To protect shrubs from negative impact insects or microorganisms, you can use both chemical and folk remedies. Watering currants with boiling water is simple, but effective method prevention of diseases and the spread of pests. Proper processing bushes allows you to destroy harmful microorganisms and pest larvae that may be under the bark or in the soil around the plants.
From this article you will learn when it is better to pour boiling water over currants, namely, in what month the procedure should be carried out and how to do it correctly.
When to water currant bushes with boiling water
The best time to water hot water- early spring, when the buds have not yet bloomed. In some cases, the procedure can be carried out even before the snow has completely melted.
Note: Autumn processing boiling water will not give the desired effect, since most of the buds at this time are covered with a dense crust, and water simply cannot penetrate inside.
If the buds on the bushes have already begun to bloom, you cannot water them with boiling water. IN in this case very high risk of damage to shoots and buds.
Features of watering
The procedure must be carried out quickly so that the water does not have time to cool. To do this, the liquid is heated and taken out to the garden bed, and only there is it poured into a watering can or sprayer (Figure 1).
It is best to use a metal watering can with a fine strainer, since plastic equipment can easily be deformed by the action. hot water. You can add a little salt, potassium permanganate or copper sulfate to the liquid. This way you will not only destroy pathogens and pest larvae, but also disinfect the soil.
Methods
As a rule, watering with boiling water is carried out by spraying, and not by the foliar method. Using this method, you can evenly process not only the plants themselves, but also the soil around them, without fear of damaging the roots.
Figure 1. Methods for watering bushes with hot water It is irrational to water bushes from a bucket, since in this case not only does water consumption increase, but there is also a higher risk of damage to branches and roots protruding above the ground surface.
Is it possible to pour boiling water over currants in spring?
Many novice gardeners are interested in how effective it is. spring watering boiling water, and is it possible to carry it out?
This question can be answered unequivocally: watering not only does not harm the bushes, but also helps them resist diseases and pests. However, the positive effect will be noticeable only if the water treatment was carried out at the appropriate time and taking into account the characteristics of the plants. Next, we will look at when to water the bushes of this berry crop with boiling water, how to do it correctly, and what advantages and disadvantages such a treatment has.
Watering currants with boiling water in early spring
To properly water, you need to follow a certain algorithm of actions. First, you need to inspect all the bushes and determine which of them are most in need of such treatment.
Note: Experienced gardeners It is advised to treat all bushes without exception, since even externally healthy plants may later become victims of diseases.
The water needs to be heated in advance, quickly taken out to the garden bed and poured into a watering can. If roots are visible on the soil around the bushes, it is best to cover them in advance with earth, sheets of plywood or boards, so as not to accidentally damage them in the process (Figure 2).
Immediately after pouring water into the watering can, processing begins. First of all, you need to water the branches evenly, without skipping individual areas, but also without staying in one place for more than 5 seconds. During this time, the buds may become scalded and the plant will reduce its yield.
Why water
The effectiveness of watering with hot water has been proven by many gardeners. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, boiling water quickly destroys mites that cause leaf terry. Secondly, it eliminates infections, viruses and fungi that may be under the bark or on the ground.
In addition, high-temperature water warms the soil well, accelerates the awakening of buds and strengthens the overall immunity of plants, making them more resistant to diseases.
Pros and cons of hot water irrigation
There are many advantages of such watering. These include the simplicity of the procedure. For processing, you only need a metal watering can, which is in the arsenal of any gardener, and ordinary hot water.
In addition, this type of watering is considered one of the best traditional methods prevention of diseases, because under the influence of high temperatures most larvae and pathogenic microorganisms die.
Figure 2. Features of irrigation with hot water But, along with the advantages, this method also has disadvantages. Firstly, the wrong time will lead to the fact that the procedure will not only not bring the desired result, but will also weaken the plants. Secondly, inexperienced gardeners can easily burn the roots and young shoots. To avoid this, the roots protruding from the ground should be covered with boards or simply sprinkled with earth, and when watering, you should not linger on one branch for more than five seconds.
