In the first years after planting, the nut grows very quickly and does not require additional stimulation, so a young tree should be fertilized only on very poor soils (best with humus). Care comes down to regular weeding of the standard circles, timely watering and correct formation crowns In the first year after planting, only the 4-5 most developed side shoots, evenly oriented in space, are left, the rest are plucked out. Optimal height trunk - 0.7-1 m.

The walnut crown is openwork by nature, that is, the tree successfully forms itself, so further pruning is kept to a minimum and consists of removing damaged shoots that grow inside the crown. Optimal timing trimming: March - early April.

To speed up fruiting, amateur gardeners can use an old, undeservedly forgotten technique - ringing. It consists of cutting out a ring of bark on the skeletal branches with a sharp and always clean (!) knife. To do this, make two circular cuts reaching the cambium at a distance of 2-3 cm from each other. The wood must not be touched. The bark ring is carefully separated, and the wound surface is covered with garden varnish. As a result of ringing, the outflow of carbohydrates to the root system is disrupted, and the plant forms generative buds. It is advisable to ring walnut trees at the age of 4-5 years, in the second half of June. Before autumn, the edges of the wound usually heal. Of course, this technique is a serious intervention in the life of a tree and can only be recommended to those who like to experiment.

Another, no less radical way to speed up the fruiting of a tree is to... replant it several times. In the spring, in the 2nd or 3rd year of the tree’s growth, it is dug up in the garden. In this case, the horizontal ones are partially damaged and, what is especially important,

vertical roots. The wounds must be “corrected” with sharp pruning shears; it is also advisable to sprinkle them with wood ash. After this, the tree is planted again in the same place (it is possible in another place, but the hole must first be prepared according to all the rules). Such “pruning” of the root system inhibits the growth of the tree and stimulates the physiological mechanisms of establishment flower buds. This agricultural technique is widely used by French gardeners.

A young walnut tree grown from a fruit of a healthy, stable mother form should not get sick. But sometimes, especially in years with wet and cold summers, there is a rapid development of the most harmful walnut disease - brown spot (marsoniosis). Its causative agent is an imperfect fungus.

The first symptoms of the disease in the form brown spots may appear on leaves as early as May. If they are present, the tree must be treated with a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture. If the infection continues to develop, spraying is repeated 2-3 times with an interval of 2 weeks. In autumn, fallen leaves are collected and burned.

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You can, of course, plant mature fruit-bearing trees, but this is not best way achieving the goal. Due to damage to the root system, large trees can get sick, fruiting is delayed for 2-3 years, and even then record harvests cannot be expected. It is better to force young plants to bear fruit 2-3 years after planting. Even varieties that usually begin to bear fruit in the 7-8th year (apple trees Streifling, Lighthouse etc.), are capable of producing crops already in the 3rd-4th year.

Padding

The essence of the method. Squeeze the branch at the base, delaying the outflow nutrients to the roots. This will stimulate the formation of flower buds for next year's harvest.
When to use. Designed for trees older than 3 years - to stimulate fruiting of branches next year.
Technology. From the 6-7 available skeletal branches, in May, make a constriction of 3-4 branches of 3-5 years of age. In order not to injure the bark, a cloth is placed on the branch at the base (for example, 1-2 layers of burlap), then it is tightly tied with wire and slightly squeezed, twisting with pliers. In summer, the branch will begin to grow in thickness and the pressure will increase. The constriction is left for 1-2 months and then removed.

Banding

The essence of the method. Break the integrity of the bark at the base of individual branches. This delays the outflow of organic matter from the branch and stimulates more active formation of flower buds over the next 2-3 years.
When to use. The method is intended for trees older than 3 years - to accelerate the entry into fruiting of individual branches. It is chosen when it is necessary to obtain a longer-lasting effect than from constriction: not only the entry into fruiting, but also the subsequent increase in the yield of the branch.
Technology. At the end of May - beginning of June, the bark is removed from the base of the skeletal branch in the form of a ring about 2 cm wide. Then the ring is turned over 180°C and inserted into the cutout site. It grows together, and the ringed branch begins to bear fruit earlier. You can simply carry out ringing with complete removal bark in the form of a strip 0.5 cm wide. To avoid drying out, this place is tied with burlap and then with film. Banding, removing bark more than 2 cm wide, is risky: it can cause the branch to dry out. It is not recommended to ring many branches at once: due to insufficient outflow of nutrients, it can starve and even die root system, and therefore the whole tree.

