In the Solanov family there is a marvelous sunny berry, which is still little known in the vastness of Europe. Scientifically, Sunberry is a hybrid of the common nightshade, which we consider to be a weed. The hybrid form was first bred by American breeders, and the plant began to be actively cultivated.
Description of Sunberry
Sunberry is a perennial tree, low (up to 1.5 m), with beautiful black berries, growing in clusters of 8-10 pieces, the size of a cherry. They resemble small tomatoes, although the plant is not so sensitive, moreover, it is resistant to drought and cold.
Its inflorescences do not possess such beauty - the flowers are small, 10-15 pieces in a bunch, outwardly resemble potato flowers. The flowering period is quite long.
The plant has a powerful stem that forms many stepchildren. The shape and appearance of the leaves are exactly the same as those of the nightshade.
The days of mass flowering, formation and ripening of berries are a period when the beauty and decorativeness of the sunberry is maximum.
This hybrid has many useful qualities. In its fruits, compounds are found that are identical to the hormones of the adrenal glands. Sunberry berries relieve inflammation well: pneumonia, arthritis, myocardium, in addition, they act as an anticonvulsant, sedative, diuretic. Due to the presence of a coloring matter in the fruit, the plant improves the blood composition. But the main beneficial property of Sunberry is the ability to inhibit the development of cancer cells and slow down the aging process.
Not only berries, but also the leaves of this beautiful bush are famous for healing qualities. It is important to bear in mind that the sunberry belongs to the nightshade, therefore, the stems and leaves may contain poison and they must be used with caution. Infusions and decoctions of dry leaves are good helpers for skin ailments, gastritis, colitis, hypertension, cystitis, various neuroses and even mental disorders.
How to grow a sunberry in the garden yourself
The plant cannot yet boast of several varieties. If you nevertheless decide to grow it in your country house, contact specialized stores for seeds. Since it often happens that instead of a valuable culture, dishonest sellers offer ordinary wild nightshade.
Sunberry can be planted on any kind of soil, because the bush is quite unpretentious. There is only one caveat: it is advisable not to plant the plant on acidic soil - this can reduce the high yield of berries. Sunberry responds well to manured soil. It is recommended to plant it in the place where cucumbers or zucchini grew. Bushes can be grown directly in the beds, between vegetables. There are exceptions here - the plant does not like to be between relatives - potatoes, eggplants, tomatoes, however, if you plant it next to them, the neighborhood will not be negative. The nightshade can also be grown as an annual, since it is in the first year that it has the highest yield.
Each sunberry yields a large number of seeds, however, seedlings are best used for successful cultivation. The nightshade has a long growing season, and this reduces the chances of getting mature fruits from seed reproduction.
Growing conditions
The optimal place for breeding Sunberry is where there is a minimum of drafts. Prepare the soil before planting in the same way as for tomatoes. Combine two parts of garden, forest and turf land plus part of sandy or sand directly, adding a liter of turf ash. A bucket of mixture is obtained at the exit. Landing holes are not required.
How to get sunberry seedlings
As we have already found out, growing a sombrery using seedlings is a more practical method than seed growing outdoors. It is better to plant seedlings at the end of winter or in the first days of spring. The seeds should first be soaked in a manganese solution for 20 minutes, then rinsed with water.
Nightshade seeds sprout hard enough, so they need help. To do this, the seed must be cut in the place where the seedling will appear and determined in a humid environment. Can be wrapped in a wet cloth for a few days to stimulate growth. Sprouted seeds are sown in the prepared mixture to a depth of half a centimeter, a deeper planting can provoke rotting of seedlings. There must be a drainage layer in the box. Future Sunberries can even be sown in the same container with tomatoes and peppers.
Seeds thrive at room temperature, watering is needed systematic, but infrequent. The first shoots break through after three months, then they are dived into a separate container and placed in a warm place with sufficient lighting.
Open field sunberry
When the plant has five to seven leaves, and the weather will not threaten with frost, the Sunberry can be transferred to open ground. Most often this is the last decade of May or early June. Future bushes are placed at a distance of at least 70 cm from each other. During the period of growth and fruiting, the Sunberry should be fed with a mullein at least twice a season. If you want to get your own seeds, they must be taken from previously ripened berries. And although the cultivation of sunberry with seeds, as mentioned above, is rarely used by gardeners, there is a chance to increase the early ripening of fruits.
Sunberry begins to bloom in early June and continues until the first frost. It is worth noting that in nightshade, unlike tomatoes, you do not need to pinch the inflorescences. And only when the first cold weather approaches, experienced gardeners advise to remove a couple of stepchildren from the bush so that the flowering slows down, and the main energy goes to ripening the berries. The nightshade is not afraid of early frosts, but for your own reassurance, you can cover the plant with a covering material.
In a word, the general unpretentiousness of the sunberry, high resistance to various diseases and pests make caring for it a pleasure.
Sunberry Care
The main care for a hybrid of a nightshade is as follows:
- Watering the bushes should be done only when the weather is hot and dry for a long time;
- Sunberry welcomes top dressing, but if the soil on which it is planted is fertile enough, you do not need to fertilize the plant.
- It often happens that the load of a large number of berries strongly bends the branches to the ground. In this case, they must be propped up with slingshots or tied to a support.
- During the pruning period, which occurs in the autumn months before the first frost, it is important to properly care for the plant. Pruning as such is not done on Sunberry, it is important to pick off the buds and stepsons on time and correctly.
- The nightshade hybrid, like other garden crops, likes the soil around it to be loose and weeded.
Sunberry application
Due to its high yield, especially in the first two or three years, decorative nightshade will not only delight you with its beauty, but will also be able to present from five bushes to a bucket of berries. The main ripening period is September.However, you should not rush to collect the fruits. Even if the berries overripe a little, their taste will not become worse. Solanes do not rot, they just wither slightly. And fresh berries are not so tasty due to the lack of acidity. After the first frost, somewhere in the middle of October, it's time to harvest. And the most delicious solanaceous placers become after they are poured over with boiling water.
Sunberry fruits cannot be stored for a long time, so the best option would be to grind them with sugar or squeeze the juice.
Sunberry recipes
In addition to the fact that the fruits of the sunberry are very useful fresh, they can be used to prepare various compotes, jams and original filling in a pie.
The nightshade berry jam has a delicious taste. For its preparation, they take about four to five kilograms of fruits and the same amount of sugar, the berries are passed through a meat grinder. To enrich the taste with a piquant sourness, you can add another lemon to the mass.
Since the Sunberry fruit is rich in pectins, it hardens well. Therefore, a wonderful jelly is obtained from nightshade. To do this, the ground berries are ground through a sieve, removing unnecessary seeds and dense peel. Then the mass is boiled with chopped lemon and the jelly is ready. Sunberry goes well with cranberries, barberries, gooseberries, red currants, which give the nightshade jam the missing acid.
Important to remember! To preserve all the healing properties of the jam, you need to cook it for a maximum of five minutes.
Sunberry in tomato has an original taste. The recipe for the dish is simple: the berries are blanched in boiling water for several minutes, then transferred to jars prepared in advance for sterilization, which are filled to the brim with boiling tomato juice. Sterilize for about half an hour and spin.
Sunberry marinated is no less popular than jam. There are many different recipes for pickling ornamental nightshade fruits. You can find them in culinary magazines or on the internet and make your favorite one.
