There's a folk saying: “When the hoe digs deep, there's no lack of gold or silver.” Winter management of Tea gardens is crucial for laying the groundwork for a bountiful harvest the following year, ensuring high-quality tea based on the “heaven, earth, human, and seed” foundation.
The tea garden should be pruned into a cockscomb shape or uniformly flat, with the choice of heavy Pruning or light trimming of side branches depending on the growth status of the garden. The appropriate height of shrub-like tea plants benefits both their growth and the ease of picking fresh leaves. After pruning, the old leaves can be buried through deep cultivation to ferment into organic Fertilizer, which loosens the Soil and promotes the growth of tea plants. Weeds along the edges or nearby can also be used to cover the garden, providing insulation, Water retention, nutrient conservation, and support for microorganisms. Once these weeds decompose, they too become organic fertilizers for the tea garden.
Many tea gardens in my hometown are terraced in ridges. For those with low embankments, adding a layer of turf and garden soil can help reduce soil erosion and nutrient loss, maintaining the vigorous vitality of the tea plants.
During deep, intermediate, and shallow cultivation, fermented organic manure can be applied simultaneously, promoting the development and renewal of the root system and increasing the nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and other nutrients needed for the growth of tea plants. Cultivation also helps to eliminate some pests and their eggs, reducing pest occurrences in the following year.
If chemical fertilizers are used, they should be applied before rain and thoroughly brushed off onto the garden floor using twigs to prevent the nitrogen from burning the tea plants.
Proper winter management of the tea garden holds promise for a fruitful harvest next year. High-quality tea comes from well-tended gardens, and fragrant tea gardens are even more delightful.