Currently, a variety of fruit and berry crops can be seen in garden plots. The names of some of them are not always known to gardeners. One such crop is the sunberry. Gardeners often argue about the culture of a plant. Sunberry belongs to the nightshade crops. Many perceive the plant as a weed and throw it out of their garden. In general, the sunberry has its fans and opponents. Some people love the plant for its beneficial properties, while others perceive it only as a weed. If you are among the first, then you will be interested in our article. In it, we want to talk about sunberry, planting and caring for it, and other nuances.
Description of culture
Sunberry can rightly be called a controversial culture. Some people don't take it seriously at all. Sunberry (photo is given in the article) is a hybrid culture belonging to the nightshade family. In our country, it is often found in vegetable gardens, but, as a rule, housewives pull out a plant like any other.weed. In fact, the plant is a perennial. It was obtained by crossing tall nightshade with blueberries.
The natural habitat of the plant is the territory of North America and Canada. It was here in 1905 that the first sample of the sunny sunberry was obtained by a breeder and scientist of American origin. Culture is rightly considered the closest relative of tomatoes and potatoes. In the people, it is often called Canadian blueberries or blueberries forte. It is worth saying that sunberries have nothing in common with wild berries, except for their appearance. People often call the plant crow or garden nightshade.
Despite the numerous useful properties of sunberry, the berry is very rare in the gardens of Russia and Asia. Recently, however, the attention of gardeners is increasingly riveted to unique crops that give a good harvest. Therefore, information about sunberry, planting and caring for it is relevant for readers.
The plant is considered a herbaceous perennial. However, in cold and temperate climates, it is grown as an annual. In recent years, the culture has perfectly adapted to growing in central Russia. She tolerates winters well and gives excellent harvests.
Useful properties
Gardeners most often grow a crop for its beneficial properties. The berries contain many minerals: magnesium, calcium, iron, sodium. It is also worth noting that there are a lot of vitamins C andP, pectin and tannins. Due to the high content of carotene, berries help to remove toxins in case of poisoning. Manganese helps to strengthen the immune system and has a positive effect on the process of hematopoiesis. Berries are useful for treating joints, they improve eyesight and stimulate digestion. They also have antimicrobial activity. With their help, you can normalize the pressure.
Methods of reproduction
The he alth benefits of sunberry deserve the most attention. Planting and caring for a crop is a simple matter. If you are attracted by the healing properties of the berry, you can start growing it. If there are already such plants in the garden, then you will get new ones even from self-sowing. After the berries fall, their seeds tend to germinate.
So, let's figure out how to grow sunberries?
You can get a plant from seeds. This is the only way that is the most convenient. Experienced gardeners recommend not sowing seeds in open ground. The fact is that the growing season of the plant is long, so there is a high probability that the seedlings will not have time to grow up and give a good harvest. Therefore, it makes sense to plant sunberry seedlings.
When should seeds be sown?
If you decide to start growing a crop, you will be interested in the question of when to sow sunberries. For seedlings, seeds are best sown at the end of February. If you didn't make it, don't fret. You can do it in March too. Before starting the procedure, it is necessary to carefully prepare the planting material. This will increasegermination percentage.
Sunberry seeds have a very thick shell that prevents rapid germination. Therefore, before sowing, you can carefully cut each seed or pierce each of them. But at the same time, it is necessary to act carefully so as not to damage the nucleolus. After the seeds must be soaked in the usual solution of potassium permanganate. This will speed up the germination process. Seeds should be in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for at least 30-40 minutes. After planting material is usually washed in running water and dried. Prepared seeds can be sown in boxes.
Sunberry: planting and care
After processing the seed, it can be sown immediately or allowed to hatch. If you are interested in the latter option, then you should place the seeds in a damp cloth or napkin, which must be placed in a sunny place. It is best to put it on the windowsill. The seeds will hatch in a few days.
After that, they can be sown in the soil. While the seeds are hatching, you can prepare the planting containers. To do this, you can use plastic containers or wooden boxes. In general, any container will do. A layer of drainage must be placed at the bottom. It is very important, because in its absence, the seeds will begin to rot from an excess of moisture.
