How to Care for Currants in Spring: Secrets of a Generous Harvest

After the snow melts, when the sun's rays begin to give long-awaited warmth, it is time for gardening work.

Today we will talk about how to care for currants in the spring, what points are important to pay attention to in order to get a good harvest in the summer.

General information

Compared to autumn, it is the spring treatment of berry bushes that is important. If winter has not retreated, and there is snow on the site or the temperature is still low, the sequence of works can be changed, says the expert of the portal "MOS SMI", scientist agronomist and landscape designer Anastasia Kovrizhnykh .

For example, initially clean the currants from the debris that has accumulated around the berry bush. You can also skip the formative pruning of the bushes, but only if it was done in the fall.

We will consider the main list of necessary works in more detail.

Caring for currants in spring: cleaning and pruning

Most often, the operation to remove old, dried branches, fallen leaves and weeds from the bush is carried out in late autumn. But after winter, the garbage will have time to accumulate, so it needs to be removed.

To do this, you should very carefully rake away the old foliage from the bush and between its branches, and then burn it. This will help not only to clean the berry bush, but also to neutralize pests that go "to rest" late and remain to overwinter in the dead wood.

Pruning is done as follows. First, you should inspect the bush, remove dry and inward-growing branches with pruning shears. Then inspect the lower branches and cut off those that were lying on the ground. This should be done at the level of the last living bud that looks up.

Fruiting of branches that are 6-7 years old has already ended, i.e. they will no longer yield a harvest, but will take nutrients from the plant. It is necessary to prune them (this should be done at the very ground).

Next, we proceed to inspect the young shoots. If there are dead, dried parts, we prune to a living bud. If the currant bush is exhausted, cannot form good shoots, they are formed thin and weak, it is necessary to prune by 8-10 cm. Thanks to this technique, it is possible to preserve the "strength of the bush" and get a good harvest.

It is important to examine the buds, if they are round and swollen, then a tick has "settled" there and has been living there since autumn. If the entire branch is affected, it should be cut off and burned.

A very important stage of pruning in order to load the bush. On young bushes (2-3 years) it is recommended to leave 3-4 good shoots, the rest should be cut off.

The stems should be trimmed in such a way that a circle or square is formed, inside which there should be no young shoots. The wider the base of the bush, the lighter it is, and accordingly, the better the berries will set.

Please note! Correct planting directly depends on the width of the bush base. Seedlings should be planted not vertically, but at an angle. With this method of planting, additional roots develop on the bush, and shoots are formed from dormant buds.

Loosening and weeding the soil

One of the important ways to care for currants in the spring is to loosen the soil, which improves the access of air, moisture and nutrients to the roots.

This should be done with a hoe, digging into the ground 5-6 cm. You cannot use a shovel, since currants have a superficial root system.

Protective treatment

Once pruning and soil preparation are complete, protective measures can begin.

Experienced gardeners recommend several effective techniques:

• Fire. Used against mites or aphid eggs. A gas burner or blowtorch is used for the procedure. After pruning, the bush will be easy to process. The fire should be directed towards the branches and run along the shoots from top to bottom, repeat 2-3 times. Try not to bring the fire too close, so as not to burn the branches.
• Boiling water. A bucket of water is needed for a large bush. For processing, a watering can with a sprinkler is used, watering is done from a height of 15-20 cm. Thanks to such "bathing" it is possible to destroy many pests, fungal diseases (additionally, repeated processing will be required when the buds swell).
• Pesticides. For processing, you can take copper sulfate (2%), Bordeaux mixture (3%). The optimal time for the procedure is March-April. Copper oxychloride is also suitable, the concentration is selected according to the instructions on the package. When using pesticides, you can destroy ticks, aphids, fungal infections.
• Biopreparations. Nemacabact, Lepidocide, Fitoverm and other products help protect bushes from moths, aphids, fungal infections, and mites.

The preparations are used to treat currants throughout the warm season, right up until the harvest.

Maximum efficiency is observed at a temperature of 15-18 degrees and with strict adherence to the dilution conditions of the drug, which are indicated on the packaging.

The following care for currants in spring helps protect bushes from pests. Treatment with decoctions and infusions prepared from insecticidal plants (garlic, celandine, dandelion, yarrow, tobacco have such properties).

Top dressing

When applying fertilizers, certain rules should be taken into account:

1. The diameter of the treated surface should be equal to the crown of the bush or slightly larger.
2. The fertilizer is applied evenly from all sides, i.e. scattered over the surface under watering or embedded into the soil by 5-8 cm.
3. In spring, organic matter is suitable for feeding currants, or complete fertilization is carried out using the deep application method. A ditch is dug, into which fertilizers are added.
4. Fertilizers can be applied under the bush on top of previously loosened soil. After such treatment, the soil should be watered and mulched.

If fertilizing was not carried out in the fall, then the first time it is carried out using fertilizers:

• Organic. To prepare 10 liters of solution, take 1 part of mullein and 20-25 g of urea and saltpeter. When using bird droppings, 12-15 liters of water will be required.
• Mineral. It is recommended to apply nitroammophoska (30-40 g per 1 bush).
• Two types (mineral, organic). It is effective to use a mixture of bird droppings (manure) and potassium-phosphorus fertilizers. For 10 liters of liquid - 1 part manure, 20-25 g superphosphate, 10-15 g potassium sulfate.

Combine all components, mix, add to furrows prepared along the edges of the bush. Then water with a small amount of water so as not to wash away the fertilizer.

The second feeding is after 2 weeks or when the berries are set in large quantities. During this period, currants need not only basic fertilizers, but also microelements. Ash is suitable for feeding; mineral fertilizers with microelements "Yagodka", "Kemira".

Watering

Caring for currants in spring does not require separate watering; it is most often carried out during fertilizing.

The first time the bushes need to be treated is during the flowering period and if the weather is dry for a long time. If the bush still has moisture left over from the winter, the first watering is necessary at the end of May, when the ovary is formed. The second - in summer, is required during the filling of berries.

Sprinkling is required before or after flowering. Watering can be done under the bush, along the furrows between the rows, in the ditch. It is important that the depth of soil soaking is 40-60 cm.

It is necessary to keep the berry patch clean, remove weeds in time, loosen the soil, thanks to this, oxygen access to the roots will improve, the microclimate in the root system will improve. It is the work performed in the spring that will become the prerequisite for obtaining a high yield.

Earlier we wrote about which green manure crops should be planted in a greenhouse.