Changing the orientation of branches

The essence of the method. Move vertically directed branches to a position close to horizontal. The more the branch deviates to the side, the more its growth is hampered and fruiting increases. Trees begin to produce crops 2-3 years earlier, grow more intensely and grow less.
When to use. This method is the easiest and least risky. But it is only suitable for trees under three years of age. On older perennial skeletal branches (branching from the trunk), it is no longer possible to pull back and bend them: they may split off at the points of connection with the trunk. It’s good if you bought a standard 1-2 year old seedling. After it takes root and produces 3-4 directed different sides branches (1-2 years after planting), you can start.
Technology. The branches are bent at the beginning of the growing season (in May). This is done with the help of spacers that bend the skeletal branch from the trunk, or they are pulled down using twine connecting the middle of the branch with the base of the trunk or with stakes driven into the ground. You cannot bend the branches by the tops: arched bends are formed, and instead of fruit formations, vertical shoots (spinning tops) grow on the branches like a fan, and fruiting does not accelerate. Bend 3-4 lower skeletal branches directed in different directions so as not to bend the crown. By autumn, when they are fixed in a given position, the spacers and twine can be removed.

The key to success

• Changing the orientation and constriction of branches can be carried out on any fruit crops, and ringing of branches can only be done on pome crops (apple, pear). Damage to the bark of cherries, plums and other stone fruits causes gum formation, which weakens the trees.
• Girding and constriction of branches can be done not only on young trees to speed up the entry into fruiting, but also on adult specimens - on individual branches whose yields would like to be increased. The branches themselves should not be older than 3-5 years. Age is determined by the annual scars on them or by the number of branches (starting from the apex) - a rough estimate is enough, perfect accuracy is not needed here. Apply a ring about 5 mm wide in June. It will be overgrown within 2-3 years. At this time, the number and size of fruits should increase.
• Beginners are afraid to ring trees - lest they do harm! Conduct an experiment with girdling a branch, which if unsuccessful, you will not be sorry to remove.
• If you use seedlings on dwarf rootstocks instead of vigorous ones, the first fruits will appear 2-3 years earlier.

Wild blackberries grow in forests, along the edges of swamps, where there is not enough sun, where there is no drainage, and the soils can be acidic. And the residents of the surrounding settlements in the second half of July, when blackberries ripen, they rush to pick sour, sometimes small, but such healthy berries without fear of getting hurt on sharp thorns. Not so long ago we began cultivating this plant at our dachas, where it grows and bears fruit in completely different conditions. We feed it, water it, cover it for the winter, and it tries to ripen to our delight - the berries of garden varietal blackberries are larger, richer in taste, the harvest is larger, and the fruiting period is longer.

Blackberries have been known to us for a long time, but summer residents began growing them en masse on their plots a couple of decades ago. Moreover, in our country it is distributed mainly among private farms, and is very rarely grown on small farms. In Europe (especially in Poland and the UK), farmers boldly began growing vitamin berries for commercial purposes, but they cannot keep up with the world leaders in production - Mexico, Canada and the USA. By the way, it is from Mexico that this delicate berry comes to Europe.

Blackberries are a biennial crop - in the first year of life, its shoots grow, and fruit buds are just being laid; in the second year of life, flowers appear, then fruits. After this, the fruit-bearing shoots die off, which is why they are cut out at the root in the fall. In parallel with the fruiting shoots, replacement shoots grow, on which fruit buds are laid. The bush is normalized from these new shoots, removing the excess ones, leaving the strongest ones, which will produce next year's harvest. Thus, the owner can plan the development of the bush and the harvest.

But there is also a remontant blackberry, which is cultivated as annual crop. It forms fruits on the shoots of the first year, after which in the fall all the shoots are cut off, and the next year new ones grow, on which flowers will grow, and then fruits. You don’t have to cut the shoots after fruiting, then next year there is a reason to expect two harvests.

