Any country cottage area It is almost impossible to imagine without the presence of currants. Of course, this is a very tasty berry, which is a real treasure trove of vitamins and other healthy elements. Therefore, every summer resident must know how to care for currants after harvesting.
Blackcurrant "Titania"
There are not many varieties of currants. It differs in the color of the berries and the timing of harvest. Behind the currant bushes good care required in any season. But it is especially necessary to care for currants after harvesting and subsequent preparation for the cold season.
Currant processing after harvest in August
This period is indeed very important. After all, already when the entire rich harvest is harvested, the bushes begin to transfer the remaining strength to their leaves, roots and young branches. The time of most active growth depends only on the variety of berry, but generally it occurs at the end of summer - that is, in August.
If you carry out all the required procedures correctly and on time, then there is no doubt that next summer you will again have a rich and tasty harvest.
So the secret correct processing currants after harvesting in August lies in the implementation of the following mandatory procedures:
- Trimming shoots;
- Loosening the soil;
- Feeding;
- Prevention and control of insects;
- Watering;
- Preparing for the coming cold weather.
Let's look at each of these procedures in more detail.
When to prune currants after harvest
The procedure itself must be carried out in two stages:
The original, so-called medicinal» pruning, during which it is necessary to remove all outdated, diseased or damaged shoots. And the branches that shade the bush.
The next one can be called " cosmetic", since the bush is given its final shape and the number of branches of different ages is controlled. This will allow the bush to produce a healthy, full harvest in the future.
An important point: bushes of any type of currant, the age of which does not exceed three years, only need to undergo therapeutic pruning.
As you know, the main part of fruiting is the shoots. The berries spread along the entire length of the branches, which are one or two years old. The branches die after just a few years of fruiting. Therefore, there is no point in preserving shoots that are more than three years old.
For this very reason experienced gardeners It is not recommended to grow currant bushes as a border line. The bush must have at least fifteen healthy branches, among which there must be two-year-old, one-year-old and very young ones. Those who are not yet a year old.
What exactly needs to be trimmed:
All branches that were deleted must be burned without regret. But when to prune currants after harvest? Therapeutic pruning can be carried out almost immediately after picking the berries, so that the bushes do not transfer excess strength to the wrong branches.
Otherwise, pruning is carried out in early spring or late autumn. It is extremely important to carry out this procedure annually. It is advisable to treat all cuts with garden varnish. And then carry out active feeding of the bushes.
How to properly treat the soil around bushes
Caring for currants in the autumn season is important not only in terms of looking after the bush itself, but also the soil where it is planted. In general, soil cultivation consists of digging up areas of soil around the bush.
The soil must be dug up and loosened very carefully and carefully, stepping back from the center of the bush by about a meter.
After digging, the soil must be watered and covered with dry soil, the layer of which should not exceed ten centimeters.
The benefit of sprinkling with dry soil is that it will help save water and protect all root system from early frosts.
Features of seasonal feeding
Proper care of currants involves not only digging up the soil, but also fertilizing it. For these procedures, it is advisable to take potassium-phosphorus type fertilizers. Organic fertilizers are more appropriate to use only in the spring season.
Note that currant bushes can also be fertilized with superphosphate. And for mulching (sprinkling with dry soil after digging and watering), it is allowed to take humus.
Caring for currants after harvest is especially important because after the end of the fruiting period, the bushes begin to form new ones for almost the next season.
By the end of summer, the soil has already spent almost all its nutrients, which is why it is so important to help it and feed the bushes yourself.
If you skip this procedure, you may not even hope for good harvest next summer. Additionally, you can perform a so-called “calming” treatment if the bushes look weakened.
How to feed currants after harvest
It is allowed to add both organic and mineral supplements. But we must not forget that in any case potassium and phosphorus components must be included there.
How to feed currants after harvest? Experienced experts advise using the following fertilizers:
- A mixture of potassium sulfate and superphosphate– one tablespoon per whole bucket of liquid;
- Mixture of urea, superphosphate– one tablespoon per bucket of liquid, plus a glass wood ash;
- Mineral fertilizer It is advisable to use if the bush is weakened;
- If we talk about organic fertilizers, they can be used bird droppings and verbascum(aka mullein).
