Why is the yield of currants falling?

We'll talk about currants and the fact that amateur gardeners make the same mistakes every year. Therefore, I would like to focus the attention of our readers on what categorically cannot be done when planting currant bushes and what you need to pay attention to in order to get a high yield of currants

Where are currants planted? 

An important point is the place where you need to plant the currants. By and large, there is no difference where to plant it - in the sun or in the shade, but you need to understand that on the sunny side the berries will be sweeter, and in partial shade the currants will need to be watered less often, this will not affect the yield of currants. For this shrub, it is not necessary to allocate a separate area, the currants can be safely planted in a padding to other tall plants. Currants from such a neighborhood do not look worse and look much more beautiful.

Distance between currant bushes when planting 

When you have fertile land on your site, the distance between two plants is possible up to one meter. If the soil is somewhat depleted and you do not have the conditions and opportunities to often improve its structure, then the optimal distance between the bushes will be up to one and a half meters.

How can you reach large berries on currants all year round? 

The most important thing to remember for the yield of black currants is that the currants must be trimmed. The best berries in all respects appear on the growth of the last year. The older the branch, the more degenerate berries will ripen: very small, not so tasty. All of these branches must be cut.

Currant yield depends on the age of the branches

First, you need to pay attention to the color of the branch. Young currant bushes have a lighter wood color. More often, such branches are located closer to the edge, and inside the bush there are branches with dark bark along the entire length. These are branches that appear in the third or fourth year of the plant's life, and this is reflected in the fruits - they can no longer be tied qualitatively. To keep the currant bush in good shape and for the yield of the currant bush, the old branches must be removed.

If a young shoot grows from old wood, then with rejuvenating pruning, such shoots must be preserved. It will be correct to drown out the top of the old branch and leave a young shoot for rejuvenation. In general, if you find a large number of branches with dark bark, out of the total, it is wise to leave about one third so that the dormant buds can wake up. It is especially important to preserve last year's shoots and shoots of the new year of the bush's life. These are the so-called replacement shoots, which will have very tasty berries.

It so happens that you have not done pruning for a long time, the currant bush is in a frankly neglected state, you do not know what to do with it and want to dig it up. Do not hurry. Such branches are cut "to zero", "to a stump"; no more than five to six centimeters should be left above the ground. The next year, the kidneys that were dormant will wake up sharply. The bush will be rejuvenated in the second year and after such pruning it will give a gorgeous result. Please note that currants definitely need pruning, this is not a very laborious process, but, nevertheless, it is very useful for the future harvest.

Planting currants and forgetting is not the whole fate of currants on your site. Currants need to be helped to exist. Laying the harvest on its branches, the currant takes up a lot of useful substances and if the soil is gradually depleted, then no decent harvest should be expected. Therefore, currants need fertilization three to four times per season.

Productivity of currants and fertilizers

When unfolding the leaves, the first fertilizer that currant bushes need is ammonium nitrate. It should be diluted with 30 grams per 10 liters of water. It is necessary to spill 10 liters of this mixture on each bush. This is the first starting top dressing that will allow the growth of powerful replacement shoots, a decent leaf blade and will participate in photosynthesis. This fertilizer can be used even before any fertilizing with mineral fertilizers.

Another top dressing that currants need during flowering is to take half a liter of wood ash and dilute it in ten liters of water, add laundry soap and sprinkle the bush superficially, and the rest must be poured at the root. It is an excellent natural potash fertilizer.

At the beginning of June, the currants need fertilizing with micronutrient fertilizers, which are sold in tablets and with the help of a spray bottle you need to spray the currant bush on the green leaves. This foliar dressing will make the plant stronger and sweeter the berries.

After harvest, until mid-August, you should use any top dressing with potash fertilizers at a dosage of 30 grams per 10 liters of water. Potash fertilizers will well prepare currant bushes for winter and will cause additional frost resistance. The plant will winter well and delight you with delicious fruits.

Currant yield depends on the presence of pests

One of the most common pests of currants that affect its yield is the kidney mite, it lives in the buds. Often it is not even visible, but on the other hand, the buds in which the tick overwintered are clearly visible - they are round and larger than usual. There is a very interesting method for getting rid of this scourge. It is enough to pour a bucket of boiling water on each currant bush. The currant will not suffer from this, but the mite, which is in the buds, will literally boil, due to which the yield of the currant will increase.