Peculiarities
The main feature of watering with hot water is that you need to choose the right time for the procedure. It is better to treat the bushes as early as possible, when the snow has not yet completely melted. This way you will be sure that the kidneys have not yet begun to awaken, and the liquid will not harm them.
Another feature of watering is that it is carried out exclusively in the spring. Autumn treatment will not bring the desired result, since after harvesting the buds are covered with a dense shield, and water simply cannot reach the mite larvae inside.
How to water currant bushes with boiling water: video
If you have never treated plants in this way before, we recommend that you watch the video, which shows in detail all the features of the procedure.
When to pour boiling water over currants in spring
The main condition for successful spring watering with boiling water is strict adherence to the timing of the procedure. Currant belongs to crops with early onset growing season, and already in April its branches are covered with young leaves.
It is precisely because of the characteristics of the culture that watering with hot water should be carried out as early as possible, preferably in March, when most of the snow has already melted, but the buds have not yet begun to awaken.
Watering currants in summer
In summer, watering the crop with hot water is strictly prohibited. Such treatment can easily destroy plants. But this does not mean that summer watering should not be given attention.
The roots of the crop are located close to the surface, so they cannot receive moisture from the deeper layers of the soil. This feature explains why increased attention should be paid to summer watering of the crop.
Peculiarities
Currants are moisture-loving crops, and a lack of water can reduce the plant's yield or make the berries too small.
To prevent this from happening, you should regularly feed the soil around the bushes clean water. Despite the fact that in normal times the crop has enough natural precipitation, the humidity level earthen coma it is necessary to strictly control and, if necessary, add additional moisture to the soil. During drought, the amount of watering is increased to 2-3 times a week.
Methods
There are several ways to water currants (Figure 3). The simplest one is to pour water under the root from a bucket or watering can. However, this method is only suitable for farms with a small number of shrubs.
If the berries are grown for sale, it is better to use more in modern ways watering, which allow you to automate the process. For example, you can use the system drip irrigation or sprinklers that will evenly distribute moisture between all the bushes.
Figure 3. Methods for summer watering of shrubs At home, furrow irrigation is also practiced. To do this, dig grooves up to 20 cm deep between the rows, fill them with water, and when the liquid is absorbed, sprinkle them with soil. This method allows you to evenly saturate the soil with moisture and give the roots a sufficient amount of nutrients.
Rules
Summer watering of currants, like others garden crops, carried out according to certain rules. Firstly, it is better to add water in the evening or in the morning, since elevated temperatures and solar activity will accelerate the evaporation of moisture and it simply will not have time to reach the roots.
Secondly, when using a sprinkler, it is also better to water in the morning or evening. Drops of water falling on the leaves can cause burns on them.
In addition, immediately after watering, the soil is mulched with sawdust or peat to slow down the evaporation of moisture and prevent the growth of weeds.
More information about summer watering berry crops you will find in the video.
Currant bushes are often affected by many pests and diseases. Among them powdery mildew, and mites, and aphids. To combat these pests, gardeners use a wide variety of pesticides. However, there is one catch - treating shrubs with chemical solutions and mixtures can negatively affect the harvest (berries watered with pesticides cannot be eaten).
However, experts have found an effective and absolutely safe treatment method for plants against such pests - watering the plants with boiling water. The causative agents of these pests and diseases are very sensitive to heat treatment and will die under such exposure. When is the best time to carry out work? Plants need to be treated immediately, as soon as the snow under the bushes melts and the ground warms up a little. Most often this is the beginning or middle of April, depending, of course, on weather conditions.