The litter must be diluted in water in a ratio of 1 to 12 and left for two weeks. Take half a liter of tincture for a whole bucket of regular liquid. Mullein should be diluted in equal portions and left for a week. The liquid will need to be poured into the furrows made during the process of loosening the soil.
Remember that any variety of currant simply does not tolerate bleach. This is especially true for red currant varieties. Therefore, using potassium chloride for fertilizer is a very bad idea.
If you don't have enough time to prepare organic infusions, compost is a good alternative. It should be applied at the rate of one bucket per bush.
Don't forget about the benefits folk remedies, which were successfully used by our great-grandmothers and great-grandfathers. For example, you can use potato peels as fertilizer. It is enough to bury it in the ground around the perimeter of the bush.
Fishmeal and fish scales are also suitable for these purposes. One bush will require about four hundred grams. The bushes will thank you, because this fertilizer is rich in phosphorus, and currants simply adore it.
Blackcurrant, perhaps, can rightfully be called the most popular variety of currant. It has a special sweet and sour taste and a very pleasant aroma.
But even if at first glance the bush looks completely healthy, this does not mean that it does not require treatment. It is necessary to do this after harvesting, because already for a long time the bushes remain defenseless.
To protect currants from fungal diseases, you can use a one percent solution of Bordeaux mixture, Fundazol or Topaz. These drugs will effectively help, for example, in the “battle” against powdery mildew. This is what black currants get sick with quite often. If a bush is sick, it is almost impossible to cure it.
If you see them while picking berries, you need to do this - five days after treating them with fungicides, treat the currant bush with insecticides. From kidney mite good remedy are, for example, “Kleschevit” and “Karbofos”.
If no insects were found, then treatment with a fungicide will be sufficient. Then all that remains is to sprinkle trunk circle sawdust or straw. This will help conserve moisture in the soil and protect the root system from overheating.
High-quality watering is the key to a rich harvest
In preparation for winter, all the plants in your garden begin to store useful components and water. Including currant bushes. Caring for currants after harvest should include abundant and high-quality watering. And it is recommended to do this before the first frost.
In order for the currant bushes to have time to prepare for wintering, it is necessary to additionally remove from the branches all the leaves that have not had time to fall and pull them from the branches excess water. Only then will you allow the plant to retain more strength for a successful winter.
Preparing currants for the winter season
Winter is a special season. Which makes you shiver from the cold, but without a doubt pleases you with fluffy snow. This is the time when all nature falls into natural hibernation. But it happens that during the winter many bushes, including currants, simply freeze, which, of course, is not what any gardener wants. And so that such an unpleasant incident can be avoided, it is very important to properly prepare the plants for this period.
Caring for currants in preparation for the cold season is simple. To make wintering successful, it is enough to perform a few simple procedures.
Even before the first frost, it is necessary to wrap the currants. This can be done using twine. You need to use it to pull the branches up in a spiral. In this state, the branches will not rub in the wind and will be able to retain a maximum of fruitful buds;
If you are afraid of damaging the branches with twine, you can use another method - lay the branches closer to the soil and cover them with slate. This will protect the bush from the cold wind.
When the first snow appears, it will be useful to compact it next to the bush and cover the entire bush. It is very important to wrap young shrubs like grapes and cover them with earth.
Remember that quality preparation for the cold season will protect your currants from freezing. It happens that the wrapping has already been removed, but the frost has returned. In this case, it will be useful to cover the currants with straw or even old blankets. This will save the harvest.
Summer is a busy time for gardeners and summer residents. Already from mid-July, currants begin to develop buds. next year. Therefore, before the end of August, you need to set aside time and tidy up the berry bushes. Mandatory procedures: pruning, watering, loosening, fertilizing and protection from pests.
Have you harvested your currants? Don't rush to finish things with the bushes. They don’t look very nice, of course: branches sticking out in different directions, yellowing leaves, shoots slightly or severely damaged by pests. All this needs to be removed.
