Seasonal pruning of fruit trees is the responsibility of every gardener. Regardless of whether you grow apple, pear or plum trees, you must shorten the shoots of your plants at the appropriate time. Taking care of their height and nice shape is necessary, because when they grow too large, harvesting their fruit will be difficult.
After cutting, fruit trees must be treated with horticultural ointment to protect the wounds from external factors. However, you don’t have to buy it in the store. This is a big expense, especially if you have a large plot of land. Checkhow to make gardening ointment yourself at home.
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The reason why it is worth using horticultural ointment is because it protects Tree shoots are weakened by cutting and, as a result of mechanical damage, they are more exposed to external factors (especially moisture, low winter temperatures, bacteria and fungi).
To prevent infection or rotting of the wood, after shortening the shoots, it is worth lubricating the wounds on fruit trees each time.. This limits the entry of pathogens and supports plant regeneration.
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Preparing garden ointment is not a very complicated task. I’m sure you can handle it without any problems as long as you get the necessary ingredients. You can modify the recipe a bit, but it should include:
- beeswax – 50 g – naturally seals wounds and protects them from moisture
- linseed oil (or rapeseed oil) – 100 g – will prevent wounds from drying out
- wood ash – 2 tablespoons – has antiseptic properties, prevents infections
- kaolin clay – 1 tablespoon – seals wounds, protecting them against pathogens
- pine resin – 0.5 tablespoons – protects wounds and gives elasticity to the ointment
- water – by eye – dilutes the thick consistency of the gardening ointment and combines the ingredients
Prepare a water bath and thoroughly dissolve the beeswax. Add vegetable oil to it slowly, stirring constantly to obtain a uniform mass. Add the wood ash and kaolin clay, making circular movements all the time so that there are no thick lumps in the middle of the goo.
Dissolve the pine resin in the oil and add it to the garden ointment. Mix and pour the product into a tight container. Wait until it cools down. It should have a thick and creamy consistency.
Application of homemade garden ointment is simple. Once you have trimmed your fruit tree, clean the wound and apply a thin layer of the product using a spatula, brush or stick. Thoroughly cover the entire place where the shoot was cut.
