How to grow golden currants in the garden

Currant has long been firmly "registered" in the suburban areas. Some grow several bushes, while others plant entire plantations. Berries of red, black and white lines are known to all. But there is another type that is gaining popularity.

Consider what stands out golden currant, look into the description of the variety and see photos of this bush.

Description of the species

The natural habitat is the western United States, southwestern Canada and northern Mexico. In the Russian Federation, it is grown throughout the European part, in the Far Eastern regions and in the Caucasus.

It is a fairly high (up to 2-2.3 m) shrub with a rounded crown, straight branches and powerful long roots that can reach up to 1.5 m. The leaves are three-lobed, up to 5 cm in length, of a glossy green color. In autumn, the color changes to orange, maroon, red or lemon yellow. The same can happen in August (if the bush did not otplodonosil).In appearance, they look like gooseberries, and even smaller than usual for currants, so the plant is often mistaken for a hybrid. Meanwhile, it is a separate species.

At the very end of May, the flowering period begins, which lasts 2-3 weeks. At this time, on short racemes, small golden flowers are seen, exuding a pleasant fragrant aroma.July is the time of fruiting. You can collect small berries. These "balls" 4-8 mm in size differ in color: most often they are rich yellow, although brown and dark fruits are also not uncommon. They taste sweet, with distinct sourness. The tail usually does not come off. Fruits in the third year after disembarkation, and the peak of productivity falls in the 5-7th years (with careful care, a good collection is obtained in the 8th year). Depending on the variety, 4-8 kg of berries are removed from the bush.

Such a currant compares favorably with other types of its unpretentiousness - it has a high resistance to drought.

How to buy seedlings

Before buying is worth remembering the signs that indicate a healthy seedling. Here they are:

• Normal roots. A bush should have 3-5 main roots 15-20 cm long. If their bark has turned yellow - nothing terrible. The main thing - the presence of developed fibrous roots.

• Two shoots of the aerial parts 30-40 cm long will be enough for the bush to start. They can offer and plant with one shoot, this option is also real - the roots "pull out" it.
• The state of the plant. Fractures, cuts, dangling on the "peel" twigs are excluded. Need a whole bush.
• Pay attention to the place of sale. If young bushes stood all day in the heat, there is a risk that they simply wither.

When transporting the tips of the shoots and roots can be slightly damaged - they will have to be carefully trimmed to a healthy place. So that the rhizome does not dry up on the way to the dacha, it is wrapped with a wet rag and covered with a packet from above.

Landing rules

For an experienced gardener, planting such bushes on the site will not be difficult.Although for a beginner it is easy if you know all the nuances of such work.

Optimal timing

You can plant bushes both in early spring and in autumn. The only thing is that time is calculated so as to exclude the “hit” of an immature plant on frost. The spring "season" of planting falls on March, that is, before the start of intensive sap flow. It is important to “catch” the moment and catch before the buds bloom (of course, adjusted for weather conditions in the region).

Many try to plant currants in the fall, in the first two weeks of October. During the winter, the soil will be compacted, the plant will get stronger and with the onset of heat will quickly grow.

Location selection

Suitable for any composition of the soil - from dry acidified to wet alkaline. Sandy loam or loam is also suitable. For groundwater, there is one requirement: location at a great depth (1 meter and below). A higher level will only harm the plantings.

The place should be well lit, if there is no such possibility - half shading is also suitable. The plot is flattened, often on the west or south-west side of the cottage.

You can place a bush near the fence, departing from the fence about 1 meter.

Soil preparation is also important. The land is leveled, the weeds are removed and the shovels are dug up to the depth of the bayonet. For 2-3 weeks the soil is fertilized. On 1 square. m evenly contribute 6-8 kg of compost and 20-30 g of potash.