They're imprisoning berry crop usually in the spring in an open, well-lit place with prepared (generously fertilized) soil. After planting, the seedling is pruned, leaving shoots no more than 30 cm from the ground. Then they take care of it all season - water it, weed it, loosen the ground around it, save it from pests, and in the fall the shoots are carefully rolled up and placed under cover, and in winter they are also covered with more snow. Next year, these shoots will bear the first fruits, which are usually allowed to ripen - they will no longer weaken the bush. In a couple of years, the root system will develop, the bush will mature, and fruiting will reach its maximum.

When to pick blackberries

Our wild ancestor garden blackberry usually ripens in the second half of summer. But today scientists tell the crop when it is best for it to ripen. The varieties and hybrids created by breeders can be independently selected according to the time of fruit ripening. Just like a thorny bush, which causes many unpleasant moments for the gardener when caring for it, can be replaced with a thornless one, because a garden thornless blackberry has already been created.

There are early, mid-season and late varieties blackberries.

The fruits of early varieties ripen in June. There is an opinion that these are not the most delicious, usually sour and small berries, but this is not entirely true. For example, from the beginning of June you can pick large cone-shaped berries of the Columbia Star variety. Its thornless creeping shoots are grown on trellises. This variety is undemanding to growing conditions and care, and produces a rich harvest of aromatic, sweet and sour berries. The very famous Natchez variety produces its first ripe berries in June, and its last in August. This thornless bush forms powerful upright shoots, and its large berries differ in sweetness.

“Thornfree”, “Karaka Black”, “Loch Tay” - all this early varieties crops resistant to traditional diseases. The only thing you can be afraid of when growing early blackberries is spring frosts, if they occur at the beginning of flowering, the harvest will be spoiled.

Most varieties of blackberries have extended fruiting: flowers bloom at the same time, ovaries form, and berries ripen. All this can last from 4 to 6 weeks, for some even longer. Harvest should be done after 2-3 days; it is not advisable to leave the berries on the branches after they are fully ripe.

This feature is considered as an advantage if you want to constantly receive fresh berries or as a disadvantage if there is a desire to quickly collect the crop in order to process it.

July is the time of ripening for mid-season blackberry varieties. Among them there are prickly and thornless, large-fruited and not so large. Large-fruited “Black Satin” and “Loch Ness” are deservedly popular. “Laughton” is an old variety, its berries are not very large, but aromatic, with a dessert sweet-sour taste, they tolerate transportation well and are stored for several days without losing their qualities. "Laughton" usually gives an excellent harvest, blooms even when there is no threat of late frosts, and ripens under the bright warm sun.

The late blackberry harvest ripens in July–August, sometimes in September, like Blackberry. The most famous varieties, these are: “Chester Thornless”, “Navajo”, “Texas”, “Apache”. It’s good to get a harvest of delicious vitamin berries at the end of summer, when all the others have long been ripe, eaten and forgotten. But with late ripening, there is always a danger of losing part of the harvest with the arrival of cold weather. The fact is that even those blackberries, which the creators declared frost-resistant, will freeze in our winters without shelter. This means that in the fall, before the cold weather arrives, you need to have time to trim and cover the shoots for the winter, even if not all the berries are ripe.

There is also a remontant blackberry, which is capable of producing a harvest not only on the shoots of the first year, but can produce two harvests: one on the shoots of the second year (if they are not pruned), and the other on new shoots. Then the first harvest will occur at the beginning of summer, like raspberries, and the second can go into autumn (it may become a problem for it to ripen before frost). There are hybrids of raspberries and blackberries (so-called raspberry varieties) that are so not afraid of cold weather that they can ripen almost in frost. Remontant varieties are not like that. In protected soil conditions they produce two excellent harvests: in May–June and in September. But in open ground Not all climatic conditions may allow this.

There are so many varieties and hybrids of blackberries that every gardener can choose them not only by the size and taste of the berries, but even by the timing of fruiting.

Video “How to get a record blackberry harvest”

From this video you will learn what kind of blackberry you need to plant on your site and how to care for it in order to get record harvests berries from June to September.