Planting walnuts in autumn: growing and care, timing

The walnut tree is a long-lived tree that has been able to supply people with fruits filled with vitamins and nutrients for several centuries. At first glance, the idea of ​​planting a walnut tree near the house may seem strange, but it is quite feasible with proper planting and care.

Peculiarities of planting walnuts

Walnut seedlings are planted before the ground freezes in the fall and after it has completely thawed in the spring. To ensure full fruiting, at least two walnut trees are planted indoors, spaced 5 meters apart for pollination. When grown commercially, the distance between trees is approximately 10 meters. Wind contributes to tree pollination. Tilling is performed up to twice per season and once per winter. Walnut trees prefer mulch to interference in the root zone.

Walnut planting time

The timing of walnut planting depends primarily on the weather conditions of the site. In the Moscow region and surrounding areas, walnuts are planted in the spring, immediately after the snow melts, before the sap begins to flow. Further south and in Ukraine, this procedure is also carried out in the fall. The best survival time is during leaf fall.

How to plant a young walnut tree in the fall

To plant a walnut tree in the fall and grow a fruit-bearing tree, certain rules and conditions must be observed. These are necessary:

• choose a seedling wisely;
• don't make a mistake with the planting time;
• choose the right place for landing;
• perform landing in an improved manner.

Selecting a seedling

Walnut seedlings are purchased from nurseries. Choose healthy, strong trees with a closed root system, free of external signs of disease or defects; weak or elongated ones are discarded. Two-year-old seedlings are preferable, although they are more expensive than one-year-olds. If the roots are exposed, carefully inspect them. A quality seedling will have:

• there is one barrel, not 2;
• the grafting site has grown together;
• the roots are not twisted;
• the trunk has become woody;
• height no more than 80 cm;
• barrel diameter not less than 90 mm.

Immediately before planting, a small pruning of the seedling root is performed.

Choosing a location

The walnut is a mountain native with a beautiful, lush crown. It prefers loamy, slightly moist soils and black soils. It dislikes marshy, dense soils with groundwater close to the surface. It prefers open spaces and plenty of sunlight.

In the garden, the tree requires a sunny location to allow for further growth and crown expansion up to 5 m in diameter. Therefore, walnuts should not be planted near buildings (their strong roots can destroy the foundation), other fruit trees, or vegetable beds (they absorb all the nutrients from the soil and create shade). Bushes (currants, rose hips), bird cherry, raspberry, and viburnum also thrive alongside walnuts.

Planting hole

To plant walnuts in the fall, dig a 1 x 1 x 1 m hole 14 days before planting. The topsoil is folded to one side, and the bottom layer is used to create a border for the hole. Add the following to the topsoil:

• a bucket of compost or humus;
• 200 g of ash.

The ingredients are thoroughly mixed.

Planting a seedling

The most productive planting method is considered to be Nikolai Kiktenko's.

The following is placed at the bottom of the pit:

1. Broken bricks, small stones or shards of pottery.
2. About 1 kg of ammonium phosphate is poured into a pile. Ammonium phosphate contains 52% phosphorus and 12% nitrogen. Carbonate soils are rich in calcium, nitrogen, and potassium, but poor in phosphorus. When calcium enters the soil, phosphorus immediately binds it into insoluble forms. To prevent this, reduce the area of ​​contact between the fertilizer and the soil surface.
3. Pour about 20 cm of the prepared mixture on top, place the seedling, and straighten its roots.
4. Add the remaining soil so that the grafting site is not covered.
5. Carefully rotate the seedling around its axis so that the soil grips the roots more tightly.
6. The soil is compacted to remove air bubbles and to avoid any voids.
7. Spread mulch on top in the form of straw manure (about 25 kg), which will prevent the roots from drying out in the summer and warm them in the winter.
8. Pour 6 buckets of water under the seedling.
9. A young tree is tied in a figure eight to a peg, which is driven in from the side from which the wind usually blows.

Caring for walnuts

Although this tree is considered one of the most undemanding plants, it still requires some care. Without proper care, the owner risks growing a small, long-lived tree instead of a lopsided, misshapen one. Walnut care includes:

• top dressing;
• watering;
• preventive treatments against diseases and pests;
• pruning.

Watering

In hot summers, young walnut trees require watering. 25-30 liters of nutrient-rich water are poured under the tree at a time, and watering is done 10 to 14 times during the summer. Mature walnut trees are watered less frequently (2-3 times per month), but the watering amount increases to 60-80 liters per tree. Trees over 4 meters tall require virtually no watering; the walnut tree draws moisture from deep within the soil using its powerful roots.

Top dressing

If the planting hole was well fertilized with nutrients, the nut tree does not need additional fertilizer for 8-10 years.