Advice! Do not confuse summer processes with autumn ones. Processing the bush after harvesting is preparation for subsequent activities. However, it is necessary to carry out all procedures in order to get a good harvest next year. In addition, summer feeding will allow the bushes to gain strength before wintering.
The processing process is carried out on all currant bushes, regardless of the variety. Let's consider what and how to do correctly to improve the health of berry plants.
Pruning after harvest
Sanitary pruning is carried out after removing the berries. Sharpen the pruning shears and first trim diseased, dry, old thick shoots of brown color with plaque and damaged branches. Also remove excess root shoots located inside the bush. These shoots only thicken the plant. Powerful annuals should be shortened by 5-8 cm, but branches that lie on the ground or almost touch the ground will have to be removed completely.
Ballast prevents the bushes from developing normally and takes away juices. Once all unnecessary branches are removed, the plant will direct its sap to the main shoots. Remember that the thicker the bush, the fewer berries it contains, so regular pruning eating currants should become a habit.
And now the leaves. Pluck damaged, old, diseased leaves by hand, but only on black currants. On red bushes, the leaves should fall off on their own so that the plant does not experience severe stress. 
Advice! If after pruning there are good healthy branches in the pile, they are cut into cuttings and used for propagation. The leaves can be added to marinades, dried and brewed into tea.
Proper watering of currants
In order for berry plants to lay strong buds, they need moisture. Watering is carried out after pruning and harvesting the leaves. Add warm fresh water under the bushes in volume: for red currants 1-2 buckets for each bush, for black currants - 3-4 buckets also for each bush. Next watering It will only be in the fall before wintering the bushes.
Abundant watering for black currants is needed to nourish the root system, which is located close to the surface of the soil. Red and white berries have a deeper root system.
Feeding bushes after harvesting
By mid-summer, the soil is already pretty depleted, so the bushes will have to be fed with a variety of compounds. A mineral mixture and organic matter will come in handy. And if the berry plants look tired, then anti-stress treatment is carried out.
Ingredients for processing currants:
- For 1 bucket of water take 1 tbsp. l. superphosphate and potassium sulfate, add 1 tbsp. wood ash. Pour the mixture under each bush.
- Dilute bird droppings (1:12) or mullein (1:6) with water, leave for a week and then feed the bushes. Ready mix once again diluted with water at the rate of 1 bucket of 0.5 liters of infusion with droppings or 1 liter of mullein infusion. Pour a bucket of water under each bush (the grooves will help apply the fertilizer more evenly).
- There is no time to infuse organic matter, add 1 bucket of compost under each currant bush.
- Slide potato peelings– the best means for feeding the bush. Scatter around the perimeter or dig up cleaning. Fish meal and scales, 400 grams each, will also come in handy. for one bush.
Advice! Currants cannot tolerate chlorine additives. Therefore, it is better to leave potassium chloride and compounds with it until spring.
Anti-stress treatment consists of feeding with complex mineral compounds. It can be nitrophoska, and spray the leaves with Zircon. Both mixtures have a beneficial effect on berry plants and help to recover from exhaustion. If the currant is affected by chlorosis, this can be seen by the intense yellowing of the leaves, treat with nitrogen: 1 tbsp. l. urea per 10 liters of water and spray the bush.
Pest treatment
Both affected and apparently healthy bushes need to be treated:
- A 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture, fungicides Topaz, Fundazol help against fungus.
- From powdery mildew repeat the treatment after 7-10 days or according to the instructions for the drug used.
- For currant gall midge, use Lepidocid, Kinmiks, Bitobaxibacillin.
- From bud mite: Mite mite, Karbafos.
- From the glass: Fitoverm, Iskra, Aktara, Lepidotsid;
- From aphids: Kinmiks, Fufanon, Iskra.
Advice! Treat with insecticides no earlier than 5 days after applying fungicides.
After the mulch is scattered, the plants are protected, you can calmly wait for the first frost. Then once again remove the weeds, carrion and leaves under the bushes, add soil to protect the roots from frost. And on the first day of snow, wrap the bushes in matting, burlap, spunbond and wrap them with twine - this will protect the berry plants from the cold.
