Feeding currant bushes with potato peelings

It is rare to find a family that does not use a crop such as potatoes in their diet. It has long become our “second bread”; a lot of interesting dishes have been invented from potatoes. The vegetable is not only tasty, but also very healthy. But few people know that potato peelings also have some value - they serve as an excellent organic fertilizer. Experienced gardeners have long adopted this method of feeding plants on the site. We will tell you how to use potato peelings in the fall to feed currants.

Benefits of fertilizer made from skins

Feeding currants with potato peelings will replenish the deficiency of minerals in the soil, improve the appearance of the plant and increase productivity. The fertilizer differs from its analogues in a number of undeniable advantages:

1. Potatoes are rich in starch and potassium. These substances are necessary for currants to form large berries.
2. The application of purification improves the soil structure. The soil becomes loose and is more easily saturated with oxygen, which is important for the full development of the plant’s root system.
3. Potato peels do not stimulate the growth of weeds surrounding the currants.
4. This fertilizer can be used at all stages of plant development. It is effective for old bushes and young seedlings.
5. The cleaning agent protects the plant from pests.

Another advantage of this fertilizer is its availability. You don't have to spend money or buy special medications. Potatoes can be found in every home.

What should be the result of fertilizers?

When fertilizing the soil with potato peelings, it is very difficult to oversaturate it. This is a natural, environmentally friendly product, harmless to the environment and plants directly.

If currants grow on heavy clay, peaty soils, potato peel fertilizer will make the soil looser and more fertile, saturating it with useful microelements. All this helps to increase productivity and produce tasty berries.

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Disadvantages of potato fertilizers

Despite all the advantages, potato fertilizer also has disadvantages. First of all, the difficulty lies in the need for a large amount of raw materials. The skins will have to be prepared for several weeks in order to have enough for the season. Making fertilizer requires special preparation. This is difficult for those who cultivate several dozen currant bushes.

Another disadvantage of this fertilizer is the inability to dose microelements. Applying excessive amounts of fertilizer will negatively affect the condition of the plant.

What can be replaced?

There are a large number of organic fertilizers. But if we talk about potato peelings, it is not always possible to collect the required amount. Therefore, you need to know what to replace them with.

If you look at the composition, then only potato starch will do. Once the effect is achieved, use onion peels or eggshells. The method of mulching with sawdust and ash solution shows good results.

Methods for preparing onion infusion or from shells similar to potato infusion:

• pour boiling water so that the water completely breaks the raw material;
• leave for several days to infuse;
• do not forget to stir for the specified time;
• crush and water the currant bushes.

An additional point is straining after the infusion stage. If you make an infusion from starch, then the principle of preparation is the same. You just don’t need to insist, but stir the pulp in warm water before watering.

When is fertilizer applied?

Potatoes are used as fertilizer for currants four times per season. The first feeding is done in the spring. At this time, the plant develops rapidly, taking all nutrients from the soil. The first portion of cleaning is applied before the buds open.

In summer, a small amount of peeling will help the plant form large, juicy berries. You need to feed currants before setting fruit. It is recommended to add a portion of potatoes in July, when the berries begin to fill.

Autumn fertilizing plays an important role. They will help the plant accumulate nutrients for wintering. It is better to carry out cleaning in late September - early October.

Pros and cons of using fertilizer

Organic feeds like potato peelings are the best choice for a summer resident who wants to get a bountiful harvest of environmentally friendly berries. Potato peels are suitable as fertilizer for both black currants and bushes that produce scarlet and white fruits. This natural remedy can be used to feed any garden crop without fear of harming it.

The list of advantages of this organic supplement includes:

• efficiency;
• availability;
• utility;
• environmental friendliness;
• possibility of application at any stage of development of currant bushes;
• rich chemical composition, in particular high content of harmless phosphorus;
• the property of bait to improve the structure of garden soil and increase its fertility;
• the ability to improve the quality characteristics of the crop (the berries are larger, juicier, sweeter);
• suppression of the growth of weeds under berry bushes;
• strengthening the plant's immunity.

Potato peelings used to feed currants also have negative sides.

