Has it ever happened: an apple tree stands in the spring, the bark is cracked, the leaves are limp, but there’s nothing to say about the harvest? The whole problem is caused by November temperature changes: during the day the sun bakes the trunk, and at night it is frozen with an ice crust. From such stress, the tree weakens and becomes easy prey for diseases and pests.
But there is a simple and inexpensive way to protect your garden. Are we talking about whitewashing? No, it is often washed off by mid-winter. It is worth preparing a special “thermos” for trees – a protective coating that lasts until spring and not only protects, but also heals.
Magic Ingredients Everyone Has
To prepare the miracle mixture you will need only two ingredients:
Clay. Fatty is better; it can be found in any garden soil. You can dig it up on the site or buy dry powder at a hardware store. This is the basis of the “thermos” – it prevents the bark from overheating during the day and does not release heat at night.
Mullein. Real gold for a gardener! Fresh cow dung. It not only holds the mixture together, but also works as a powerful antiseptic, healing small cracks and saturating the bark with nutrients.
Preparing a “living thermos” for the bark
The proportions are simple: take 1 kg of mullein for 2 kg of clay. If the clay is dry, it is first soaked in water until it becomes a thick cream.
Clay and mullein are mixed in a spacious bucket.
Gradually add water, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches the consistency of thick sour cream. It should not flow from the trunk, but lie in a dense layer.
To enhance the effect, you can add a tablespoon of iron sulfate to a bucket of the mixture – this is additional protection against fungi and lichens.
How to apply protection correctly
They work on a dry November day, when the temperature is already stably around zero.
Barrel preparation. The old, peeling bark is carefully cleaned (a film is first spread under the tree to collect and burn pests).
Application. The mixture is not painted with a brush, but is literally spread onto the trunk and skeletal branches with gloved hands. This way the composition penetrates better into all the cracks. The thickness of the layer is about 0.5 cm.
Secret movement. The coating is not simply leveled, but lightly rubbed from the bottom up. This helps the beneficial substances from mullein come into better contact with the bark.
The bark is clean and healthy, and the harvest is so abundant that the branches require support.