Stepwise landing process

Everything is ready for landing, proceed:

• digging a hole 50 x 60 cm;
• rotted manure is laid in the hole, adding a glass of wood ash and superphosphate to a glass;

• then it is filled with water;

• take a seedling and gently placed in the hole. At the same time, the root neck is deepened by 6-7 cm. Here there is one caveat - the plant is first planted at an angle (this is how new roots would be better to start). If you immediately insert the seedling directly, it is likely that new stems will not appear;
• It remains to sprinkle with earth, gradually tamping the soil with a toe in the direction of the trunk.A step-by-step pouring is also carried out: for example, a 3-4-year-old bush will have 3-4 buckets of water, while the young will need 5-7.

The planting pattern is marked as 2.5 x 1.2 m. That is, it is undesirable to start seedlings in one trench, otherwise they will simply mate with roots. It should be noted that the bushes of 2-3 years old with 3-4 powerful shoots and long uricus roots (20-25 cm) are considered the best planting material. On their aboveground parts, 5-6 buds are left, the rest is removed with a pruner.

Competent care - a pledge of a rich harvest

We already know how the golden currant is different, how its planting is done, and now it is time to consider how the care of such bushes is made.

Watering, weeding and loosening

Frequent watering is not required, 3-5 approaches are enough during the growing season.

Water is poured into circular grooves, trying not to touch the leaves. The norm for a young bush is 10-20 liters. A more "aged" plant will need 30-35 liters of water. For large plantations, a sprinkling method is suitable - this is how the necessary humidity is maintained, and it is not necessary to run around with buckets, it is enough to adjust the head.

Before blooming buds (in early spring) or after the leaves fall (at the end of September), moderate watering is performed, which hardens the bushes and is aimed at increasing their yield in the future.

Weeding is done as needed: as soon as the weeds have appeared, they are immediately removed.

But it is advisable to loosen after each watering. "Filling" the ground, you will provide air access to the roots. Tightening is not worth it, otherwise the earth will take a crust and begin to crack.

Fertilization

The hardy look does not require frequent fertilizing. The humus put in a pole will suffice at least for 2 years. Starting from the third year, in the spring the bushes are fed up: bird droppings or manure mixed with the complex “mineral water” are laid in the root furrows.

In autumn, 4-4.5 kg of compost or humus can be laid under a bush. At the same time add a mixture of potassium sulfate and superphosphate (20 g). They are replaced by ash, which take half a cup.

Strong mineral compounds or "chemicals" are not used as fertilizers.

Mulching

Pour a layer of mulch after each watering, so retain moisture. As a coating for currants use:

• peat;
• dry grass;
• compost;

• manure. Rattered manure is laid out so that it does not touch the branches.

In the autumn digging the mulch is simply buried in the ground. To "insulate" the bushes for the winter, it is better to take peat. But in the straw or a layer of grass pests can start, which overwinter in such a "shelter".

The film is also suitable for wintering, but it will have to put on the harvested bows and often correct - it should not be adjacent to the ground. If the dacha is visited infrequently in winter, it is better to refuse such material.

Pruning

The currant is a kind of golden that pleases the gardener's eye, but it also needs timely pruning.

Let's say right away - in the first year it is not carried out. Starting from the 2nd year after disembarking, this procedure is done annually in late autumn. To consolidate the result, you can spend it additionally in the spring (until the buds have blossomed). In the second year, 3-5 most powerful young shoots are left. In time, they will become skeletal. Weak, shaded and interfering processes are removed. In the summer, young branches are slightly shortened by pinching the top two buds.This is important for the formation of a bush: the fruit grows on old branches and the growth of new shoots accelerates.

In the third or fourth year, everything repeats. Particular attention is paid to cleaning extra branches in the middle of the bush. On the layering, started on 2-3-year-old branches, leave no more than four buds. The bush is considered to be formed.

5-6th years of growth is the time of the first “youthful” pruning. The oldest branches are cut as low as possible. Parallel to this, dry, diseased, excess, or broken branches are removed. The general scheme of the annual pruning is summarized as follows:

• on last year's shoots clean the tops;
• on branches 2, 3, and 4 years, they reduce branching, leaving 2-3 buds there;
• of the young shoots leave the most promising;
• the best time for pinching will be mid-July;
• dry branches are removed immediately, regardless of the time of their appearance.

