How to plant currants in autumn seedlings

Currant has long won universal love – its black matte, red or light berries, in addition to excellent taste, have healing properties. They are characterized by a rich content of useful vitamins and minerals and are used for colds and other diseases. Many are sure that planting currant seedlings in the fall guarantees a wonderful harvest next year.

Gardeners who have been growing currants for many years are well aware of its beneficial properties and the rules of agricultural technology.

Features and applications

Currant is a perennial shrub that is part of the Gooseberry family. Its bushes have a lush crown and reach one and a half to two meters in height. They have a strong root system, reaching a depth of up to 1,5 meters. Depending on the species, the shade of green leaves changes – from bright to dark. They fall late, often staying until frost. Due to this, as well as the beauty of the plant, the currant is often used as an ornamental shrub.

The type of blackcurrant differs from others not only in the color of the berries, but also in the high content of fragrant essential oil, which is found in the berries of the plant and its leaves. Its leaves are especially beautiful – they have jagged edges, smooth on top, and golden veins pass from the underside.

Red currant in the form of a bush resembles black. Its ripe berries with a slight sourness hang beautifully from the bush in bright red clusters.

White currants are high in glucose. Its white berries with a yellowish tint are collected in small clusters.

Several centuries ago, golden currants were exported from America. Now it is ubiquitous and pleases gardeners with delicious yellow berries and beautiful leaves.

There are many other types of currants, but mostly they are wild or ornamental shrubs.

Leaves and berries are rich in ascorbic acid, especially in blackcurrant. It is also characterized by a high content of other vitamins and minerals, organic acids, tannins. The plant is popular in folk medicine for its anti-inflammatory properties. In the form of infusions and decoctions, it is an effective additional remedy in the treatment of:

• blood diseases;
• diabetes;
• peptic ulcers of the stomach;
• insomnia

However, using the healing properties of currants, we must not forget about contraindications. They are related:

• with increased blood clotting;
• hepatitis;
• thrombosis;
• individual intolerance.

Benefits of autumn planting

You can plant seedlings in spring and autumn. But the best option is the autumn planting of currant bushes, because: during the winter, the soil around the planted bush is compacted, securely fixing the root system; roots damaged during transplantation will be restored; currant seedlings will take root faster, since the ground shoots will be at rest, and all the nutrients will go to the roots.

Thanks to these processes, in the spring the plant will grow faster.

It is necessary to plan the time of planting currant seedlings correctly so that the bush has time to take root before the start of frost. But it is also not recommended to plant them too early – if the autumn is warm, the buds will begin to revive. The most comfortable time for planting currant seedlings is 3-4 weeks before frost. Usually this period falls on the middle of September – the beginning of October.

Site Selection

You can plant currant seedlings in the fall anywhere, and then transplant. However, it is much better to immediately pick up a permanent place, then the bushes will take root faster.

1. For landing, you need to choose open, sunlit areas. This condition is extremely important – the intensity of photosynthesis in the green leaves of the currant to a large extent affects the size and taste of the berries.
2. The planting site of the bushes should be protected from strong winds.
3. Currant seedlings love moist soils, but not swampy ones, otherwise they will be overcome by fungal diseases.
4. The plant grows well on loam, provided it has adequate drainage.
5. Currant bushes develop well after crops such as vegetables, legumes and cereals. It is not recommended to plant them in the area where gooseberries or raspberries grew.
6. Taking into account the size and height of currant bushes, you should not plant them in the center of the site. The best place is near the fence, stepping back from it 1,5 meters.

   

Preparing seedlings for planting

For planting currant bushes, two-year-old seedlings are usually selected with three or four roots and their processes that have already developed up to 15 cm. The ground part of the bush should be represented by one or two shoots up to 30 cm long. To protect currant seedlings from drying out, they must be kept wrapped in plastic wrap during transportation and until planting. In order for them to take root faster, you need:

• put currant seedlings in water for an hour and a half;
• after carefully examining, cut off weak or damaged processes from the root system;
• free the shoots of the seedling from the leaves;
• keep the roots in the nutrient solution.

Planting seedlings

The intensity of development and yield depend on the correct planting of currant seedlings.

