Our native fruit bushes, also called berry plants, are plants that are very easy to grow and care for. This also applies to the different varieties of raspberries and blackberries, which have inherited from their wild ancestors a predilection for humus-rich and slightly acidic soil.If these basic workplace conditions are met, the shrubs will provide us with a rich harvest of fruit for many years.
The red currant is compatible with almost any type of substrate. And it needs little.Shrubs will usually be satisfied with a solid portion of compost in the spring and a strong shining cut after harvesting the fruit. With balanced growing conditions, they will certainly pay off with an abundance of fruit. The red and white currant varieties are most often self-pollinating. Therefore, it is enough to plant just one bush to enjoy the taste of delicious fruit for several days.
Collected in clusters, they stay on the shoots for a long time, so you can get a new batch of fresh, aromatic berries from the bush every day. The freshly picked sweet fruits of some varieties of white currant are particularly delicious, e.g. 'Weisse Jätte' from Sweden or the classic 'Weisse Versailler'.If we are going to prepare delicious jams, jellies and juices, let's plant a few or a dozen shrubs of different varieties.From flowers pollinated with foreign pollen, more numerous and clearly larger berries will develop.
Black currants give off a characteristic smell, but the fruit is a real vitamin bomb, so for more sensitive people it is worth recommending new, weak-smelling varieties, such as'Cassim Noiron' or 'Cassima Neva'.Gooseberry and blackberry were once prized for their dense thorns. Today, varieties without this defensive feature are popular.
New pest - macular fly
Originating from Asia, a small (2.5-3.5 mm) macular fly is spreading rapidly in Europe. It is a relative of the well-known fruit fly, popularly known as vinegar. In Poland, it appeared in 2014. It attacks almost all fruit shrubs, but it likes raspberries and blackberries the most.The female flies prick the fruit and lay even a dozen or so eggs in each one.The sight of hatching small white larvae effectively depresses the appetite of even the biggest gourmands.
Infected bushes should not be sprayed with chemicals, because their effectiveness has not been fully investigated yet, and besides, they can poison the ripening of he althy fruit. Special lure traps are an ecological way of fighting flies. From the beginning to the end of the fruit ripening period, the bushes can be covered with a fine mesh to protect the crops.
Fruit shrubs are threatened by various species of beetles, such as the flower beetle and the raspberry beetle. Kistnik lays eggs mainly on raspberries and blackberries. The larvae that hatch in June are similar to the larvae of the spotted fly.So they are not a threat to late fruiting varieties in August, but that's when Asian flies appear.Therefore, specialists recommend growing new summer varieties of raspberries that ripen very early.
Valuable varieties
- 'Dorman Red' is a cross between the wild blackberry Rubus ulmifolius and the garden raspberry 'Dorsett'.Raspberry-colored fruits have a sour taste.We lead the shoots of the shrub by the wires of the row.
- Gooseberry 'Captivator' is a thornless variety, resistant to mildew attacks. The fruit ripens from the beginning of July.
- Blackberry 'Nessy' with thornless shoots is considered one of the varieties with the tastiest fruit.Cold-resistant plant grows well also in unfavorable conditions.
- Black currant 'Cassima neva' produces tasty fruits which give jelly, jellies, juices and liqueurs a characteristic delicate aroma of cassis.
- The 'Glasperle' white currant has translucent fruit gathered in long clusters.They should be covered on hot sunny days.The harvest starts in mid-July.
