Think of all the fruit your trees and shrubs produce and then equate that to the goodness that must have been taken out of the soil. Now consider the effect of heavy and continuous rain that leaches away nutrients particularly nitrogen and potassium. So a bit of extra feeding is in order. This can only help your fruit trees and bushes feed you with juicy fruit.

Why Feed Fruit Trees

Healthier bushes and trees produce bigger and healthier fruit.
Correct feeding encourages blossom and flowering.
Feeding helps create disease and drought resistance making your plants stronger.
Feeding replaces the goodness taken out by heavy cropping.
Mineral deficiencies can be corrected such as the yellowing between the leaf veins in early summer due to magnesium deficiency. For that use a foliar spray of Epsom salts with a teaspoon of washing up liquid as a wetting agent.

Feed your Soil to Feed Fruit

Sandy soils have an open structure that allows water and nutrients to drain through quickly. Mulch with well rotted compost to improve the soil structure whenever you can.
Clay soils are slow to dry out (or warm up in spring). If they are waterlogged the nutrients dissolve into the ‘soup’ but that drains out as the soil dries just when the fruit need feeding. Again compost helps the soil structure.
Sour soil will compact forcing water to run away. It mat also become covered in moss. Clean up the area and again add a well rotted organic mulch.

Gardeners Tip Feeding Fruit Trees

Soft fruit need high amounts of potassium for bud and fruit development.
Stone fruit, pears and apples need potassium and extra nitrogen.
Sulphate of potash or rose fertiliser in granular form is a vital feed. Add a top dressing, of 1 oz per square yard, to the surface of well forked soil around the rooting area which is just beyond the branch canopy.
Feed in late winter when the soil is moist and the fertiliser can be taken up as the fruit start to grow.
Use liquid tomato feed or other high potash content liquid feeds in summer for a quick boost.
Apples like nitrogen so feed with Growmore at 5oz per square yard or use sulphate of ammonia if the soil is in poor condition.
Think about each individual tree’s needs and treat it to a mulch and feed accordingly.
Phosphates are usually available to your fruit from most garden soils most of the time!
Avoid over feeding that creates sappy on sustainable growth. An annual feed is more than enough if your soil is in good heart.