Digging between rows

An important role is played by autumn digging. For heavy and dense soils, it is obligatory, whereas on lighter soils there will be sufficiently enhanced loosening.

Near the crown dig to a depth of 6 cm, so as not to damage the rhizomes. Outside the crown, you can take a depth of 10-15 cm.

This simple but effective measure hardens the bushes, improves air flow to the roots and protects plants from pests that often hibernate in the upper layers of the soil.

Pest and disease treatment

The species is quite resistant to diseases and attacks of pests, therefore prevention comes to the fore.

Preventive treatment is done before the spring pruning. Until the juices are set in motion, use the "hot" method. It's simple: the water is heated to 80 degrees, and then the bushes are watered with it, using a watering can with a divider. A 10-liter bucket is enough for 2 adult bushes.

Before the buds have blossomed, the bushes are sprayed with 2% solution of Karbofos or Nitrofen. When the bushes go to growth, you can handle the "Fundazole" - periodic prevention will benefit. For completeness of the effect, Bordeaux liquid of low concentration (up to 2%) is used.

After autumn pruning, the bushes themselves and the soil beneath them are densely sprayed with solutions of colloidal sulfur (1%) or Karbofos (2%).

If such activities are carried out in a timely manner, the risk of the disease is significantly reduced. With pests more difficult. They can switch to currants from already affected crops or from a neighboring plot. Gardeners especially bite various mites.

A common spider mite produces itself as whitened or brown leaves that stop growing and dry out. To remove such a pest during the growth of the kidneys or immediately after flowering, use Karbofos 50% (take 20-30 g for 10 liters of water). Effective and homemade garlic-onion "mix", which allowed to brew day.

The bud mite inflates the buds on the leaves, which darken and gradually begin to die. It can appear at any time, and the methods of dealing with it are different. For example, during the ejection of the brush in the course is colloidal sulfur (10 liters - 75 g of suspension). After flowering, its concentration is reduced to 1%.In the same period, "Tedion" (0.4%) or "Ester sulfonate" (0.5%) is suitable.

The bark is often located on the bark. They get rid of it by spraying the bushes with nitrophenic paste in the form of a 2% solution (250 g per 10 l). It is effective in the spring, on sleeping buds. Later used "Karbofos" 50% (20-30 g per bucket). The sawfly does not tolerate the Chlorofos solution (0.2-0.3%).

The secretive glass bowl will die if you use "Aktar" 0.1% after flowering or dilute tablets like "Iskra" in water. The folk method is mustard infusion with the addition of tansy, tomato tops and celandine.

The larvae of gall midges are destroyed by the same "Karbofos" (30 g / 10 l). On the same volume can be taken and 20 g of "Trichlormetaphos". The difficulty is that there are more such parasites - to the leaf larvae, they also added shoots. You can distinguish them by pink or orange color. They are removed by the same formulations, but a couple of weeks after picking the berries, repeated processing is required.

Beneficial features

Currant, including golden, has its beneficial properties. Its fruits contain more vitamin A than any other berry. Carotin is also a lot - even more than in apricots.Trace elements like pectin and anthocyanin are great for strengthening immunity. Contained in golden berries and fixative substances, which is useful for people with impaired gastrointestinal function.

To match and contain the acids in it - ascorbic, citric, amber, malic and a number of others make currants an excellent addition to tea drinking.

Berries can be consumed immediately, let on jams and jams, as well as freeze. They are also suitable as an ingredient in wines or liqueurs.

True, there is one thing that fans of various tea infusions should take into account. The fact is that the buds, leaves and flowers (especially young ones) contain prussic acid, and they cannot be taken for welding, as well as for infusion.

After learning all about breeding golden currant, many will want to plant a few bushes on the site. We hope that they will please their owners. Have a good harvest!