Suburban areas abound with various kinds of berries, and currant among them is not the last in terms of prevalence. You can find both white and red species, but large black currants are most common. This is due to its resistance to cold and available forms of reproduction in a variety of conditions. In the process of growing blackcurrant quickly enters the fruiting period, and with proper care brings a rich harvest.
What you should know about a black currant to a beginning gardener?
Before proceeding with the purchase of seedlings or seeds of this type of currant, it will be useful to familiarize yourself with some of its features:
- The plant represents the gooseberry family and belongs to shrubs.
- The formation of the root system occurs on the basis of fibrous branched roots, lying in the soil for 20-40 cm.
- The crown of the bush is formed by many branches of different ages, which are located at different levels. A highly branched system allows currants to give good yields for 10-15 years.
- The first fruiting should be expected only a year after planting. As experienced farmers note, the most fruitful period falls on the 6-7th years.
- Although compared to other shrubs, this plant is frost-resistant and does not need pollinators, it is recommended to grow blackcurrant in dense rows of several bushes. This will increase the chances of the formation of large and healthy fruits.
- In spring, the currant buds swell at a temperature of 5-6 ° C, and flowering occurs at 10-16 ° C.
Choosing the Right Black Currant
The characteristics of a particular variety determine the behavior of the plant during the growing process, the care requirements, and the fruiting quality. Therefore, it is advisable to pre-select the most suitable plant variation, which will allow you to more accurately choose the tactics of care. In Russia, about 200 varieties of black currant are grown today. The most popular and profitable in terms of yield are presented below:
- "Summer resident". One of the earliest ripening varieties, which is recommended for cultivation in the European part of the country. The plant is famous for its high yield, as well as large and aromatic fruits weighing up to 3.5 g. During the cultivation of blackcurrant seedlings of this variety, you do not have to worry about the appearance of powdery mildew, rust and anthracnose. With good nutrition, the summer resident is resistant to these diseases.
- "Dubrovskaya". A medium-flowering variety that is most resistant to frost. It is also immune to terry and kidney mites. As for productivity, the average bush brings about 3 kg.
- "Raisin". Medium-ripening variety, also related to dessert. The berries are medium and large, weighing up to 3 g. Bushes are resistant to drought and spring frost, which expands the geography of this plant. The peculiarities of the variety include the fact that the berries do not crumble and wither directly on the branches.
- "Vigorous." Currant late, which has perhaps the largest berries - up to 7 g, and one brush contains up to 8 berries. But her taste is average - the pulp of the fruit is dense, and the taste is sour. But the cultivation of black currants of this variety is fast, although this is most dependent on the quality of care. On the other hand, the formation of young shoots is also rapidly declining.
Rules for planting currants
Saplings with an open root system can be prepared for planting in the fall and spring, but preferably in the fall - in mid-October. In winter, the soil will settle and become denser, and by spring the bush will begin active growth. As already noted, the landing is tight, but with the preservation of space for free growth. The optimal distance is about 70-80 cm. It is advisable to avoid excessive shading. The place is selected moistened and lit, as well as protected from the wind. Wet lowlands with high groundwater are not suitable, as are heavy acidic soils. More preferably, light fertile loam.
At the future landing site, the soil cover is leveled. It is necessary to eliminate not only the pits and depressions, but also the rhizomes of perennial weeds. According to the technology of growing black currant, pits for planting should have a depth of about 35-40 cm with a diameter of 55-60 cm. Backfill is made at 3/4 of the soil depth with the inclusion of fertilizer. For initial nutrition, you can use compost, superphosphate, wood ash and potassium sulfate.
For planting, it is advisable to prepare seedlings with a lignified root system - about 4-5 shoots up to 15-20 cm long. As for the ground part, there should be 2-3 branches 30-35 cm high. The seedling is buried in the prepared pit by 7-8 cm higher relative to the neck of the root - its immersion in the future will create conditions for the formation of basal buds and a developed multi-stem bush.
Growing blackcurrant from cuttings
When the first fruiting bushes appear, seedlings for propagation can be done independently from their own cuttings and processes. Cuttings should be taken from the ends of branches in early May. Donors are last year’s growth in length and thickness of about a pencil. The lower end is cut off at an angle, and a straight cut is made from above. All foliage is cleaned. For planting, a special cuticle is used, where you can plant a seedling at an angle, deepening its buds in the sand. Cuttings are covered with a film stretched along an arc. The young shoot should not be in direct sunlight, but at the same time it is necessary to ensure stable air circulation with moisture in the soil. Coatings can be removed as soon as the plant has taken root and the first leaves appear.
Full-fledged cultivation of blackcurrant from cuttings on the street can begin in the fall, by transplanting into a hole in the garden. But even in this case, in the first season it is advisable to use a bed of washed sand diluted with compost and manure.
Seed growing
This method of propagation of currants is usually used in breeding farms, where the goal is to develop new varieties. But for an amateur gardener, seedlings may be of interest, since in this case he gets the opportunity to experiment with the economic and biological properties of the plant - it’s another matter that the quantitative, taste and size parameters of berries can change both for better and for worse.
So, first you need to select large healthy berries and dry them before seedlings are formed (preferably in a natural way, without the use of dryers). In spring, growing blackcurrant from seeds is done in a box with moist soil. They put it in a warm place and cover it, and when the first shoots appear, the container is moved closer to the light, for example, on the windowsill. When the seedlings grow to 15 cm, they will need to be dived into separate pots. In conditions of stable warming, plants strengthen. During this period, they can be transplanted into the open ground. In the future, young seedlings will need regular and plentiful watering until they take root completely. And again, it is worth emphasizing that the method is risky in terms of crop quality, but as an experimental planting for the season is quite suitable.
Blackcurrant Care
Water the plant should be all spring with the capture of the first weeks of June. In dry, windy weather, water volumes should be increased - about 2-3 buckets per week are spent on the bush. Watering sessions should be planned in the evening, so that the moisture does not dry out and soaks the soil well to the roots. Moreover, the jet should be directed not in the center to the main stems, but along the perimeter of the crown. As they grow, blackcurrants will need less watering, and at some point excessive moisture will become harmful. Usually, the transition point is the strengthening of the ovaries and the coloring of the bush. At this time, due to watering, the berries may crack due to excess moisture in the cell sap.
Blackcurrant also needs loose soil. Directly under the bushes, it should be carefully cultivated with the mulching technique. To do this, use moss-sphagnum, peat or just leaves with sawdust or waste paper. As for specialized nutrition, immediately upon planting, you can make a complex fertilizer like "Aquadon" or granules of the AVA system, which will stimulate the process of growing blackcurrant. Care in the fall and especially closer to winter mainly comes down to loosening with a turnover of the reservoir. Chemicals should be discarded during this period. For nutrition, you can use light organic and mineral fertilizers, designed for pest control. Experienced gardeners also recommend using top dressing from starch, which currants are very fond of. A tincture of potato peel is used, diluted with boiling water in the following ratio: liter jar with peel per 10 l of water.
Blackcurrant pruning rules
The most favorable time for pruning is the second half of spring and the beginning of summer. In late summer and early autumn, making it dangerous for new shoots, which will only begin to develop as they approach winter. Late autumn is also not the best time to bare blackcurrant when grown. Trimming and care are carried out as part of a single procedure. After the cut, it is immediately necessary to process the wounds, protecting them from pests and other undesirable effects. The very need for pruning is determined by a simple rule: the thicker the bush of branches that grow inside the crown, the lower the efficiency of the consumption of its resources. That is, the splendor of the crown does not always have a positive effect on fruiting.
Cross branches are removed, as well as processes that do not produce crops for several seasons. If the root shoots do not grow, then it is necessary to cut several branches at once, shortening them by a third of the length. Do not avoid the root cut. There is a well-known principle of maintaining a balance between the root system and the crown, but there is no point in observing it if weak branches do not bear fruit even after the first pruning. They are completely cut off, and further active growth of new basal shoots will be expected. Balanced cultivation of black currant in the garden after 5-6 years should lead to the development of adult bushes with 10-15 powerful shoots. This result is achieved precisely in the process of regular point cutting of old or insufficiently strong branches.
Plant diseases and control
Even with the observance of the basic rules of care in the form of irrigation, soil cultivation and pruning, summer residents do not always manage to get the expected yield. As a rule, this is due to the lack of preventive measures aimed at protecting plants from pests and diseases. When growing blackcurrant care in this part should include the following methods:
- In the early spring period before the soil cover thaws, it is recommended to do hot pouring. Plants from above through the watering can with a spray are sprayed with boiling water. Such a shower destroys the eggs of the insects and kidney mites. In addition, it is an effective prevention of powdery mildew.
- Regular preventive examinations of the bushes for pests and affected buds, shoots and leaves. All this is immediately removed and sent to the waste collection site, but not to compost.
- When the buds begin to bloom, the bushes can be sprayed with Bordeaux fluid.
- Especially for wellness spraying use tinctures from dandelion, chamomile, tobacco and marigolds.
- If twisted leaves are regularly found, this is a sure sign of the appearance of aphids. In this case, a soap solution, spraying with vodka, tobacco fumigation, or tar treatment will help. But together all these methods should not be used because of the risk of harming the plant. You should start with a soap solution and fumigation.
Industrial agricultural technology for growing blackcurrant
The first year, planting on the sites of small farms is usually done manually - almost all operations: from the preparation of cuttings to direct deepening. This approach allows you to qualitatively form a landing pit for the characteristics of a particular root system. It is the creation of conditions for the development of roots at this stage that is the most important factor in the stable development of the bush. Further, loosening the soil is carried out manually. In the first year, agricultural technology for growing blackcurrant requires cultivation 5-7 times a season at a depth of 5 cm. In the future, the operation is mechanized.
As for the technical means used, the main one is the combine. With its help, the berries are harvested without risk of damage by squeezing. The manual assembly method does not allow preserving the integrity of the fetal shape with a high percentage, therefore, if it is used, it is only in the form of a hand cut. Also, the industrial cultivation of blackcurrant involves the use of professional sprayers and mower grinders with mounted devices that can go under the base of the bush and there to perform grass mowing. On average, the mechanization of cultivation allows you to get a crop in the calculation of 3 to 5 t / ha. Again, black currant gives maximum performance up to 7 t / ha only after a few years.
Conclusion
For beginning gardeners, this culture makes it possible to get a good experience in growing berries. She has no special needs in terms of care and maintenance, she is tolerant of external conditions and at the same time bears fruits that can be used for a variety of purposes. If we are talking about serious plans for growing blackcurrant in a summer cottage, then experts recommend initially thinking out the optimal conditions for the life of the plant. A plantation organized for more than 5 years should be based on sandy clay soil with good ventilation. The first landing should be done on the prepared plain in the fall. These are basic conditions, and everything related to further care and growing techniques can be adjusted in the future in accordance with individual preferences.