Garden cranberry — care and cultivation
Garden cranberry, the care and cultivation of which has become possible and even necessary, occupies one of the most important places among garden crops. For any illness, doctors advise drinking decoctions or fruit drinks from this berry, which indicates its high medicinal properties. It is logical that every gardener thinks about growing such a crop.
However, just wanting is not enough. To grow a healthy and regularly fruiting shrub, you need to know all the intricacies of planting, care and propagation. In this article we will help you deal with the very first questions that arise: Where to buy? How and where to plant? How to care?
What are the benefits of cranberry — its beneficial properties
The substances contained in cranberry juice make it a natural antibiotic, which is why cranberries are useful. Its beneficial properties have been known since ancient times. People use the berry to treat the body both from a simple cold and from an ulcerative form of the disease.
The most popular use of cranberries is drinking fruit juice at elevated temperatures, as well as for influenza and ARVI.
It is worth noting the benefits for the heart and circulatory system. By consuming cranberries or their juice, you will prevent the formation of blood clots in blood vessels and the appearance of capillary stars on various parts of the body.
For those who constantly suffer from gum inflammation, berry pulp will be an indispensable remedy. This remedy will also relieve caries, or even periodontal disease. Cranberry juice instantly kills and removes any bacteria from the body.
Where to buy garden cranberry seedlings
You can buy garden cranberry seedlings only in one place: in a nursery that breeds them. Only there, highly qualified specialist agronomists produce high-quality propagation of shrubs of various varieties, adapted to different climatic conditions.
Please note that the price of planting material directly depends on its age. The older the seedling, the more expensive its cost! If you want to get a harvest as soon as possible, then you should purchase seedlings that are at least five years old, with a closed root system. Only a nursery can offer you such seedlings. After purchasing the necessary seedlings, it is important to follow the technology planting and caring for garden cranberries.Where to plant cranberries on the plot
To plant cranberries on a plot, you need to take into account the main features. Although the cranberry crop is not too fancy, do not forget that wild cranberry bushes grow in swampy areas. No, it is not at all necessary to create a swamp on your site, it is enough just to fulfill several conditions:
- Firstly, you need to be extremely responsible when choosing a favorable area in the area for growing crops. It should be well lit. The surface must be flat, since cold air will accumulate in the recesses, which is detrimental to the plant. Stagnant water is also not desirable.
- Secondly, you need high acidity soil. Acidity level (pH) – from 3.5 to 4.5; Also, the soil should consist of peat, sand or sandy loam. It is extremely important that the soil allows water and air to pass easily.
- Thirdly, the top layer of soil, in which the root system of the shrub is located, should be kept moist.
- Fourth, you need to remember that despite the fact that the crop grows in swamps, it should be watered moderately. In this case, the water must have an acidity level of 4. Otherwise, the plant will get sick, stop growing and eventually the entire crop will die.
Technology for growing cranberries in personal plots
The technology for growing cranberries in personal plots is precisely structured and orderly. If followed, the gardener will receive an abundantly fruit-bearing bush.
Before planting, you should carefully prepare the area for planting, namely the planting beds. If the soil on your site is initially suitable for growing cranberries, then it will require minimal preparation: you need to form ridges, after weeding out all the growing weeds. The soil of the ridges must be loosened and river sand added.
If the soil on your site is not at all suitable for growing cranberries, and you are full of enthusiasm, then you should follow these steps:
First of all, you need to create a small plantation. The optimal size solution would be: one and a half meters wide, four meters long. The main thing that should be taken into account when planning is the ability to access the bushes without trampling the plant.
To prepare the soil, forty centimeters of the top layer should be removed.
The sides of the resulting pit should be installed so that they protrude on the surface by twenty centimeters. Lay a drainage layer ten centimeters thick. Lay a film on top of the drainage with holes for drainage, on top of which place a layer of leaves, branches and humus. Don't forget to water this layer!
Next, you should fill in a layer of acidic peat mixed with sand in a ratio of three to one. Horse manure added to the layer will have a positive effect, in the same ratio to peat.
For the final top layer, mix the removed fertile soil with peat in a ratio of two to one. You should also add fresh sawdust of any coniferous species.
After you have done all of the above, you can begin planting.
Planting should be done in pre-dug holes. Under no circumstances should you attempt to separate the rhizome of a young plant from the soil of the planting pot if you do not want to damage it. Directly with this soil, place the seedling in the hole and water it with water until it is covered with soil. Next, mulch the soil; sand, sphagnum moss, pine needles or pine sawdust are suitable for this.
It should be taken into account that the shrub prefers extremely humid conditions, so it should be watered abundantly and constantly. In moderate climates, the plantation should be flooded at least a couple of times a week. In dry climates you need to do this every day.Don’t forget about mineral fertilizers, especially during the growing season - once every two weeks. After two years, after planting, the soil should be shed with a solution of three liters of water and one teaspoon of citric acid.
To get healthy large fruits, you need to do thinning pruning when the bushes become denser and become multi-tiered, this happens in the third year after planting. This should be done in spring or autumn.
Despite the fact that the cranberry bush is very frost-resistant, you should not forget to protect the soil on which it grows from freezing. Especially if your area experiences little snow winters.
What should I do for this? It is necessary to additionally cover the bushes with a loose layer of peat. In the spring, shrubs will grow through this peat, so there is no need to worry about clearing it.
Plantation cultivation of cranberries
Plantation cultivation of cranberries as an agricultural crop originated in America, because this berry is not found in their forests. However, speaking about cranberries, it is worth noting that this is a native Russian berry, abundantly filling the forests and swamps of almost all of northern Eurasia.
Under favorable conditions, you can collect about eleven tons from one hectare of plantation. Agree, in the wild taiga forests, collecting such a quantity of cranberries will require a lot of strength and patience. Therefore, in Russia they are thinking about growing cranberries on an industrial scale. The areas of the Leningrad region, Karelia and Kostroma are ideal for such activities.
Growing on an industrial scale can be a very profitable business. Of course, the first step to success will be purchasing high-quality planting material from a nursery.