We choose a time when the buds have not yet begun to wake up, boil a bucket of water, pour it into a cold watering can with a sprinkler, and water the bushes with rain. All currants, all gooseberries. The water from the cold watering can and cold air has time to cool slightly, so it turns out to be 70-75 degrees. What you need for fungal diseases. Under no circumstances should you pour boiling water under the root. It is poured onto the stems. On the stems! The water temperature should not exceed 95 degrees, the watering can should be kept from the tops of the stems at a distance of 10 cm, watering should last no more than five seconds.
Execution technology heat treatment
In order for the heat treatment method to be as successful as possible, you need to know not only when to carry out the work, but also how to do it:
1.Pour boiling water into a suitable container or bucket and, without delay, go to the garden where the currants grow. By the time you reach the bushes, the water temperature will drop to about +80 °C, and upon contact with the branches, the water will lose about 10 °C more and will be in the range of +60-65 °C. That is why take a thermometer with you to monitor the temperature of the liquid - if the temperature drops too low, the effect of watering will be zero (using too hot water can harm the plants themselves).
2. Additionally, to enhance the effect of the solution, add salt or a little potassium permanganate to the water.
3. Scald the branches evenly, trying not to miss any of them, so as not to give pests a single chance. The soil around each bush should also be treated with boiling water. But you should not pour hot liquid directly onto the roots of plants. To protect root system, use iron sheets.
4.Keep the watering can at a distance of about 10 cm from the branches. Water each shoot for no more than 5 seconds. One bush requires approximately 5-6 liters of water.
Some gardeners act even harsher with shrubs - they pour hot water over them. Usually this treatment is carried out from a watering can, making sure that there is at least 1 m from the watering can to the bushes - boiling water, flying this distance, cools and will not cause harm to the kidneys.More often, treating plants with boiling water is postponed until the spring, since such treatment stimulates the buds to awaken, which brings more benefits in the spring.
One watering can is enough to process three or four bushes. In this case, not only the bushes are treated, but also the soil under them, which is very useful against the gooseberry moth.
However, if in the spring the bushes suffer from early spring frosts, then it is better to postpone this treatment until the fall. At this time, the kidneys are in a stage of forced rest and will not wake up from a contrast shower.
This method of combating aphids is based on the destruction of their eggs. But it is permissible to give a hot shower only to currants before the buds open j. In spring, it begins to come to life very early, so it is important not to miss the time.
Some arrange this treatment at the end of October, but it is not so effective. Eggs have containment, and in the fall it is the strongest, it is harder to influence it. But in the spring, when it has melted and then frozen, they weaken and are more easily killed.
You cannot treat trees with boiling water. Instead, they are sprayed in the fall during leaf fall with a mixture of urea - 500 g per 10 liters of water - and potassium chloride - 100 g per 10 liters of water. This mixture helps fight fungal diseases and even kills pests that hibernate in the tree crowns. To make the treatment more effective, not only the trees, but also the soil under them are sprayed with the solution.
By the way, the same mixture is used in the summer to prevent diseases and pests. Only the concentration is reduced to 50 g of urea and 50 g of potassium chloride per 10 liters of water.
In order not to give pests a chance, treatment begins from the moment the buds swell and is repeated every 8-10 days. Among other things, it is also an excellent tree feed.
During the period of autumn rains, it is useful to clean trunks and skeletal branches of old dead bark. At this time, it is saturated with moisture and is easily separated from the tree. Along with it, numerous ovipositions of garden pests will be removed.
By pouring boiling water over currant bushes, the plant’s immunity will “grow” and the soil in the area where the bush grows will warm up sharply but briefly. As a result, the currants “will not get sick” during the year and will delight you with a high harvest.
If you prepare a solution based on copper sulfate or potassium permanganate and pour it under the bush at the location of the roots, before using boiling water, then the elimination of harmful insects living (sleeping) in the ground and on the bark of the plant will take place in an accelerated time, and the currants will receive a new portion vitamins for yourself. In addition, its color, if it falls under the last frost in late spring or early summer time, will not suffer at all and the berry yield will be “at its best.”
