Currant care in autumn

Experienced gardeners are well aware that currants are one of the most unpretentious and undemanding plants in the country. Nevertheless, even she needs to be looked after in the fall. Proper preparation of the crop for winter will be the key to a rich harvest next season.

A mandatory step in caring for currant bushes in the autumn months is pruning. Of course, it can also be held in the spring. But currants wake up very early, so there is a great risk that the summer resident simply will not have time to do all the manipulations in a timely manner. In case of violation of the timing of pruning, the bush will begin to weaken, and this will most negatively affect the subsequent fruiting.

The main purpose of pruning is to increase crop yields. If the bushes are formed correctly, then they will bear 3-5 times more fruits than neglected plants, since the extra growth of the latter takes away most of the nutrients. In addition, autumn pruning solves a number of important tasks.

• Destroys up to 80% of pathogenic bacteria, fungi and parasites.
• Forms a healthy crown. Usually, after pinching, the shoots stop increasing in length, and lateral fruiting branches are formed on each of them.
• Improves the illumination of the remaining shoots, thereby optimizing the process of photosynthesis.
• Prepares fruit shrubs for winter, helps them withstand even the most severe frosts. It has been noticed that well-formed bushes can withstand temperatures 10 degrees lower than unkempt ones.
• Promotes culture rejuvenation.

To achieve these results, you should choose the right time for the procedures. Experienced gardeners do this after all the foliage has fallen from the tree. For pruning, you will need a sharp pruner, saw or lopper; the tool must be decontaminated before use. In addition, disinfection will also be needed after cutting each bush.

Autumn healing currant pruning is carried out according to the standard scheme.

• First, you should cut off all diseased, dried, decayed and damaged branches.
• Then, the branches that are intertwined with each other or bent too much to the ground are eliminated.
• In autumn, it is necessary to cut off shoots that are more than 5 years old at the root. They differ from young ones in a darker brown, almost black shade. In addition, they are thicker than the young growth.
• Annual shoots are cut, leaving 3-5 of the most powerful shoots with the maximum number of buds. Moreover, they need to be shortened by 20-30 cm to stimulate branching.
• All thinned elongated shoots growing inside the bush are cut off in order to avoid thickening.
• In the period after the end of fruiting, the apical parts of the young growth on the branches for 2-3 years must be shortened. Pruning should be done over the kidneys.

The tops remaining after pruning the annual branches can be used for subsequent propagation of the currant bush using cuttings. In this case, they need to be rooted in a container of wet sand. After properly pruning, 10-15 shoots of different ages should remain on the currant bush. Pruning should be done carefully. You should not cut the bush too much, but you do not need to leave excess growth either - it will only thicken the plantings. All remaining plant fragments (cut shoots and fallen leaves) must be burned after work.

One of the most important stages in preparing a plant for winter is a professional treatment against fungus, bacterial infections and attacks of insect pests. It is very important to handle the fruit shrub, even if it looks healthy at first glance. Such a measure will be a good prevention of the appearance of uninvited guests next year.

Many gardeners prefer to process folk remedies. They are safe for the plant. And everything you need to prepare a working solution can be found in every home. The greatest effect is given by formulations based on ash, whey and soda.

• With ash. 3-4 kg of ash are poured into a bucket, poured with water, placed on the stove and heated for half an hour, bringing to a boil. After that, crushed laundry soap is introduced into the resulting mass. Currant bushes are cooled, filtered and processed.
• With milk whey. When using this recipe, you must study the weather forecast in advance. It is important that there is no rain for the next 10-14 days - this tool works exclusively in dry weather. For the treatment of fruit bushes, the serum is diluted with water in a ratio of 1 to 1, filtered and sprayed on the plants twice with a frequency of 5-7 days.
• With soda. For the preparation of a soda solution 2 tbsp. l. the funds are diluted in 10 liters of water. To ensure better adhesion to the surface of leaves and stems, a little soapy substance is added.