After this period, nitrogen-containing fertilizers are applied to the tree in the spring, and phosphorus and potassium are added in the fall at a rate of 10 g per square meter. The walnut prefers organic matter: compost, humus, and ash. 5-6 kg of this can be added to the tree's trunk circle annually.

Preparing for winter

Before winter, the trunks of young saplings are wrapped in white corrugated paper or covering material, which is removed in the spring. Older trees are whitewashed to prevent the bark from cracking during frosts. Six to eight buckets of water are poured under each sapling before winter.

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Pruning and shaping

When a sapling is young, its crown needs to be shaped to ensure maximum fruit production in the future. During the first year of a walnut tree's life, one shoot is selected as the dominant one, and the others are lightly pinched. Subsequently, when 5-6 skeletal branches have formed, the lower branches are removed. Once the gardener has achieved the desired crown shape, further pruning will consist of removing damaged and broken branches.

Preventive treatments

It's always easier to take preventative measures than to treat a disease. Spray the plant with a copper sulfate solution in early spring, before the leaves emerge, and in autumn, after the leaves have fallen.

Diseases and their control

Walnut trees are resistant to diseases and pests, but without proper care they are susceptible to a number of ailments. These include:

• bacteriosis;
• brown spot;
• root cancer;
• fire blight.

The characteristic signs of diseases and methods of combating them are clearly shown in the table:

Walnut pests

In addition to diseases, walnut trees are also threatened by insects. These include:

1. The American walnut moth is a destructive pest that plagues all fruit trees. It can produce 2-3 generations during a single growing season, destroying plants from July to October. Control is achieved with microbiological treatments such as Lepidocide or Dendrobacillin. Apply 2 to 4 liters of the prepared solution per tree. It should not be used during flowering.
2. The walnut mite destroys leaf blades without affecting the fruit. Brown swellings appear on the leaves. Control with Akarin and Aktara.
3. The codling moth feeds on walnuts. The insect crawls inside the nut and chews out the core. Two generations of the moth emerge per season, damaging the tree from June to August. It is recommended to hang traps with scents on the trees to attract males. Fallen fruit and nests on the tree should be removed and destroyed.
4. The walnut moth lays its eggs on the leaves. The hatched caterpillars chew the insides of the leaves, leaving the skin intact. Control with Lepidocide, Decis, and Decamethrin.
5. Aphids can attack any tree or bush. They are also a vector of diseases. Aphids can be controlled with Antitlin, Actellic, or Biotlin.

There are quite a lot of pests, and in order not to miss their invasion, you should inspect the tree as often as possible.

Growing a nut from a nut

With good seed material, experienced walnut growers can grow walnuts themselves from nuts. Seed requirements:

• external quality appearance without damage;
• medium hard shell;
• The nut should be large.

Preparation of seed material

There are two opinions on how to plant a nut:

• in the shell;
• in purified form.

Three to four months before planting, place the seeds in containers filled with damp sand and keep them cool. The bottom shelf of the refrigerator is ideal. This speeds up the germination process and increases the potential for future harvests.

Before planting, the nuts are dipped in water to test for germination. Both types are considered suitable for planting, but those that have been submerged have a better chance of sprouting.

Planting seeds

The walnut is planted at a depth of 4-5 cm in a pot with fertile soil. Further care over the next two years consists of watering, loosening the soil, and removing weeds.

Residents of southern regions take a different approach. They plant walnut seeds directly into the soil. They make 15-cm-deep furrows in the soil and lay the sprouted walnuts flat, 12-15 cm apart, to select the strongest seedlings for transplanting and growing. If the soil is not very fertile, it must be prepared in advance to properly plant walnuts from the nut in the fall. To do this, dig a hole about 1 m deep, fold the topsoil to one side, and remove the deeper soil to another. The topsoil is mixed with a bucket of manure, ½ a bucket of compost, 200 g of ash, and 100 g of superphosphate. The mixture is poured into the hole, making three holes. The seeds are placed flat in the holes.

Planting features in different regions

Planting walnut trees requires choosing the right time in different regions. In the south, both spring and autumn are suitable. For temperate and northern latitudes, only spring is suitable.

Planting methods also vary. While in the south, walnuts are planted directly into the ground in spring, in northern climates, this method will not produce a fruit-bearing tree. In the central Black Earth Region, sometimes successful results are achieved by planting the seeds at a depth of 20-30 cm.

Harvest time

The signal to harvest will be the cracked green skin on the surface of the fruit. After harvesting, the fruits are placed in a cellar. After a week, the green skin is removed, washed, and dried. After all these procedures, the fruits are stored.

Growing walnut trees on your own plot is a fascinating process, but it requires attention and diligence. However, the tree will reward its owner for their care and attention for many years to come with an excellent harvest.