This is the main answer to the question posed actual question: “Why do you need to water the currant bushes in the garden with boiling water?” Having completed such a generally quite simple procedure, you can be absolutely sure that the phytosanitary condition in the garden and the quantitative yield of berries will not only not suffer from external conditions, but will also increase qualitatively.
Timing of watering
There is another important point in deciding the question “when, at what time of the day and year, the currant bushes should be watered with hot water” so that the procedure is carried out correctly.
This procedure should be carried out completely in early spring when the sun is not yet quite hot, the snow has not yet begun to melt, and buds have not yet appeared on the bushes and trees. Nature is sleeping, but there is very little time left before it awakens.
Watering plan for currant bushes
All procedures for preparing currant bushes for a “healthy” new season must be carried out clearly, pedantically, strictly according to the established plan.
- In the fall, leave marks on those currant bushes that have been exposed to harmful effects diseases such as powdery mildew. It should also be noted those bushes that were susceptible to attack by insects (aphids, ants, ticks), and under which there are mouse or mole holes.
- On the eve of the day allotted for pouring boiling water, prepare the tools necessary for processing. You will need a metal (galvanized) bucket or watering can “with a strainer” or a bucket with a metal ladle, a thermometer, and boiling water. From the same material, a large kettle or pan where the water will be heated.
- As water for pouring boiling water over the bushes, you can use snow (only very clean), which should be melted the day before.
Irrigation technology:
- Boil water in a kettle or saucepan and let it “bubble” for a little (5-7 minutes);
- pour boiling water into a prepared container (watering can or bucket);
- without hesitation, “run” to take the prepared boiling water to the currant bushes. Along the way, the water will begin to cool, and its temperature will drop by about 20 degrees, to 80. During direct contact with plant branches or soil, the water will lose about 20 more degrees, and its temperature will be within 60 degrees.
- The process of scalding one plant should be rapid. The entire procedure should take no more than five seconds.
- The branches of the bushes should be scalded by watering them evenly, from above, without missing any of them. In this case, there will be no chance for the pests to live. The distance between the branches of the plant and the watering can (pot) with water should be approximately 10 cm.
Spring for gardeners begins with a thorough inspection of their property. The primary task is to identify frozen parts of trees and shrubs, diseases and pests. Immediately after this follows an active fight against possible problems. Today on the website you will learn how it is carried out processing currants in spring from diseases and pests.
Gardener's work plan in spring:
1. Treatment with boiling water.
2. Spraying currants against diseases and pests.
3. Caring for currants in spring: soil treatment, pruning, fertilizing.
Pouring boiling water over a bush in early spring
Not all gardeners consider this method to be truly effective. However, it has proven effective in many cases, especially in the fight against aphids. If last year you had to fight the mentioned pest, do not ignore this common way to protect currants from the enemy.
When to treat? It should be done in early spring, without waiting for the snow to melt. There is no need to be afraid - boiling water will not do any harm to the bush. But only on the condition that the kidneys are still in a dormant state.
Currants should be treated against pests with boiling water in early spring. Stages of work:
Tie up the bushes so that the shoots are more closely spaced.
Boil a large volume of water.
Pour the currant bush through a watering can.
First treatment of the garden against pests and diseases
Pathogens and the larvae of many insects can easily tolerate even the most severe frosts. If you do not protect the plant in time, you can completely lose the entire harvest. To protect fruit crops, including valuable currants, experts advise treating the entire garden in early spring, before signs of disease or pest infestation appear.
For the first treatment of currants in the spring, the preparations “Skor” and “Karbofos” are suitable. Of the many ways to protect currants, there is one particularly effective one. Gardeners using it are waiting for the first spring warmth and go to the garden, taking with them a medicine for garden diseases "Skor" and a popular remedy for pests of fruit crops "Karbofos"
How many approaches does primary processing of currants require? Option two:
One, if last year the crop was not sick or was moderately affected.
Two (with a break of two weeks), if the currants last year were severely affected by diseases or pest attacks.
