Black currant is a popular berry shrub among summer residents and gardeners. It will take a little effort to grow it, but you just need to know some of the features of this plant. The full development of the culture and the amount of the harvested crop will depend on this.
Currant fruits are considered incredibly healthy, saturated with a large number of various vitamins and substances necessary for the human body. That is why almost all gardeners grow black currant bushes on their plots. Berries can be eaten fresh, frozen, or dried. They can be canned, made into juices or compotes, used as filling for pies and as decoration for cakes, added to berry mousses and jellies, made jam and even made wine.
Black currant belongs to the Gooseberry family and is a perennial plant that can produce abundant and high-quality harvests for 10-15 years. For such a long life, the culture needs high-quality care and comfortable growing conditions. The shrub consists of branches of different ages, which are located at different heights. This arrangement of the branches contributes to a long fruiting period.
Planting and growing black currant
Selection of seedlings
You need to start with the choice of high-quality planting material. The overall development of culture and the quality of the fruit will depend on this choice. Experienced gardeners recommend purchasing young blackcurrant seedlings in special nurseries. In most cases, such seedlings begin to bear fruit as early as the next summer season after planting.
Choosing a landing site
Currant shrubs are very fond of moist soil, so they can grow in partial shade conditions, where moisture lasts longer. The site for planting a berry culture should be with moist soil, but without drafts and strong gusts of wind.
Landing time and dates
Planting is carried out in autumn or spring, depending on the climate in the region. In warm regions, it is recommended to plant seedlings in the fall. They will have time to take root well before the onset of frost and can bear the first fruits in the coming summer.
In areas with severe winters, spring planting is desirable. It is necessary to plant currants until the first buds begin to bloom on it.
Preparation of landing pits
For the full development of culture and for convenience when caring for shrubs, planting holes should be located at a distance of at least 1.5-2 m from each other and about the same amount should be left between the rows. When planting at a closer distance, there is a possibility of a decrease in yield and a deterioration in the quality characteristics of the fruits.
In the planting pits with a diameter of about 60 cm and a depth of at least 45-50 cm, you first need to pour the prepared mixture - fertilizer. It contains potassium chloride (50 g), superphosphate (100 g) and humus with earth (1 large bucket). On top of the top dressing, you need to pour a ten-centimeter layer of soil, which will protect the root system of a young seedling from burns.
Top dressing and fertilizers
As a top dressing for seedlings, another version of the mixture can be poured into the planting holes. It contains wood ash (250 milliliters), 2 equal parts of earth and humus.
Planting method
It is very important to lay the currant seedlings in the hole not vertically, but with a slight slope and deepen them by about 5-6 cm.
How to care for young seedlings
Immediately after planting, it is necessary to carry out abundant watering and mulching of the soil with humus or a small layer of river sand. It is also recommended to carry out the first and very important for further growth and development of pruning of the buds on seedlings. Only 4-5 buds should remain on each shoot, the rest are removed.
Shrub care rules
Watering
The volume and frequency of watering depend on many factors: climatic and weather conditions, the composition and level of soil moisture on the site, as well as on the stage of crop development. Abundant watering is necessary for black currants during the period of active growth of shoots, during the formation of the ovary, at the stage of fruit ripening and after harvesting. It is also recommended to water the shrubs abundantly during the dry summer months and in regions with dry and hot climates and rare rainfall.
Loosening the soil
This important rule of caring for black currants must be followed regularly, from early spring to late autumn at least once a month. Loosening is carried out shallow.
Pruning
It is recommended to cut off weak and poorly developed shoots in the second year after planting (in the spring months) and excess shoots in the third year after planting the seedlings. After the third pruning, only the strongest branches should remain on the shrub in an amount of no more than five pieces. In each next season, this procedure is already necessary only as a sanitary treatment and for the rejuvenation of the culture. Pruning is done before the buds open. It is recommended to remove small shoots, as well as damaged, dried and second-order shoots.
When and how to properly cut currants
Diseases and pests
Black currant is a berry crop that is susceptible to disease and pest infestation. The gardener needs to carry out preventive measures in a timely manner, and also not to miss the moment of the appearance of harmful insects or disease and to rid the plants of them.
The most common currant pests are kidney mites and glassworms, and among the most common diseases are white spot, anthracnose and goblet rust.
A mite is a pest that settles inside the bud and feeds on the contents of the plant without leaving there. That is why it is very difficult to identify it with the naked eye. Experienced gardeners determine the appearance of a currant mite by the condition and size of the kidney. Long before its opening, it significantly increases in size, which is a confirmation of the presence of a pest in it. The most important thing that needs to be done is to urgently remove all such buds, and spray black currant bushes (all without exception) with special solutions. A 10% solution of karbofos, as well as garlic or tobacco infusion, will perfectly cope with this pest.
The presence of currant glass can be noticed by the delay in the flowering period on individual shoots. They must be removed in early spring, and all shrubs must be treated with ash or wormwood infusion.
White spot can damage not only leaves, but often spreads to fruits. A solution with copper sulfate, which is sprayed on all plants, will help to save crops.Signs of this disease are small brownish specks (about 2-3 cm in diameter), which gradually become white in their central part.
Anthracnose is a disease of the leafy part of currant bushes. Small spots - bumps with a brown tint can in a short time infect a large number of leaves. It is recommended to spray with a solution based on copper sulfate not only diseased berry crops, but all currant plantations, as well as soil areas around them.
Lumpy rust often appears in the vicinity of currant sedge on the site. You can defeat this fungal disease by removing infected leaves that need to be burned and treating the plants with fungicides.
With proper care, black currant will fully develop for many years and bring a large number of tasty and healthy berries.