They are inherent in any organic substance that is used to feed garden and vegetable crops. Among them you can see:

• difficulties in correctly calculating the required dosage;
• the risk of attracting rodents to the site if the product is not prepared and used correctly;
• obtaining a positive effect only with repeated addition of organic matter;
• preparing fertilizer requires a large amount of food waste (it will need to be collected over several months);
• Ill-proper storage of potato peel stocks threatens their molding (in this case, food waste becomes unsuitable for preparing fertilizer).

Preparation of cleanings

Before making fertilizer, it is important to prepare the cleaning properly. It's better to dry them. To do this, carry out the following procedures:

1. Rinse large potatoes in water. Make sure that there are no signs of spoilage or parasite damage on the tubers. Peel the potatoes.
2. Fill the resulting cleaning with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Keep them in this state for about an hour. This will help deal with any bacterial infection that remains on the potatoes.
3. Place the skins on sheets of paper. Place them in a well-ventilated area. Make sure that they are not exposed to direct sunlight.

If you want to get fertilizer faster, cut the skins into small pieces before drying. For storage, place the raw materials in a paper bag and put them in a dark, dry place.

On average, drying time is about 10 days. The exact time depends on the temperature and humidity. You can speed up this process by placing the skins in the oven. The temperature is set at 100 degrees. Processing time is about three hours. Make sure that the oven door is not tightly closed during cooking. Otherwise, the skins will not dry, but will be baked.

A good way to prepare peelings is to freeze them. The skins are washed and kept in potassium permanganate. After this, they are passed through a meat grinder with a large grid. The resulting pulp is laid out in containers or plastic bags and stored in the freezer.

How to prepare potato peels

To prepare fertilizing fertilizer, large volumes of potato raw materials are required, but peelings in their raw form cannot be preserved for a long time; they begin to rot and sprout. To prepare and preserve natural material for future use, while maintaining all its beneficial properties, there are 2 ways to store it - pre-drying or freezing.

For harvesting, do not use greened ones with peeling sprouts; they contain a lot of toxic corned beef.

Is it possible to freeze

This method of preparation is usually practiced in winter or using a freezer. Before freezing, the raw materials are washed, doused with boiling water, allowed to drain and dried, the peelings are placed in bags in a thin layer or in a shallow container, and sent to the cold. Gradually, new layers can be added to the already frozen peel. Find out how to treat brown spots on currant leaves at this link.

The thawed peels are used all at once and are not re-frozen.

Drying

The most acceptable storage option is drying potato peelings. You can dry the skins outdoors, indoors, using available means that speed up the drying process (oven, microwave, batteries). Complete drying in the open air usually takes 10-14 days, in a warm, dry room - 14-20 days. Dried raw materials can be stored in any easily ventilated container. Find out how to feed red currants after flowering here.

Before storing the fertilizer, check its readiness; cleaning should become light, translucent in appearance, and easy to break.

Making fertilizer

Before fertilizing currants with potato peelings, prepare a nutrient composition. The dried skins are placed in a bucket and filled with hot boiled water. The liquid should cover the potatoes with a layer of about 6 cm. Cover the bucket with a lid. Fertilizer must be left to infuse for at least a day.

Fertilizer in powder form is also prepared from dried peelings. To do this, they are ground in a coffee grinder. The finished product is stored in hermetically sealed containers for several months.

If raw materials from the freezer are used to make fertilizer, then it must first be completely defrosted. Two kilograms of potato pulp are poured with 10 liters of boiling water. Mix thoroughly and leave to infuse for a day.

Potatoes as an additive to compost

Compost is successfully used as an autumn fertilizer for currants. Potato peelings can enrich it with nutrients. The main danger is that a fungus often remains in the potatoes, which will subsequently spread to the plant. Therefore, it is important to properly prepare the skins for storage.

The peelings are crushed. A kilogram of raw materials is poured with two liters of water and boiled over low heat. After 10-15 minutes, the prepared product is diluted with water in a ratio of 10 to 1. The finished solution is poured into a compost pit.