Currant is unique plant, which is rich in vitamins. It does not require serious care, and in addition to watering and pruning, it is also important to feed the plant correctly. Proper feeding will increase the quantity and improve the quality of the harvest. August is the period when currants form buds for next year.
Over the course of the year, the plant spent a lot of effort and energy on the formation of berries. The plant sucked all the nutrients and useful substances from the ground. As a result, the soil around the plant has become depleted and requires feeding.
After harvesting, fertilizers must be added to the soil to prepare it for winter. After all, throughout the year, the bush takes useful substances from the ground to form green mass, for flowering and fruit formation. Some of these beneficial substances reach the plant after rotting of the roots. But this is not enough to maintain currant yields at a high level.
Feeding a currant bush in August occurs when:
- The plant has been growing for more than three years and nothing has been added to the soil before. During this time, the bush managed to take all the substances from the soil, and the soil became depleted.
- Large fruiting, which means that a lot of effort was spent on the formation of the berries.
Important!
The harvest of ripe berries occurs at the end of July - beginning of August. But fertilizing after fruiting is called autumn, since gardeners apply it at the end of August or at the beginning of September.
What to feed currants in August
To obtain complete nutrients from currants, fertilizing must be done in two ways:
- mineral supplements;
- organic substances.
Only a combination of two types of feeding will allow the bush to develop fully and well. For lazy gardeners, there are complex fertilizers for feeding shrubs in August. They already contain phosphorus, potassium and some nitrogen.
Application of mineral fertilizers
As mineral mixtures To feed the currant bush in August, superphosphates, potassium salt or potassium sulfate are used.
Important!
Mineral nitrogen should not be used in August-September, as it quickly penetrates the plant tissue and stimulates its growth.
Superphosphate is added in liquid form. To do this, you need to dissolve 10 grams of urea or saltpeter in a bucket of water. Then add 20 grams of potassium salt or potassium sulfate and 40 grams of superphosphate. For bushes that are more than 3 years old, 5 liters of liquid are needed. For young bushes, 2 liters is enough.
From phosphate fertilizers You can use phosphate rock or horn shavings. But since such substances decompose over a long period of time, they must be applied once every 4 years. Phosphorus substances reduce the acidity of the soil, making it neutral.
Application of organics
Organic fertilizers are designed to improve the biological parameters of the soil. During this period, preference is given to phosphorus and potassium supplements. Two weeks after picking the berries you can apply organic fertilizers. It could be:
- infusion of ash;
- humus;
- compost;
- green manure.
Fertilizer containing ash provides the plant with calcium, boron, zinc, copper and magnesium.
Interesting!
When burning hardwood, ash is formed, which contains more potassium, and when burning coniferous trees– phosphorus.
At the end of summer - beginning of autumn, it is not recommended to use fresh humus. Under each tree you need to pour up to 6 kg of good humus or quality compost. You can use chicken manure. If in dry form, then 1 kg is enough for one bush, and if you make a solution, then with a proportion of 1:15.
IN household began to use green manure, which will be ready for use just two months after sowing. Peas, white mustard, phacelia or lupine are suitable as green manures. They are planted around bushes.
Rules for applying fertilizer
Mineral fertilizers are pre-dissolved in water, then a hole is made in the soil, where the solution is poured, and the soil is added dropwise.
Organic fertilizers are applied both in dry form and as a solution. Green manure is used in various ways:
- Plants are sown around. After two months, they mow and dig up the soil.
- The cut grass is buried in another place, leaving only the root part for the currants.
- Don't mow the grass. In winter it rots and provides fertilizer.
- Green manure is used as mulch, covering it on top with leaves, straw or sawdust.
There are also folk recipes, which are used to feed currants. Popular ones include:
- Potato peelings. They are soaked in water and then placed in a previously prepared furrow near the bushes.
- Bread mash. One bucket will require a third of the leftover bread. The bucket is filled with water and 50 grams of old jam or simple sugar are added. As soon as the mass has fermented, it can be used as a top dressing, applied to a previously prepared furrow.
- Yeast. For 10 liters of water you need 0.5 kg of baker's or brewer's yeast. To make mash, add 50 grams of sugar to the yeast diluted in a bucket. One bush will need 10 liters.