In late autumn, when the air temperature does not rise above +8 degrees, currant plants must be treated with a high concentration of carbamide solution. In such weather, the growing season is suspended, and the nitrogen contained in urea is no longer absorbed by the crop. During the winter, it is completely washed out by melt water into the lower layers of the soil. Thus, the treatment does no harm to the culture.

The high concentration of the chemical destroys the larvae, pupae and eggs of insect pests, kills fungi and their spores. To prepare a working solution, urea is diluted at the rate of 10 g of the drug per bucket of water. The stems are carefully sprayed with this composition, the earth is shed in the near-stem circle. In early spring, before the beginning of the stage of sap flow, the treatment must be repeated.

A good effect is given by the treatment of currant bushes with solutions of fungicides. Bordeaux liquid 1%, Topaz and Hom compositions are suitable. Means effectively protect the bush from fungus. If the plant has previously encountered a problem, you will have to carry out two treatments with a frequency of 10 days. To disinfect the substrate, the soil is spilled with a solution of the bioactive fungicide "Fitosporin".

Pest control is carried out only in a situation where you find signs of insects. With the defeat of aphids, the preparations "Aktara" and "Biotlin" help well, "Fitoverm" and "Inta-Vir" work against the glass. Currant gall midge is afraid of the effects of the drugs "Bitoxibacillin" and "Lepidocide", and if a kidney mite appears on the bush, the drug "Aliot" will save.

One of the main stages of agricultural technology in the autumn is feeding currant crops. It allows plants to recuperate after the fruiting period, increases the parameters of resistance to frost and other unfavorable factors of the winter season. Applying the correct fertilizer during this period ensures a bountiful harvest in the next season. At this stage, the plant needs to be fertilized with phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium.

Black currant is one of the most nutrient-demanding crops in comparison with others. In this it differs significantly from other types of currants. The bushes bear fruit abundantly, during this time the reserve of nutrients is depleted. Autumn top dressing can significantly reduce the risk of crop degradation, contributes to an increase in the quality and quantity of fruits in the next year.

After fruiting, which occurs at the end of July - beginning of August, secondary growth of shoots begins in currant bushes. The buds of the plant awaken again and the processes of vegetation are activated. That is why in autumn the plant will need nitrogenous feeding - it will strengthen the young shoots and prepare them for wintering. However, plants need nitrogen in a reduced dosage, otherwise it will cause an active growth of young shoots that will not have time to get stronger by winter.

Phosphorus supplements ensure the accumulation of sugars, which in the future will lead to an increase in the quality and taste characteristics of the fruit. Potassium helps the bush to lay fruit buds next year. It is best to use a complex formulation containing all three elements.

Top dressing of red currants is carried out in the first half of September. At this moment, when digging the near-shrub zone, organic fertilizers are introduced into the ground:

• manure - it is bred in a ratio of 1 to 4;
• bird droppings - in a ratio of 1 to 15;
• wood ash;
• infusion of potato peelings.

One bucket of liquid fertilizer is required under each bush. The solution must be poured into grooves with a depth of 20-30 cm prepared around the trunk circle.

The use of mineral mixtures gives a good effect. For one adult bush you will need:

• 50-60 g of ammonium nitrate;
• 70 g superphosphate;
• 60 g of any potash fertilizers.

When feeding white currants in the autumn, experienced gardeners use ready-made complex formulations enriched with rare earth minerals and useful trace elements.

• Agrecol is a granular composition. Can be used not only for currants, but also for raspberries, grapes and blackberries. Contains 12% nitrogen, 10% phosphorus and over 23% potassium.
• "Novofert Yagoda" - universal fertilizer, sold in the form of a water-soluble powder. Suitable for all types of berry crops. It is used for root and foliar feeding. One package is enough to prepare 250 liters of working composition. At the same time, the consumption is quite economical - only one measuring spoon of the drug is needed per bucket.
• "Yagoda complex" - mineral composition, in which nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are presented in a ratio of 12: 12: 36. There are no nitrate compounds, therefore the drug is absolutely not phytotoxic.