Primary treatment is designed to protect currants from common problems: mites, aphids, powdery mildew. Then they begin other activities to care for the garden.
Caring for currants after the first spraying
Before you start treating currant bushes with chemical or folk remedies, you need to do the following:
1. Trim all frostbitten, dry and obviously diseased branches or parts thereof.
2. Loosen the ground near each currant bush, sprinkling it with ash.
3. Dig deeply between the bushes.
4. Place humus at the base of the bushes to ensure culture nutrients for the whole season.
5. Treat currants against diseases and pests.
To fight with various kinds all of the above steps are directed by microorganisms, fungi and insects spring care. Getting rid of diseased branches, loosening, digging and fertilizing the soil, as well as directly spraying the bushes - all this helps the currants to strengthen themselves in the fight against enemies.
Proper care for currants in early spring will contribute to good resistance to pests and diseases Inspection of currant bushes and re-treatment with preparations
When the first leaves of the currant appear and the flower buds begin to swell, it is the right time to carry out an inspection. Unusual shape buds, swelling and spots on the leaves - all this is an alarming signal for the gardener. It is necessary to immediately determine whether this is a sign of a disease or the introduction of insatiable pests into the plant’s vital system.
It is very important to carefully examine the currant bushes in the spring. Important! Inspection and processing of currants must be done before the buds open. From the moment of flowering until late autumn, you cannot spray the bushes.
Treatment when a major pest is detected - kidney mite
If at spring inspection currants you found swollen buds, most likely the main enemy of the crop - the bud mite - has settled in them. If measures are not taken in time, the affected buds will not bloom, and as a result, currant yields will suffer greatly not only this year, but also in subsequent years.
Mites in currant buds are easy to detect in early spring What to do against this currant pest? The best method treatment in the spring with a solution is considered colloidal sulfur(10 g/10 l) or a preparation developed on its basis "Tiovit Jet". Some gardeners use "Chlorophos", "Karbofos" or "Furanon". Of course, spraying will not help greatly increase this year's harvest, but next spring the problem will be completely or partially solved.
Treatment of bushes against powdery mildew disease in spring
A sign of powdery mildew on currants in spring is a light gray coating on the leaves. In addition, the shoots are deformed, the leaves become smaller and change color and shape. Spores of an insidious fungus that causes crop loss overwinter on the plant or fallen leaves.
Powdery mildew disease on currants How to save currants from this disease? Experienced gardeners trust in this case a proven copper sulfate and the drug "Fundazol". Take 100 g of the first per bucket, and 15 ml of the second. Be sure to water the soil around the bushes with the prepared solution at the same time as treating the plant in the spring.
Aphids on currants - ways to combat the pest
The presence of aphids on currants can be determined by twisted shoots and leaves. If you look closely, with reverse side leaves you can detect these small but very vicious pests. Experienced gardeners know that the main carriers of aphid larvae are ants. They breed these pests because they feed on their secretions. If there are aphids on the currant, you will see a lot of ants on it.
Pests on currants - aphids How to deal with these pests? There are many medications available for this case. Can be processed "Karbofos", if spraying in early spring did not help. This is one of the most popular drugs. Many gardeners are faithful to the old proven remedy - copper sulfate(100 g/10 l) or prepared on its basis Bordeaux mixture. There are other drugs: "Intavir", "Tanrek". Before the leaves appear, treatment is applied "Furanon" or scald the bush with boiling water.
Treatment of currant bushes in spring with anthracnose
Many gardeners, unfortunately, are well acquainted with this disease. It is characterized by the formation of brown swellings on the leaves. In early spring, the disease is not so easily detected, which can lead to a delayed response. In view of this, it is especially important to carefully examine every twig and leaf on the bush.
Anthracnose disease on currants requires urgent treatment What will help cope with anthracnose in the spring? Works great against fungal diseases "Intavir". At the height of spring, gardeners apply the treatment ash. It will also help inkstone or Bordeaux mixture. The treatment is carried out in the evening - twice with a break of half an hour.
