How to keep almond trees healthy during the summer months? In the life cycle of the almond, summer is one of the seasons we enjoy the most at Chirlata. The almond trees are full of green, full of life.
But while we wait for the almond to continue to grow and ripen inside that greenish shell, we have to make sure that the trees are healthy.
We care for our almond trees in accordance with the rules of organic, sustainable and biodiversity-friendly cultivation. At Chirlata we are very aware of the benefits and advantages of organic farming, that is why we do not use transgenic products, herbicides, pesticides or artificial fertilisers.
So how do we keep pests at bay or cure our almond trees if they are affected by disease? The most important thing is prevention.
- To do this, with the tilling we do throughout the year, we recover and prolong the fertility of the soil, the place where the health of our almond trees begins.
- Equally important is to monitorwater quality, where some substances from synthetic products end up leaching into the water, contaminating groundwater and causing algae overgrowth.
- Pruning not only regulates the production capacity of the trees, but also eliminates old wood and renews the almond tree, activating a guarantee of vigour and health against diseases.
If the inevitable happens and a pest affects the almond trees, it is best to act at the critical moment. In organic farming we have to be very respectful of our allies, the auxiliary fauna.
For this we must wait until we have the pest, measure its size, possibilities of evolution and propagation, and if we have to act, we must be selective and treat only in the areas where we are affected. The most conventional ones are aphids, armyworm, green midge, red spider mite and whitefly.
In the face of new diseases, such as the bollworm, further action must be taken. At Chirlata, in addition to hunting them down one by one, we also apply a solution of water and agricultural vinegar to the affected trees to heal them and let it act as a natural repellent.
The almond tree is the tree that best withstands the increased temperatures and the dryness of the atmosphere, but it is still advisable to cool them down a little. In addition,the calima stormthat arrived in full bloom and left the almond trees covered with desert sand, although it has reduced the harvest, has protected the trees against other common pests.
We will continue to keep a close eye on our almond trees, caring for them and enjoying seeing them increasingly laden with green almonds. In a few weeks the kernels will lose their tasselsand will be almost ready for harvesting.
