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What will be the crop on currants next year depends on the growth of the bush in the current season. Therefore, dressing currant crops is an integral part of the annual care, no less important than watering, tillage and pruning.
The stronger and larger one-year-old branches, the more they form the ovary. But a sweet and large berry will be only if it also gets enough nourishment, sun and moisture during ripening. The root system of all varieties of currants is located near the surface. On the one hand, this requires special attention when loosening the soil, and on the other hand, it makes feeding plants easier, making it more efficient.
What fertilizers are needed currants? When and how to make them?
Top dressing of young berry berries
If the berry bushes were planted in the ground in autumn, the next spring it does not need any additional dressing. Everything you need for nutrition and growth is already in the soil. But for a currant planted at the beginning of the growing season, fertilizing is needed. A couple of weeks after planting, 13–18 grams of nitrogen fertilizers are applied to the bushes per square meter. So that the active component does not erode and does not decompose in air, fertilizers are immediately buried, remembering the proximity of the root system, and they carry out abundant watering.
When currants begin to bear fruit, besides nitrogen, it will need to be supplemented with potash and phosphorous compounds. They are introduced in the fall based on a young bush:
- 40-50 grams of superphosphate;
- 10–15 grams of potassium sulfate.
At the same time, currants are fed with organic matter so that 4-6 kg of humus or infusion of mullein fall into the soil.
Related article: Golden currant - planting and care in the country!
Fertilizer fertilizer for adult plants of currant
The timing and frequency of fertilizer application for adult bushes largely depends on the type of soil on which the planting is laid. Dense soil retains nutrients longer in the layers where shrub roots are located. And through the lungs, for example, peaty or sand fertilizers quickly go deep into and become inaccessible to plants.
Therefore, since the fourth year of life, nitrogenous fertilizers, accelerating the growth of greenery and shoots, are applied annually at the rate of 20-25 grams of urea per plant. Moreover, for more efficient use of fertilizing is often divided into two steps.
In the spring, under the bushes make 2/3 portions, which makes it possible to currant together to give foliage, bloom and form the ovary. And the remaining amount gets into the soil after flowering. This top dressing will support the shrub when the berry starts to fill.
Phosphorous and potash fertilizers on dense soils can be applied not every year, but with an interval of 2–3 years in a vein or in the autumn so that the plant has:
- 120–150 grams of superphosphate;
- with 30–45 grams of potassium sulfate.
Organic fertilizers can also be applied with a break. But if under the plantings there are sandy soils, the gardener needs to be prepared for the annual feeding of currants. Additional summer, traditional and extra-root feeding, which combine with irrigation or fertilizer in liquid form, will not harm.
In this case, the application rates of mineral fertilizers are somewhat reduced so as not to cause root system burns and “overfeeding” berry bushes. It is especially important not to overfeed currants with nitrogen. Its excess causes an enhanced mouth of green mass to the detriment of the quantity and quality of the berries. In addition, powerful shoots, but the yearlings do not have time to mature in the fall and often die from winter frosts.
Trace Elements for Berry Bushes
In addition to the main nutrients, currants are essential trace elements. Their plants are produced in June. In this case take a bucket of water:
- 1-2 grams of copper sulfate;
- 2–2.5 grams of boric acid;
- 5–10 grams of manganese sulphate;
- 2–3 grams of zinc sulfate and the same amount of ammonium molybdate.
If the gardener has complex fertilizers with microelements for berry bushes, it is convenient to use them. Prepared solution is made under the crown at a distance of 20-30 cm from the root. For better absorption, it is in this area around the bushes that shallow grooves are made, which sprinkle and cover the feeding field with mulch. Fertilizers in this way need to be wet soil, so the pre-shrubs watered.
Taking care of the nourishment of currant bushes before the formation of berries and during their ripening, many beginning gardeners lose sight of the fact that after harvesting the plants also need care. It is at this time that the budding of the flower buds of the next year takes place; new shoots are formed and strengthened.
Fertilizers for currants can be applied by spreading dry granules or in liquid form, keeping to the area equal to the diameter of the crown.
At the same time, it is important to loosen the tree circle regularly, trying not to damage the roots, water and weed. The removal of weeds is extremely important, since they not only draw moisture from the soil, but also take the main components of nutrition and trace elements from cultivated plants.