Well preparation

The area selected for the currant needs to be well leveled and dug up, and then proceed to the preparatory work:

• if the soil is highly acidic, it should be sprinkled with lime and dug again;
• 3 weeks before planting currant seedlings, prepare spacious pits so that plant roots can be freely placed in them – up to about 40 cm deep;
• so that the growing bushes do not interfere with each other, it is necessary to leave a distance of about one and a half to two meters between them;
• for varieties that form a more spreading crown, the distance between the bushes must be increased;

  

• lay out the bottom with humus with the addition of a small amount of wood ash, sand;
• during the preparatory period, potato peelings can be poured into the hole – they are favorable for the development of young currant seedlings;
• if there is little time before planting, you can simply pour a mixture of starch and ash with water into the hole;
• if mineral fertilizers are applied to the well, they should not be allowed to come into contact with the roots in order to avoid burns.

Landing

You need to remember a few simple rules that should be followed when planting currant bushes:

• plant the seedling deeper than it grew in the nursery so that the root neck remains at a depth of several centimeters;
• cut off the ground part, leaving 2-3 buds on the shoot – pruning can also be planted in moist soil so that they start;
• currant seedlings should be placed at an angle of 45 degrees to the ground – the shoots should fan out;
• the buds located at the bottom of the shoot should be sprinkled with earth – new roots and shoots will appear from them, which will form a strong bush in the first year;
• currant bushes will take root better if measures are taken to preserve moisture, for example, by mulching the bushes with humus or compost – mulch will also protect the roots from freezing in winters with little snow;
• leave a hole around the bush and pour plenty of water.

currant care

Currant seedlings require regular watering, especially in dry times, otherwise they will quickly shed their entire leaf cover. It is very useful to water the bushes with water in which the potatoes were boiled. To increase productivity, you need to properly form bushes using pruning. It should begin immediately after landing. Only 3-4 buds are left on the shoots.

Mature bushes are usually pruned in early spring or late autumn. When pruning them, old branches that have reached the age of five are removed at the base so that they do not interfere with the growth of young shoots. The branches growing inside the bush are also removed. Up to one and a half dozen shoots of different ages are left on each of them. All parts of the plant should be evenly illuminated by the sun – then the harvest will be larger, and the berries will be tastier.

If currant seedlings were planted in fertile or well-fertilized soil, then for two to three years you can not feed them. It will be enough for them to loosen the soil around the bushes at the same time as embedding mulch into it. However, after this time, every autumn or spring, it is necessary to fertilize currant bushes with mineral and organic fertilizers.

In autumn, phosphates and potassium salts are usually applied in the amount of 30 grams for each bush during digging. Nitrogen compounds are best applied in the spring so that they are not washed out with melt water. The dose for one bush will be up to 20 grams. It is necessary to feed currant seedlings during the flowering period. At this time, organic fertilizers are used – mullein diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10 or chicken manure – 1:15.

Growing currant seedlings

Many gardeners receive currant seedlings for planting using cuttings. It can be carried out at any time, from spring to autumn. Autumn and spring cuttings should be carried out with lignified one-year-old shoots. Often cuttings are prepared during pruning:

• shoots are taken only from healthy bushes;
• its length can reach 20-25 cm, and its diameter – up to 6 mm;
• the cuttings are cut, leaving one and a half centimeters from the extreme kidney at both ends;
• cuts should be oblique and even.

Cuttings are planted in soil prepared from a mixture of rotted manure with earth and compost. They need to be planted deep, leaving only up to three buds on the surface and in an inclined position. Then the plantings are watered and mulched. During spring cuttings, by the end of the season, young currant seedlings already form a strong root system, which allows them to be transplanted to a permanent place. With autumn cuttings, it is necessary to correctly select the timing for the entry of currants into the dormant phase – in different species they differ by several weeks. Shoots need to be covered from freezing.

For summer cuttings, green shoots are selected, which will soon become stiff – they still retain some flexibility, but break from a sharp bend. Ready-made cuttings up to 12 cm long with several leaf blades are planted in a warm and humid greenhouse, where they will give roots. The next year in the spring they can be transplanted into open ground.

Planting and caring for currants are not particularly difficult. If done correctly, she will delight with a beautiful view and a rich harvest.