Fertilizing currants in spring with potato peelings

Experienced gardeners believe that potato peelings for currants are an indispensable fertilizer, so they are in no hurry to throw them away. Fertilizing with this type of organic matter enriches the soil with nutrients, helps destroy pests and protect currants from their attack.

You should learn not only to collect, but also to process, store and properly use potato peelings as fertilizer.

Thanks to their use, it is possible to reduce the use of chemicals, while maximizing the environmental friendliness of the grown products.

Why are potato peelings used for currants?

Potato peelings contain microelements necessary for plant development:

• phosphorus – promotes the growth of the root system and abundant flowering;
• potassium – thanks to it, the berries become sweeter and juicier;
• magnesium – ensures plant photosynthesis;
• iron – necessary for the formation of chlorophyll.

For this reason, fertilizer from potato peelings is desirable for use on fruit trees, vegetables, flowers, and any berry bushes, including currants.

Many summer residents recommend the use of this fertilizer and share their positive experience of applying potato peelings for currants.

The berry bush likes the glucose and starch contained in large quantities in potato peels. After burying dry peelings under berry bushes in the spring, they decompose and at this time release all useful substances into the soil. It is possible to prepare an infusion from potato peels and use it as a liquid currant supplement. It provides a rich harvest, large juicy berries. In autumn, it is worth burying dry peelings in a circle under the bushes and covering them with mowed grass on top, which will not only serve as fertilizer, but also mulch the soil and protect the root system from the approaching winter frosts.

Feeding currants with potato peelings is not difficult, not expensive, and the process does not require additional time. At the same time, soil fertility increases without the use of chemicals, which is a definite advantage.

Gardeners advise adding them regularly, for which purpose they should be harvested during the season in all possible ways. In a private home, it is easy to find a place for potato peels by placing them in compost on the site. If this is not possible, they resort to freezing on the balcony, where the temperature has dropped below zero. Drying cleanings is more difficult, but storing them is easier and more convenient.You can dry them in the oven or on a radiator, then grind them with a meat grinder and dry them again.

Useful properties of potato peelings for currants

It is worth adding potato peelings under currants for several reasons. One of them is a rich chemical composition, including several useful components:

• organic acids – contribute to the normalization of oxidative processes;
• mineral salts – strengthen immunity, speed up metabolism;
• starch – the simplest sugar that can increase the energy component;
• glucose – helps maintain the strength of the plant in winter.

Gardeners and gardeners consider potato peelings the best fertilizer for currants for other reasons:

• high nutritional value, saturation with micro- and macroelements guarantee growth, development and abundant harvest of currants;
• possibility of use as bait for pests - slugs, Colorado potato beetles;
• fertilizer can increase the percentage of fertile humus;
• the soil becomes looser;
• oxygen access to the currant root system increases;
• the plant develops in an environmentally friendly environment;
• the heat released during the decomposition of waste treatment warms the soil, creating more favorable conditions for vegetation.

The main ingredient in potato skins is starch. Currants respond very quickly to this component. Starch allows you to get larger and sweeter berries than usual. It is enough to carry out three feedings: during the appearance of the ovaries, during the ripening period and a few days before harvesting.Starch in potato peels has a beneficial effect on the rate of absorption of nutrients by the root system. However, it does not lead to rapid growth of weeds.

How to make currant fertilizer from potato peelings

There are several methods for preparing fertilizer for blackcurrants from potato peelings. All methods require time to collect the peel. It is acceptable to use small potatoes that are not eaten, have lost moisture and become wrinkled.

Making compost

The process is quite lengthy. Readiness occurs no earlier than in a year. Cleanings speed up the composting process. In order to avoid the development of pathogenic fungus, experts advise adding boiled potato waste.

But most often they are stored raw along with other household waste, grass, and leaves. The mixture should be shoveled periodically to ensure even distribution of oxygen to all parts of the compost.

Potato infusion

To infuse, fresh potato peelings are washed with water, placed in a container and poured with boiling water in a ratio of 1:2. After soaking the peel, the mixture is thoroughly mixed, left for another day and watered on the currant bushes. The process should be completed by loosening and mulching the soil under the bush.

