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Currant Natalie is a mid-season variety that brings delicious red berries. It is grown throughout Our Country. Currant Natalie surpasses many varieties in terms of sugar content in berries, yield and resistance to frost. For growing currants choose a lighted place. Young plants provide nutrients that are applied when planting. Below is a description of the variety, photos and reviews on Natalie’s currant.
Characteristics of a variety
Currant Natalie bred by breeders. In 1985, the currant entered the variety trial. In 1991, the Natali variety was included in the state register and recommended for cultivation in the Central, North-West region, the Volga region, the North Caucasus, the Urals and the Far East.
Description of the variety Natalie:
- average terms of maturing;
- high self-fertility;
- vigorous wide bush;
- powerful straight shoots up to 2 m long;
- large dark green leaves;
- leaf plate leathery, slightly concave;
- brushes 13 mm long, contain about 10 berries.
Features of the berries of the Natalie variety:
- the average size;
- weight 0,6 g;
- round shape;
- sweet taste;
- bright red color;
- drupes of medium size.
With good care, the yield from a bush reaches 8-12 kilograms of berries. Currant variety Natalie has a universal application. Berries are consumed fresh, frozen, used for baking, vitamin cocktails, processed into jam, jelly, compote.
Features of landing
Redcurrant is unpretentious in choosing a place of cultivation. It is enough for bushes to receive good lighting to bring a high yield. Before starting work, high-quality seedlings are selected and the soil is prepared.
Site Preparation
Redcurrant Natalie is planted in autumn in September or in spring in mid-April. The culture is photophilous; a well-lit place is selected for it on the south side of the site. Bushes are planted on the western or southwestern side, then the plant will also receive the necessary lighting.
Currant grows on chernozem or forest soils with a high content of humus. Loamy soil is suitable for cultivation.
Bushes grow best on slopes, where protection from the wind is provided and there is no stagnation of moisture. With increased acidity, liming of the soil is carried out. The distance from buildings and fruit trees is more than 3 m.
Reproduction of currant
Strong currant seedlings with a powerful root system are suitable for planting. All leaves are removed from plants, and the roots are placed for a day in clean water.
If you have Natalie’s currant bush, you can get planting material yourself. In the spring, strong shoots are selected and added dropwise, leaving the top above the ground. In autumn, when the layers take root, they are separated from the main bush and transplanted to a permanent place.
When transplanting currants, you can divide the bush and get new seedlings. The places of cuts are sprinkled with crushed coal. When dividing, you need to ensure that each seedling has several strong roots.
Another way to propagate red currants is cuttings. In autumn, the required number of cuttings 15 cm long are cut from the bush. They are rooted for 2-3 months in moistened sand at a temperature of +2 ° C. Then the cuttings are stored in the cellar until spring or buried in the snow.
Order of work
Planting redcurrant Natalie begins with the preparation of the pit. Then it is necessary to wait for the soil to settle, and only after that proceed with planting the bushes.
The procedure for planting red currants:
- First, dig a hole 40 cm deep and 50 cm in diameter. If necessary, plant more than 2 bushes between them, leave 1,5 m.
- Add 8 kg of compost, 0,2 kg of superphosphate and 50 g of wood ash to fertile soil.
- Pour half of the resulting substrate into the pit.
- When the soil settles, fill the hole with a small mound of earth.
- Place the seedling on the hill, straighten its roots. Deepen the root neck by 5 cm to stimulate the formation of new roots and shoots.
- Cover the roots with earth and compact it.
- Water the plant generously. To do this, make a circular furrow at a distance of 20 cm from the currant.
- Cut the shoots to a height of 15 cm, leave 3 buds.
Water the seedling twice a week. To keep the soil moist, mulch it with humus or peat.
Variety care
According to reviews, Natalie’s currant brings a stable harvest with constant care. The bushes are watered and fed. For the winter, plants are pruned to properly form a bush. Preventive treatments help to avoid the spread of diseases and pests.
Watering
To activate the growth of currant shoots after winter, before bud break, it is watered with water at a temperature of 80 ° C. Variety Natalie is sensitive to lack of moisture, especially in early spring. If you do not water the bushes in a dry spring, then the ovaries fall off. The remaining berries are smaller.
The intensity of moisture application depends on weather conditions. It is important to prevent the soil from drying out and the formation of a crust on its surface. From the beginning of June, when the ovaries are formed, until the beginning of August, when the berries ripen, the currants are watered with warm settled water.
After watering, the soil should get wet by 30 cm. Then the soil is loosened so that the roots of the plants get access to oxygen and can better absorb moisture.
Mulching the earth helps to reduce the intensity of watering. Under each bush make 8 kg of rotted manure.
After leaf fall, currants are watered abundantly. The procedure is preparation for winter. Moist soil freezes worse, which protects plants from the cold.
Feeding
Fertilization ensures the development of new shoots and the formation of a crop. In April, 30 g of urea is embedded in the soil to a depth of 10 cm. Fertilizer saturates plants with nitrogen, which stimulates the growth of green mass.
In June, nitrogen fertilization is repeated, but organic matter is used. For 5 liters of water add 0,3 liters of bird droppings or mullein. The resulting solution is watered under the root of the bushes.
In summer, Natalie’s currants are processed leaf by leaf. For top dressing, a complex fertilizer is prepared containing 5 g of boric acid and 2 g of manganese sulfate per 5 liters of water.
In autumn, after fruiting, Natalie’s currant bushes need additional feeding. When digging the soil, 5 kg of compost and 200 g of wood ash are added. Instead of organics, you can add 100 g of superphosphate and 50 g of potassium salt to the soil.
Trimming
Natalie’s red currant is pruned in spring and autumn during the dormant period. The procedure helps to rejuvenate the bush and increase productivity.
In red currant, fruit buds are located on the tops of the shoots. Therefore, short pruning of branches adversely affects fruiting.
Every 5 years, cut off extra branches that thicken the bush. In total, 15-20 shoots are left. Be sure to remove dry and frozen branches.
The fruiting period of currant shoots is 6-8 years. To get a stable harvest, old shoots are periodically cut out.
Protection against diseases and pests
Currant Natalie is resistant to powdery mildew. Anthracnose resistance is rated at an average level. To protect against diseases, the bushes are sprayed with fungicides in early spring before bud break. Re-treatment is carried out in the fall after harvesting the berries.
Fundazol, Kaptan, Oksihom are effective against diseases. If the lesion spreads during the growing season, then chemicals are used with caution. All treatments are stopped 3 weeks before harvest.
Variety Natalie is rarely affected by gall aphids, however, it can suffer from moths, caterpillars, and spider mites. Against pests, insecticides Aktara, Tedion, Kabofos are used. Processing is carried out before the start of the growing season and repeated in late autumn.
Reviews of gardeners
Conclusion
Redcurrant Natalie is a productive variety that can tolerate various weather conditions. To obtain a high yield, currants are provided with regular care. Be sure to water the bushes and apply fertilizer. Prolong the fruiting of the bushes allows pruning shoots. For preventive purposes, plantings are treated against diseases and pests with special preparations.