Rules for use in the garden

In order for potato fertilizer to be well absorbed by the plant, you need to know some of the nuances of its proper use:

1. For feeding, it is better to use dried peelings, infusion or flour from them.
2. Freshly cut potato peelings are used only for pre-winter fertilization of the soil under the bush. They are not suitable for spring and summer feeding, because... can lead to the germination of potato eyes, which will have a bad effect on the development of the plant’s rhizome.
3. When fertilizing the soil with dry, non-crushed raw materials, you need to know that it is not applied to the very roots, not left open on the surface, but must be dug in.
4. Peels from boiled potatoes are not used as fertilizer.

How to lay dry potato peelings

Dry cleaning is laid at a distance from the bush, within a radius of 0.4-0.7 m around it, along the entire perimeter of the crown projection. They can be placed either on the surface with the obligatory subsequent dripping, or in pre-made grooves. Raw materials are not placed in the trunk circle, under the root, the burial depth is 15-20 cm. To prevent dry organic matter from taking away the moisture it loves so much from the currant, moisten the peelings with water, and then water the entire plant. This article will tell you how to feed currants in the spring for a good harvest.

Infusion

To prepare a concentrated infusion, you can use dried, frozen and freshly cut potato skins. The recipes are simple:

1. From dried potato peels. To do this, pour a 1-liter jar of dry cleaning into 10 liters of boiling water, let it brew for 5-6 days and use it for spring/summer watering.
2. Freshly cut peelings (can be crushed) are filled 1/3 of a suitable container, which is then filled 2/3 with boiling water and covered for infusion. The mixture must be stirred periodically. After 3-4 days, when a characteristic smell appears, the infusion can be used. To do this, add 1 liter of infusion to 10 liters of water and water the plants.

Before using ready-made infusions from potato peelings, they should first be strained to remove the skins.

Gruel

To prepare the pulp, use: dried peel and hot water. In this case, a layer of potato pulp is alternated with layers of soil poured into the hole.

The required container volume is filled with raw materials and filled with water. Cover the container with a lid or dark film, let it brew for 10-14 days, stirring from time to time, and then use it.

It is better to add the nutritional composition when planting a seedling in open ground, directly into the hole under the root. This organic matter can be used to water the plant at the root during growth and fruit set. To do this, the pulp used is filtered and diluted with water in a ratio of 1:2. This material will tell you about the treatment of currants with Bordeaux mixture in the spring.

Flour

The most universal type of fertilizer that quickly decomposes in the soil. To prepare it, take well-dried raw materials and grind them into powder. This can be done with a meat grinder, blender, or coffee grinder. After receiving the flour, it is scattered on paper or cloth for 1-2 days to dry. You can store the powder in fabric bags in a cool, not damp place. Flour from peelings can be sprinkled under the root of a bush, nutritious pastes can be prepared from it, and dissolved in water for foliar feeding.

How to apply fertilizing correctly?

Currants have a superficial root system. Therefore, fertilizers are applied directly under the bush. In this case, a certain sequence of actions is followed:

1. Dig a ditch around the bush. The diameter of the resulting circle should match the size of the currant crown. The depth of the groove is about 20 cm.
2. Sprinkle potato powder or pour infusion onto the bottom of the trench.
3. Fill the ditch with soil.

This fertilizer is also successfully used when planting currant seedlings. To do this, it is placed in a hole prepared for the bush.

Advice from experienced gardeners

Experienced gardeners recommend several more techniques using potato peelings:

1. Before planting the crop, add some potato peels to the hole. This will stimulate the growth and development of young currants.
2. After the plant bears fruit and the fall begins to prepare for hibernation, remove dry leaves, branches and make a small depression around the bush. Place potato peels in it, sprinkle earth on top and cover with dry grass. The peelings will warm the currants, this will help them overwinter easier.

Pest Control

Potato peelings for currants are also used to get rid of pests. Traps with skins are installed immediately after planting. They can be made in several ways:

1. Take a container with a capacity of 200 - 300 ml. A tin can, an old ladle or a glass will do. The main thing is that there are no holes in its walls. Mix potato peelings with a portion of honey or jam. Dig the container near the bush so that the edge of the jar is at ground level. A day later, the container is pulled out along with the pests that got into it.
2. Fresh potato peelings are strung on a wire. One end is dug into the ground, and the other is left on the surface. After two to three days, it is thrown away along with the adhering insects.