At first glance absolutely unpretentious plant. Special conditions does not require for its cultivation. Enough for black currants sunny area, loose fertile soil and sufficient moisture. It would seem that’s all. Brings large berries every year. But, if you are not very concerned about caring for and feeding currants, then disappointments may arise over time.
Necessary feeding of currants in spring
Before you decide to plant currant bushes on your site, you will need to prepare the soil. Currants do not feel well in acidic soil. You need to add lime to the soil and dig it up.
Fertilizers applied before planting will give necessary elements and food for him for approximately 2 years. Afterwards it is necessary to add additional portions of minerals and fertilizers.
Feeding black currants begins in the spring, when the leaves are just beginning to bloom. It is necessary to add nitrogen fertilizers to the soil. If the plant is young, 50 g of urea is enough. You should dig the soil around the bush shallowly. This will give the necessary impetus for the formation of the plant and fruiting. As the currants age, the amount of fertilizer will need to be reduced.
If your plant has leaves affected by anthracnose (lumpy reddish swellings), you should treat them with a polychome solution. Dilute 40 g in 10 liters of water.
How to feed currants during the flowering period?
When the currant bush blooms and future berries begin to set, the plant requires abundant watering. It is good to fertilize the currants during this period. For this purpose, you will need bird droppings or mullein solution.
- Nitrogenous fertilizers. Bird droppings are diluted 1 part in 10 parts water. After it has infused, we apply it under the plant in this way: make a furrow to the depth of a hoe along the perimeter of the currant crown. Pour the hole in a circle and cover with soil. It is better to carry out this manipulation after rain or after heavy watering.
allows the currant to actively produce new shoots, the plant becomes strong, the leaves are large and the harvest is richer. - Complex fertilizers. After the currants have bloomed and the fruits have formed, you should feed the plant. The need for phosphorus and potassium increases. Complex fertilizers are well suited for this purpose.
Fertilizing currants after harvest
Before you start feeding currants, you should carefully examine the plant. During this period, mites and aphids can settle on the shoots. If there are any, treat the bush with a solution of karbofos (70 g per 10 liters of water).
Feeding currants in the fall is extremely important, since it is during this period that the formation of flower buds occurs.
In the fall, the plant needs to be fed and prepared for wintering. They bring it under each bush. If you have rotted manure, you need to spread it within a radius of 50 cm from the center of the bush. Dust everything. For one plant, 200 g will be enough. And distribute about 100 g evenly over the surface. Then you should carefully dig everything up, but so as not to damage the roots. The top can be mulched with humus.
If autumn promises to be dry, then the currants must be watered abundantly so that the soil is saturated to a depth of at least 50 cm.
Of course, the volume of fertilizer applied will also depend on the composition of the soil on the site. The poorer the land, the more enrichment will be required.
Alternative feeding for currants
Some plants themselves provide fertilizer for others. In order not to look for bird droppings and not to make furrows, you can do this: in the spring, plant peas, vetch, and lupine between the beds and bushes. With the onset of autumn, you will need to dig up all these plants with soil, distributing them evenly under the currant bushes.
Experienced gardeners carry out additional feeding of currants in a slightly different way. Prepare a solution: 5 g of potassium permanganate, 3 g boric acid, 40 g copper sulfate. Everything is mixed in 10 liters of water and the bush is sprayed.
- Potato peelings. If you don’t have animals to feed them, then the advice is simple. Soak the peelings in water, and then place them in a furrow made near the currant bush. You can sprinkle about 10 g of urea on top. Rest assured, the berries will be large and juicy.
- Bread leftovers. You can soak the bread in water with grass and place it under a bush in the earthen furrow. First let the whole mass stand and ferment. Yeast secretes carbon dioxide, which is also necessary for plants.
By caring for currants in your garden, you are taking a step towards your health. Currants are a source of vitamins. It doesn't matter if you use it fresh, make jam, bake pies or drink tea brewed with aromatic leaves.
Video: how and with what to properly fertilize berry bushes?
Feeding currants using a stick stick 😉