Content
Currant ash can be used as a top dressing and insecticide. It saturates the soil with potassium, phosphorus, silicon, magnesium and other valuable elements. The product is used in different ways - root and foliar application. It is used to form ovaries and fruits, as well as to destroy pests (aphids, moths, ants).
Is it possible to sprinkle ash under currants?
Ash as a fertilizer is used for currants and many other crops. Its advantages are associated with its rich chemical composition:
- calcium ensures the growth of green mass;
- potassium stimulates flowering and fruiting of currants;
- sodium is responsible for water balance;
- phosphorus accelerates metabolic processes in cells;
- magnesium takes part in photosynthesis;
- silicon promotes the absorption of microelements from the soil;
- chlorides protect plants from fungi.
The greatest benefit for currants comes from ash obtained from linden or birch. This is a high-quality raw material that can be used either on its own or in a mixture with mineral supplements.
Even if you apply them twice a season, the currants will grow well and produce quite a lot of buds.Fertilizer will have a positive effect on the formation of ovaries and fruiting. In addition, it can be used as a prophylactic against certain diseases and pests.
Advantages and disadvantages
Wood ash as a fertilizer for currants has several important advantages:
- This is an affordable raw material that can be easily obtained at home.
- It is used as a top dressing, as well as for the prevention of diseases and pests.
- Ash ensures normal pH and helps eliminate high acidity. Thanks to this, currants absorb nutrients well and develop normally.
Ash has practically no disadvantages. However, it is important to understand that it alkalizes the soil. If the soil is saline, you should not use fertilizing. In this case, on the contrary, acids should be added to it. For example, pour a solution of 9% vinegar (100 ml per 10 l per 1 m2).
It is easy to obtain fertilizer yourself at home
What soils is it suitable for?
It is recommended to feed currants with ash on depleted soils with an acidic reaction (pH less than 5.5). Fertilizing is especially beneficial for sandy and peat soils.
The fertilizer is universal - in small quantities it can be used on different types of soil. It is recommended to first determine the acidity using indicator paper or a pH meter.
If the pH is too low (no more than 5.0), it is recommended to mix ash and slaked lime in a 1:1 ratio and add the mixture in an amount of 300 g per 1 m2.
The benefits of ash for currants
Ash for black currants and other varieties brings many benefits.The main value is a source of phosphorus and potassium. These microelements perform several functions:
- strengthening the root system;
- formation of ovaries and fruits;
- acceleration of metabolic processes;
- increasing frost resistance;
- restoration of immunity;
- improving the taste of berries, keeping quality, fruiting.
It is usually customary to fertilize currants with ash in spring and autumn. Although this can be done throughout the season. It is especially important to apply fertilizer at the moment when obvious signs of phosphorus and potassium deficiency are detected:
- yellowing of leaves;
- twisting and falling;
- a sharp slowdown in growth;
- the color of the foliage becomes bluish-green, purple, violet;
- petioles acquire a purple tint;
- blanching of old currant leaves;
- partial tissue death;
- the edges and tips of the leaf plates are bent upward;
- the shape of the leaves becomes dome-shaped.
When adding ash to currants
You can fertilize throughout the season. It is advisable to alternate it with organic matter and complex fertilizers - then the effect will be maximum.
Ash is added throughout the season
in spring
This is the best time to fertilize. Fertilizer is given at the time of preparing seedlings for planting, as well as for preventive treatment against infections and insects. To do this, prepare an infusion of 300 g per 10 liters and treat the bushes twice - at the stage of swelling of the buds and during the appearance of flowers. Typically, spraying is carried out in the first ten days of April, and then on the May holidays. Depending on the region, the dates may shift slightly.
In summer
In summer, fertilizer is used in the form of a water infusion.You can enter several times:
- At the end of flowering, at the stage of bud formation.
- At the beginning of fruiting.
- After the harvest.