To subject a plant, just preparing for spring awakening, to such stress, you need a very good reason. And this reason is the fight against currant bud mite (Cecidophyopsis ribis). These pests, despite their tiny size (0.2 mm), suck juices from green shoots, flowers and currant leaves throughout the growing season. As a result, the leaves become covered yellow spots, the plant stops developing, bears fruit poorly (most of the berries do not survive to ripeness), and over time the bush may even die.
Photo gallery: currant infection with bud mite
A distinctive feature of a plant infected with this mite is enlarged, unnaturally swollen buds that form in the fall.
Favorite host of the kidney mite - black currant, but he does not disdain its closest relatives: white, yellow, red currants and even gooseberries. So the consequences of this pest can be catastrophic for the entire garden.
By the way, the famous witch's brooms and galls on plant leaves are the closest relatives of bud mites.
Bud mites cannot tolerate sudden temperature fluctuations and low air humidity, so for the winter they take refuge in securely protected currant buds, where they are destroyed with hot water in the spring.
In addition to killing pests, watering with boiling water hardens the currants, increasing their resistance to disease.
Processing times for different regions
Spring watering of currants with boiling water should be done in early spring, when the snow is already beginning to melt and the height of its cover is only 5–10 cm. different regions in our vast homeland, this period begins at different times:
- Moscow and Moscow region: March 10–15;
- Central regions (Pskov, Yaroslavl, Tula, Vladimir regions, etc.): March 12–17;
- Western Siberia ( Altai region, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Tomsk regions, etc.): April 5–10;
- Central Siberia (Krasnoyarsk, Transbaikal region, Irkutsk region, etc.): April 8–12;
- Eastern Siberia (Amur Region, Khabarovsk, Primorsky Territories, etc.): April 1–10;
- Southern regions ( Rostov region, Kalmykia, Astrakhan region): March 1–10.
Summer watering of currants with hot water will do more harm than good
How to process currants with boiling water
First you need to decide on the bushes that you plan to process. This is important, since the boiling water will gradually cool down, and without a clear action plan, the effectiveness of the procedure will decrease.
In case your currant roots are located close to the surface of the soil, it would be a good idea to additional protection root system by any available material: plywood, iron sheets, boards, etc.
Metal watering can - best tool for watering currants with boiling water
An ordinary metal watering can with a strainer is best suited as a watering tool. It is better not to use its plastic counterpart, since temperature changes may cause it to deform.
You can boil water on a fire, stove or stove, as well as in a bathhouse - at the same time, combine business with pleasure. When the water boils, you must begin watering immediately. Watering should be uniform, so you should not stay in one place for more than five seconds. Remember that it is not the soil that needs to be treated, but the shoots!
Adding potassium permanganate will significantly increase the efficiency of watering with boiling water
To increase the efficiency of boiling water treatment, add traditional means against pests: copper sulfate, salt, potassium permanganate. They should be diluted in the following proportions:
- potassium permanganate: 1 g per 100 liters of water;
- copper sulfate: 3 g per 10 liters of water;
- salt: 10 g per 20 liters of water.
Since all these substances are salts of simple composition, heat water will not harm their therapeutic properties in any way.
Video: pouring boiling water over currants in early spring
Precautionary measures
When carrying out the procedure, it is important not to forget about safety. A metal watering can will quickly heat up from boiling water, so the procedure must be carried out with thick fabric gloves. You should also check whether the strainer is securely attached to the watering can, otherwise there is a high probability of getting a first or second degree burn. In addition, choose your own shoes correctly for this work, so that boiling water that accidentally gets on your feet during watering cannot scald them.
Spring treatment of currant bushes with boiling water is a traditional, highly effective method of pest control. The procedure does not require any financial costs, environmentally friendly and extremely simple. It is not without reason that this method has been used by Russian gardeners since time immemorial.