Golden currant is a relative of black. This is one of the most unpretentious plants that can successfully grow, develop and bear fruit even on carbonate, clay and sandy soils.

At the stage of preparing a fruit crop for wintering, it must be watered. Moisture-charging irrigation allows you to enrich the soil with the required volume of water, thereby improving the wintering conditions of the plant. Moisturizing prevents the shoots from drying out, prevents the roots from freezing. This is due to the fact that wet soil freezes much more slowly than dry soil. For watering to be effective, you first need to loosen the land around the shrub. First you need to remove the old layer of mulch, move the fallen leaves as far as possible from the bush. It is best to burn these plant debris to kill potential pathogens and insect pests.

After that, the land around the bush is carefully loosened. Such treatment provides an oxygen flow to the rhizome, in addition, reduces the risk of pests - it will be more difficult for them to nest in loose soil. The bush should be dug to a depth of no more than 5 cm, the distance from the trunk should be 15-25 cm. In the process of loosening, all weeds growing near the garden currant bush should be removed. After that, a groove is formed around the trunk circle. It is into it that water will be poured. You should not perform water-charging irrigation if the level of groundwater is high in the garden area. It is better to refuse the procedure if the autumn is rainy.

Watering is carried out during a period when the leaves have already fallen, but the frost has not yet begun - usually this is mid-October. The soil at this moment is still warm, it is not frozen, so the roots continue to develop. But the temperature is low enough for the immature shoots to start growing. Watering is carried out in dry warm weather. It is important to adhere to the norm: 3-4 buckets are poured onto an adult currant bush, that is, about 30-40 liters, the water should completely wet the soil layer to a depth of 30 cm.

Currant bushes are distinguished by good winter hardiness and resistance to external unfavorable atmospheric factors. Nevertheless, preparing the bushes for winter requires a number of additional measures. They will only benefit the fruit crop. Currant bushes must certainly be mulched in the trunk circle. This is done immediately after pre-winter watering and top dressing, when all the water is completely absorbed into the soil. The mulch will retain moisture in the substrate while protecting the roots from frost. To do this, you can take humus, compost, peat or rotted sawdust, laid out with a layer of 12-15 cm.Mulch should not come into contact with the stem of the bush, you should maintain a distance of 5-7 cm.

Given the frost resistance of the culture, currants are not covered for the winter. However, in regions with harsh and windy winters, breakage of shoots during bad weather is not excluded. To avoid such troubles, all shoots must be carefully tied with a soft rope or rubber band in a spiral. As soon as the first precipitation falls, it is advisable to bring as much snow as possible under the bush. If there is a lot of precipitation, then it is advisable to completely cover the currants with snow. This will create effective thermal protection of the stems, insulate the roots and protect the plant from frost. An urgent issue is the need to shelter currants for the winter. It completely depends on the climatic zones where the crop is grown. For example, in the Moscow region and central Russia, winters are rarely frosty, and the thermometer stays within 15-16 degrees below zero. Therefore, frost-resistant varieties of currants do not require any shelter - they can easily withstand periodic frosts down to -27 degrees.

However, in recent years, many gardeners have grown imported seedlings at their dachas. They do not have the same resistance to freezing temperatures. In this case, you should carefully bend the branches to the ground and wrap them with a non-woven cloth. These manipulations are performed at a time when the temperature has already dropped below zero degrees, but before the arrival of stable frosts. The climate in the Urals is unpredictable, and winters are much more severe than in the central part of our country. Therefore, here currants will require more thorough preparation for wintering. Shoots are bent to the ground, pinned, leaves are cut off, covered with spruce branches. Additionally, the plant is wrapped in agrofibre. All work is done after the foliage has fallen, but before the onset of cold weather.