Potassium and phosphorus help in the formation of currant berries and also strengthen the root system. In addition, in summer, ash is effective against aphids on currants. To do this, the bushes are dusted with a small amount of powder or treated with a water infusion. To make it adhere better to the surface, add laundry soap shavings in the amount of 50 g per 10 liters.
in autumn
In the fall, you can feed currants with ash 2-3 weeks before the first frost. 250-300 g are dissolved in a 10-liter bucket, infused and watered around the tree trunk. When planting seedlings, the powder is mixed with fertile soil and poured into the hole.
How to add ash to currants
You can add powder in different ways. Often it is infused in water and then watered on the soil. But there are other methods, their use depends on the purpose, stage of development, and condition of the bush. Spraying, dusting and other procedures can be carried out. How to do this correctly is described below.
Dry
In dry form, the ash can be applied to planting currant bushes in the fall. It is mixed with sand in equal quantities and placed at the bottom of the hole. It can also be mixed with a fertile mixture (surface soil, peat, humus and sand in a ratio of 2:1:1:1). Up to 300 g of fertilizer is given for each pit.
Spraying
Spraying currant bushes is carried out to prevent pests. It is necessary to dissolve 200 g per 10 liters, leave, pour into a spray bottle and begin processing. You need to work in dry and windless weather, preferably on a cloudy day or late evening. In the coming days, you should not water, much less use a drip system.
For spraying, the infusion is poured into a spray bottle.
Powdering
This is the easiest way to add ash to currants. The bushes are powdered based on a consumption of 500 g per plant. Ash should remain on all shoots, leaves and other above-ground parts of the plant. The work is carried out in dry weather, and according to the forecast there should be no rain or strong winds in the coming days.
Since the powder will fall from the bush onto the soil, it is recommended to loosen it after 2-3 days. Weeding can be done at the same time. Since the raw materials contain quite a lot of potassium and phosphorus, you should abandon the corresponding fertilizers in the next month.
Root feeding
To apply at the root, water with infusion (200-300 g per 10 l). This can be done throughout the season with an interval of 1.5 months. At the same time, it is important to alternate ash with complex mineral compounds and organic matter (mullein, droppings, infusion of mowed grass).
Recipes for use
Ash for currants and other plants is used as an insecticide and natural fertilizer to form ovaries, strengthen the root system and accelerate growth. There are several recipes for using this composition. For example, you can prepare liquid organic fertilizer. It is used for urgent feeding in case of lack of nutrients (especially phosphorus and potassium).
Preparing the composition is quite simple - take a mullein infusion (1:10) and add 10 g of wood ash powder to it. Mix thoroughly and leave for several hours, then water at the root. It can also be used for spraying to prevent insect infestations.
Another recipe is a concentrated solution of wood ash. To prepare it, proceed as follows:
- Measure out 500 g of powder.
- Dissolve in a small volume of hot water.
- Mix thoroughly.
- Bring to a total volume of 10 liters.
- Leave for 2-3 days.
- Receive laundry soap shavings (40 g).
- Add to the solution and mix.
The resulting liquid is poured into a sprayer and the processing of currant bushes begins. The product helps to cope with such dangerous pests as ants, aphids and moths.
Ash acts as an insecticide
Before flowering, currants are fed with complex fertilizer. But if you don’t have it, you can mix 200 g of ash, 20 g of urea or ammonium nitrate and dissolve it in 10 liters of water. Watering is done at the root no later than mid-May. This product will fill the soil with nutrients and stimulate the active growth of green mass.
Application scheme
Application schemes depend on the form and purpose of use of the powder:
- The water infusion is prepared based on the ratio of 250-300 g per 10 liters. Infuse in water at room temperature for 24 hours, mix thoroughly and begin watering.
- For foliar treatment, prepare exactly the same solution. It is used for total spraying of the entire bush - branches, shoots, leaves.
- For manual dusting, the ratio of 500 g per 1 bush is taken as a basis.
- To dust the currant tree trunk, use 300 g per adult bush.
Conclusion
Ash for currants is one of the best fertilizers, containing a rich set of elements. This is a free product that can be used throughout the season. It is especially important to fertilize in spring and autumn. In summer it is used when necessary, often as an insecticide.