Dry cleaning

Drying can be done in an oven, stove, radiator, microwave, or outdoors. For this purpose, the peelings are laid out in one layer and stirred periodically to ensure uniform drying. It is necessary to monitor the process, since its duration depends on humidity, device power, and time of year.

Freezing

If the volume of the freezer allows, then after washing and lightly drying the peels, put them in bags and place them in the freezer.

You can also freeze them on the balcony when the air temperature becomes negative - and store them there in layers. They freeze quickly.

Nutrient mixture

You can make a mixture from frozen and dried peelings and fill it with hot water. After three days, thoroughly mixed and crushed gruel is added under the currants.

Potato flour

Well-dried peel is ground in a blender, coffee grinder or meat grinder. Sprinkle the prepared powder or gruel on the soil around the currant bushes.

How to feed currants in spring with potato peelings

Gardeners claim that the berries can grow to the size of sultanas or cherries if they are applied as fertilizer under the bushes. They are loved by white, red, but most of all - black currants. This is where the effect is most noticeable. One way to use potato peelings as fertilizer for currants in the spring is as follows:

1. Before the gardening season, potato peels are prepared by drying.
2. Immediately before applying it to the soil, moisten it slightly with water.
3. Immediately after the snow melts, the prepared peelings are buried near the currant roots to a depth of about 15 cm.

Feeding the bushes can be done in winter and very early spring, when there is still snow. To do this, you need to remove the leaves from the root zone of the currant in the fall and cover it with plastic wrap. As the cleaning continues to accumulate, you need to rake the snow and spread the raw materials on the ground and cover them again. In spring, the soil must be thoroughly dug up.

Before the currants begin to bloom, in the spring, a ditch is dug in a circle that coincides with the projection of the crown of the bush to a depth of about 20 cm. A layer of dry cleaning is placed at its bottom and buried. During the decomposition process, the fertilizer saturates the berry bush with all the necessary substances.

The infusion prepared from the peelings must be cooled before use. Fertilizing is effective due to starch and glucose, which are important for the full growth of currants. The soil structure improves. Clay and heavy soils after repeated application become lighter and looser.

Advice from experienced gardeners

Experts believe that it is possible to fertilize currants with potato peelings in spring, winter, autumn and summer. If fertilizing is applied correctly, only benefits can be obtained from such a procedure.

Experienced gardeners recommend using potato peelings not only as a fertilizer, but also to protect plants from pests. To this end, you should perform a number of actions:

1. Place the peels in different containers without holes - jars, glasses.
2. Add syrup or jam to them.
3. Bury next to the currant bushes so that the edge of the tanks is at ground level.
4. The next day, take out the traps and destroy the insects that got there.

Gardeners believe that, unlike such bait, fresh peelings spread around the garden bring several problems:

• tender currant roots can be damaged by them;
• in the heat they begin to rot and emit an unpleasant odor;
• may attract rodents to the area;
• thanks to the “eyes”, potato peelings are able to germinate.

It is worth listening to the advice of agronomists on the use of peels:

• it cannot be re-frozen;
• potatoes are not mixed with ash, since the nitrogen contained in the peel is converted by alkali into ammonia and evaporates;
• You should not use boiled peelings for fertilizing, since after heat treatment they lose a lot of useful properties.

Gardeners consider an infusion, which contains, in addition to peelings, other components, a very effective fertilizer. To prepare you need:

1. Pour water into the barrel.
2. Place there, in addition to potato peels, nettles, nettles, and rye bread crusts.
3. Use the product after three weeks of infusion.
4. Apply grain fertilizer three times per season.

Conclusion

Potato peelings for currants have long been recognized as an effective fertilizer. Thanks to it, berry bushes receive all the necessary substances for development and formation of a rich harvest.

Availability, environmental friendliness, efficiency, and ease of use make this type of fertilizer popular among specialists and amateur gardeners for many years.

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