Using Bordeaux mixture in the fall: why your garden needs it
Bordeaux mixture is a blue mixture of lime and copper sulfate that helps prevent mold and rids crops of harmful insects. You can use a ready-made solution or mix all the ingredients yourself. Many gardeners wonder whether it's possible to treat their gardens with Bordeaux mixture in the fall. This article will answer this question: how to prepare the solution and which crops can be treated with it.
Content
Features of Bordeaux mixture
The effectiveness of Bordeaux mixture has been proven by many years of practical use. This product safely combats fungi (for which it was originally developed) and microbes. The product consists of lime and copper sulfate. Effectiveness is achieved when the prepared solution is diluted in water before use.
Copper sulfate is a toxic compound. The addition of lime to the product is intended to reduce this risk. When combined, the two components can destroy aggressive microorganisms. However, they generally do not harm the plants themselves if applied according to treatment guidelines based on years of practice.
Bordeaux mixture is used in gardening to treat trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants. This pesticide can be used year-round and helps prevent rot and bacterial infestation.
This product also works wonders on conifers. It's often used to protect grapevines. It works very quickly, effectively killing a wide variety of pathogens. After treatment, you won't have to worry about protecting your plants for some time. Since the recipe contains commonly used ingredients, the ready-made products are inexpensive, and making them yourself is easy.
Replenishing copper deficiency prevents crops from weakening and weakening their immunity. This assistance is especially necessary in acidic soils or peatlands. The constant retention of the chemical in the leaves reduces the need for repeated treatments. However, Bordeaux mixture is destructive not only to pathogens. It is essential to strictly adhere to the reagent preparation instructions, preventing the basic concentration from being exceeded. Failure to comply with these requirements can result in the crops being burned.
Benefits of using Bordeaux mixture in autumn
The best time to use Bordeaux mixture in the garden is late autumn. At this time, trees and shrubs enter dormancy. Their leaves and fruit have fallen. Bordeaux mixture, when applied to crops, does not harm them.
This product helps eliminate various infectious diseases and harmful insects that have settled for the winter on trees and shrubs, as well as in the soil: it can be sprayed directly onto the soil. It is recommended to apply the product on dry, windless days.
Thus, using Bordeaux mixture in late autumn to treat a garden plot helps prepare plants for the upcoming winter period, ridding them of pests and diseases.
Carrying out preparatory actions before cultivating the garden
Before you start treating plants, you need to carefully prepare the garden area.
- Carefully inspect all plantings, remove diseased branches and wilted foliage from trees and bushes.
- Collect and remove all remaining fruit and fruit debris from trees to prevent the spread of infectious diseases and insect pests.
- Check all trapping belts and remove them from the trees, having first destroyed any parasites remaining on them.
- Get rid of garden waste and plant debris.
- Water the plant to ensure that the soil is saturated with moisture before the cold weather sets in.
- Loosen the soil around the tree trunks to ensure oxygen access to the root system.
After completing this work, begin spraying. Start spraying the plants from the top, gradually moving down the trunk. Pay particular attention to branches and their attachment points, as well as any damaged areas.
To carry out preparatory work, use the following tools: pruning shears, loppers, including tools for processing cuts.
To easily treat tall trees, use a sprayer with a telescopic hose.
Rules and methods for using the drug in autumn
The ready-made preparation can be purchased at the store and diluted in water according to the instructions. Alternatively, you can buy the ingredients and prepare it yourself.
To treat bushes and trees, you will need to prepare a 3% and 1% solution:
- A 3% solution is applied in the spring before bud formation, and in the autumn after the leaves have fallen;
- A 1% solution is used in spring, as well as in summer and autumn during the growing season of crops.
The work is carried out at a daytime temperature of at least +5 °C.
In late autumn, treat all shrubs and trees in the garden with Bordeaux mixture (3%), except conifers. For evergreens, use a 1% mixture to avoid burning their leaves.
Dosages
To prepare a solution (3%) you will need water (10 l), copper sulfate (300 g) and lime (500–600 g).
To prepare a 1% mixture, the dosage should be reduced by three times (100 g of substance and 160–200 grams of lime).
Quicklime can be replaced with slaked lime. A 3% suspension is then prepared as follows: water (10 l), slaked lime (400 g), and copper sulfate (300 g).
The proportions when using store-bought Bordeaux mixture may be completely different. It should be diluted according to the instructions on the packaging.
Processing of various types of plants
For which trees and shrubs can Bordeaux mixture be used in the garden in the fall?
- Feel free to treat any fruit trees (pears, peaches, plums, apples) in the fall. Use a 3% solution.
- Strawberries and raspberries will require 1% composition.
- For young trees, the concentration of the liquid can be reduced by half.
The product helps eliminate curl on trees, rust on berry bushes, moniliosis and scab on apple and pear trees, and other infections.
Many gardeners perform a root-killing treatment in their gardens in the fall using Bordeaux mixture. This procedure helps prepare crops for the cold season, strengthens the health of all plants, and helps form a protective layer on the surface of leaf blades and branches, preventing the penetration of various pathogens.
Precautions and safe handling rules
Spraying the prepared solution should be done with extreme caution. Work should be performed wearing protective clothing that covers the entire body. It is recommended that this clothing be stored and washed separately from other items to prevent them from coming into contact with each other.
- It's also important to wear rubber gloves and tight-fitting safety glasses during treatment. To avoid inhaling toxic chemicals, a respirator is required. A special gauze mask can be used as a substitute, but thick material and medical masks are not very reliable.
- Before use, make sure the sprayer is working properly. A good sprayer directs the solution in a specific direction. Choose a time when there is no precipitation or wind. Wash your face and hands thoroughly after use.
Before using the medication, the liquid must be properly prepared. To do this, strictly follow the proportions and manufacturer's instructions. For maximum effectiveness, use the freshly prepared solution all at once and do not store it for more than 24 hours.
Bordeaux mixture will provide maximum protection for your plants if used as directed. This means it's designed to combat specific diseases and will only produce positive results when applied at the correct concentration and under optimal weather conditions. It also has high fungicidal activity.