Use caution when setting traps. The container and wire easily damage the delicate currant roots.

Potato peelings are a simple and safe way to feed currants. By following all the rules for making fertilizer, you will get a healthy plant that will delight you with berries the size of cherries.

What are the benefits of potato peelings?

No one knows who and at what moment first came up with the idea of ​​pouring potato peelings under a fruit bush, but the fact remains that many gardeners who hastened to follow this example note that currants, raspberries or gooseberries fed in this way look “healthier” than their potato-deprived relatives. Why is this happening?

It is believed that the beneficial vitamins and microelements contained in the peelings, for example, ascorbic acid, potassium or magnesium, contribute to this.

In fact, potato peels “feed” not the bush itself, but microorganisms living in the soil, which make the chemical elements in the soil more accessible.

Let's take phosphorus for example. A deficiency of this substance has an extremely negative effect on the quality and quantity of fruits. Typically, the soil may contain a sufficient amount of phosphorus, but the plant will have no chance of absorbing it, since the phosphorus in the soil is in a form inaccessible to it.

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Fertilizing with potato peelings helps stimulate the development of phosphate-mobilizing bacteria, microorganisms that make phosphorus more accessible for absorption.

This means that by introducing potatoes and their peelings into the soil where currants and other berry bushes grow, we are not adding new useful substances, but are activating the chemical elements that are already contained in the soil.

This is why summer residents’ impressions of potato feeding vary so much. Positive dynamics after adding potato peels indicate that there are substances in the soil, they are simply not in the form that the plant actually needs. The lack of dynamics will indicate that the poor health of the plant is due to something else.

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Some tips from the professionals

Potato peelings are usually used as fertilizer, but experienced gardeners know: this is an excellent way to prevent the appearance of pests. Recommended cooking sequence:

• cleaning is placed in a container 1/3 full;
• add jam or sugar syrup for another 1/3 part, mix;
• make a hole near the currant bush and send the container with the mixture there;
• After a day, remove the caught insects from the syrup, and continue to use the product.

Another piece of advice from old-timers is a warning: under no circumstances should you place fresh or dry potato peelings on the ground, so as not to attract rodents to the area. The material used is well dried or steamed.

Deadlines for depositing

Currants need feeding throughout the growing season. Fertilization in spring, summer and autumn is carried out in several ways for different purposes. The advantage of fertilizing from potato peelings over chemicals is its complete environmental safety, the possibility of applying it during the flowering and fruiting period of berry bushes.

in spring

Fertilizing is carried out in late April-early May, during the period of bud break. Currant bushes are watered with an infusion made from dried or frozen potato peelings daily for 10-13 days. Fertilizing provides the crop with nutrients and stimulates the formation of strong shoots.

Applying fertilizer in the form of a slurry requires caution - fertilizing can burn the delicate root hairs of the plant. The superficial root system of currants is usually located within the projection of the crown of the bush. Taking this parameter into account, grooves 20 cm deep are made along the perimeter of the bush, filled with a nutrient mixture or flour from potato peelings and sealed with soil.

In the spring, currants respond well to the addition of compost based on potato peels into the root zone of the bush. Compost is an effective and safe fertilizer that provides the plant with nutrients in the quantities it needs.

In summer

In June-July, currant root feeding is carried out with an infusion of dried or frozen potato peelings. The first time fertilizer is applied during the formation of the ovaries, the second time during the ripening of the berries, the third time a week before harvest.

Each time, the bushes are watered for three days in a row, using 1 liter of fertilizer for each plant. Potassium and starch contained in the peel increase the sugar content and size of the berries.

The fertilizer works more effectively after the fermentation process is completed along with chopped grass and dry rye bread.

in autumn

Compost prepared from dried potato peels is successfully used as autumn feeding for currants. Fertilizer increases the plant's immunity and serves as mulch to protect the root system from cold weather.

Compost made from fresh or frozen potato peelings is not used in the fall. It contains nitrogen, which can cause secondary shoot growth.

Potato skins contain many beneficial substances

Before you learn how to fertilize currant peelings, I’ll tell you why they are useful for plants. Potato peels contain a diverse amount of useful elements for growing a rich and high-quality currant crop.

Chemical composition: