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Each summer cottage has several currant bushes. Tasty, fragrant, nutritious, medicinal - whatever characteristics lovers of aromatic berries give this garden beauty.
Some people think that it doesn't take much effort to grow it. And they limit themselves to watering, picking berries and pruning dry branches. But in the process of development of a currant bush, nutrition plays a huge role. Fertilizer is applied to the crop more than once.
Main periods:
- at the moment of flowering;
- at the time of active growth of the bush;
- when the berries are poured;
- in the fall, when the harvest is completed.
In the article we will pay attention to caring for currants after harvesting, namely autumn feeding.
The importance of autumn nutrition of currant bushes
A lack of nutritional components will cause the plant to begin to weaken. This will be reflected in a decrease in yield and berry size, frequent diseases and pest damage. No gardener wants his currants to have similar characteristics. Competent implementation of all agricultural technology requirements will help to avoid this. Therefore, all types of fertilizing must be done on time and correctly.
Feeding currants in the fall is very important. After all, after picking the berries, you need to prepare the bushes for the next fruiting, and at this time new fruit buds are laid.
During the season, nutrients from the soil are completely spent on the development and fruiting of the bush. And new berries are formed mainly on young shoots. And in order to get a harvest of quality berries next year, you need to feed the currants.
The importance of autumn feeding is determined by the agricultural technology of growing the crop. Fruit bushes are not transplanted to a new location every year. Soil fertility decreases significantly towards the end of the fruiting season, and the plant experiences a deficiency of essential nutrients.
But autumn feeding is important not only for next summer. Currants need to overwinter. The more nutrients it accumulates, the more confidence that the plant will withstand the winter cold. Some gardeners claim that with good autumn nutrition there is no need to bend down branches for the winter.
Sufficient thickness of the stem will provide the bush with reliable protection.
The third aspect that should not be forgotten. Currants supply vitamins not only in berries. The leaves and twigs also have medicinal properties. But so that the supply of vitamins does not run out, it needs to be replenished. For this purpose, fertilizing is applied throughout the currant growing season.
How to properly conduct autumn feeding
Any currant care operation performed incorrectly or at the wrong time can lead to the death of the bush. Therefore, autumn fertilizing must be carried out correctly not only technically, but also the composition of the ingredients must be strictly maintained. How to fertilize currants in the autumn months?
The sequence of adding components will be as follows:
- Initially nitrogen-containing.The effect of nitrogen fertilizer manifests itself quite quickly. The result will be visible after a week. The bush will begin to grow, the buds will wake up, and the shoots will become thicker.
- The next autumn fertilizer for currants is organic.
It is introduced in mid-October in two stages. The first part is scattered around the plant and dug up with a planting depth of 20 cm. The soil in the circle around the trunk is leveled with a rake. The second part is laid out on the surface of the soil around the currant bush. For autumn feeding, mature compost, rotted manure or bird droppings are suitable. 6 kg of organic fertilizer is applied to one bush.
The gardener must remember that they fertilize currants, strictly following the rules for feeding berry crops. Root fertilizing can be applied only after the soil has been moistened! This could be a good autumn rain or preliminary watering of currant bushes. Incorporating organic matter into dry soil will cause burns to the root system. You can easily guess how this will affect the plant. The composition with which you need to fertilize the bush must contain a minimum of chlorine. The element, entering the soil, is absorbed by the roots and negatively affects the growth and development of currants.
This is not only a precautionary measure, but also helps in an appropriate approach to fertilizing the currant bush. The plant may be affected by pests (aphids, mites). In this case, the currants first process karbofos. You will need to dilute 70 g of the substance in a bucket of water. And then move on to feeding the bush. How to feed currants in the fall so that the plant overwinters successfully? And how to correctly distribute the components?
First, organic fertilizer is laid out as described above. At the same time, maintain a radius of at least 0.5 meters from the center of the currant bush. Next, sprinkle the organic matter with wood ash. It will provide the plant with potassium and microelements that the bush really needs. From above, 100 g of superphosphate is distributed under each plant and only then the fertilizer is embedded in the soil, carefully digging up the circle around the trunk. Then the soil is mulched and watered abundantly. It is necessary that the water saturates the soil to a depth of at least 50 cm.
This amount of fertilizer can be considered average. The amount of organic matter must be calculated based on soil fertility. On poor soil you will need to increase the dose.
Alternative Fertilizer Options
In some areas, gardeners are experiencing a shortage of organic fertilizers. The right amount of compost, manure or bird droppings is not always at hand. In this case, green manure plants come to the rescue. They are called "green fertilizers". In spring, peas, lupines or vetches are planted between currant rows. With the onset of autumn, the green mass is dug up with soil and evenly distributed in circles around the trunk.
Gardeners consider foliar autumn feeding of currants to be a good alternative to organics. To prepare a nutrient solution, take a bucket of water:
- potassium permanganate in the amount of 5 g;
- boric acid – 3 g;
- copper sulfate – 40 g.
Bushes are sprayed with this mixture. If this option is not suitable, then you can take care of the future harvest with the help of yeast feeding. The remains of the bread are mixed with chopped grass, poured with water and the mixture is left to ferment.A groove is made along the perimeter of the circle around the trunk and fertilizer is applied.
Any type of autumn feeding will play a role. Currants will thank you with a good harvest of large, healthy berries.
