Large-fruited cranberry Vaccinium macrocarpon belongs to the Ericaceae family, genus blueberry, subgenus cranberry. Naturally found in North America, it grows in open sunny areas, on peat soil (in raised bogs) with a very low pH and fluctuating groundwater levels.
In our climate, cranberries begin their vegetation in the second half of May, blooms at the turn of June and July, and the fruit can be harvested in the second half of September or even in October, depending on the variety. Cranberry is an evergreen shrub with leathery, oval leaves, light green to dark green in color. Leaves live for 2-3 years, turn red in autumn, and turn green again the next spring. The roots are thin, numerous and short, with no hairs.Their active part develops close to the earth's surface in the best air and humidity conditions.
Cranberry produces long, creeping vegetative shoots, reaching up to 100 cm, which take root under favorable conditions. In the following year, raised fruiting shoots (8-15 cm) are formed on these shoots, and buds with 1 to 7 flowers develop on their tips. The flowers are pink, pollinated by wind or insects, resembling a crane's beak.The fruit is a fleshy red berry with a smooth, shiny skin, dense, whitish flesh, red when ripe.
The fruit is sour and cannot be eaten directly. They are rich in carotenoids, organic acids, sugars, pectins, tannins, polyphenols, anthocyanins, mineral s alts and vitamins.Thanks to this combination of bioactive substances, cranberry has a healing effect in diseases of the kidneys and urinary tract.Its fruit preparations are recommended for people suffering from hypertension and diabetes.The high content of benzoic acid means that they can be stored for a long time.
Planting and care
● Cranberries can be grown in a variety of soil types, from humus-rich to very poor sands, with a low pH of 2.5-3.5. Heavy soils, clay soils, loams, soils with high pH (calcareous), which, even by sulfurization, will not reach the appropriate reaction for the plant, are not suitableCranberry cannot be grown on wet, peaty soils, because during the growing season it does not tolerate excess water.Only during winter dormancy can plants be completely covered with water until late spring.
● The shrubs withstand high temperature drops in winter, provided that they are covered with a layer of snow or fleece. Spring frosts may destroy some fruit-bearing apical shoots, thus significantly reducing the yield.
● When preparing the soil for cranberries, you must destroy all weeds. On organic soils, it is recommended to spread a 5 cm layer of sand (which will protect the fruit from getting dirty) and then plant the plants. A suitable spacing is 25x50 cm, the plants will quickly cover the soil surface and hinder the growth of weeds.After planting, the soil should be moist, so take care
o regular watering so that the cranberries take root well.At the beginning of vegetation, we use ammonium sulphate on two occasions: half the dose in the early spring, and the other after 4-5 weeks. It is also advisable to fertilize with potassium and phosphorus during the period of bud swelling.
● In older plants, it is advisable to carefully prune some long shoots for thinning.We carry out this treatment carefully so as not to destroy a large number of apical shoots with fruit bearing shoots.