Peat cannot be used for planting. The containers are filled with soil and moistened slightly. And only after that the seeds are sown. However, they cannot be placed at a depth of more than 0.5 cm.
Crates with cropsplaced in a sunny place. From above they must be covered with glass. Seeds are quite enough if the temperature in the room is around 22-24 degrees. It is necessary to water the soil 3-4 times a week.
Sunberry seeds (photo shown in the article) germinate for a very long time. Typically, the process takes three months. After the appearance of several leaves, seedlings must be dived into pots or cups. The best way to do this is by transshipment. Seedlings can be transplanted into open ground when five or six strong leaves appear on it. As a rule, this happens in late May and early July.
Choosing a landing site
Before we start talking about how to grow sunberries in the open field, I would like to draw attention to the fact that the culture is very unpretentious. And yet, in the process of planting, you must follow all the steps.
First, you need to choose a good place that will contribute to a solid harvest. Culture prefers light, open and warm areas. It is very important that the chosen place is protected from drafts and winds.
It is worth paying attention to what predecessors grew before on the site. Gardeners recommend planting Canadian blueberries after cucumbers or zucchini. But after potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, planting sunberries is categorically not advised. Plants begin to dry out quickly and bloom poorly. Gardeners prefer to grow forte blueberries in the garden between other plants.
Soil selection
As we mentioned earlier, the culture is easy to care for. sunberrywon't cause much trouble. But before planting, it is necessary to choose a suitable soil, because the harvest depends on it. Sunberry loves loose and light soil in which moisture does not stagnate. In addition, the root system must receive oxygen. The plant does not tolerate acidic soil, so peat should not be used. If you have a peat area and there are no other options, lime or dolomite flour must be added before planting. It is better to plant seedlings on a hill so that there is no stagnation of moisture. Before planting, the soil should be dug up and loosened. This will help you get a bountiful harvest.
Landing
It is possible to plant sunberry plants in open ground (the photo is given in the article) when the frosts are completely gone. As a rule, this happens at the end of May. A piece of land is leveled with a rake and holes are formed for planting. They should correspond to the size of the roots along with a clod of earth. When preparing the holes, it is important to maintain the distance between rows and plants. It is necessary to leave 80-100 cm between the holes. The bushes will grow very quickly and interfere with each other.
Before planting, the hole is abundantly filled with water. At the bottom of each hole, you need to fill in a little sand or gravel, which will serve as drainage.
Seedlings must be watered before transplanting. This will allow them to be easily removed from the pots. The plant is removed along with an earthen clod and placed in a hole. From above, the roots are neatly sprinkled with earth. After the plant needs to be watered. The trunk circle is usually mulched to prevent evaporation.
Nuances of care
Ease of plant care is a big plus of the culture. All gardeners prefer to use unpretentious plants. Sunberries are classified as drought-resistant crops. Such plants do not need intensive watering. It is worth watering the soil only if the weather is hot and there are no doges. It is necessary to focus on the top layer of soil. If it's dry, it's watering time.
It is recommended to loosen the bud around the plants and remove weeds. And for mulching, you can use humus.
In the process of planting, manure must be applied to the soil. In the future, during the growing season, it is necessary to make three top dressings. For this, mullein infusion and mineral fertilizers are used.
Experienced gardeners believe that in the middle of flowering it is necessary to remove half of the buds so that all the forces of the plant go to the formation of existing ovaries. During the ripening of the fruit, the branches begin to descend to the ground. In this case, you should take care of the props. Sunberry has excellent disease resistance, so there are never problems with plants.
Harvesting
It is necessary to pick berries only after they are fully ripe. The harvest period is in September. The taste of the berries is very mediocre. Therefore, they are rarely eaten fresh. Jam is made from berries or juice is obtained, which is mixed with lemon or orange juice.
Some gardeners believe that harvesting is best afterfirst frosts. Berries in this case lose their astringency. At the end of October, sunberries have a more pleasant and sweet taste.
Canadian blueberries don't rot on bushes, so you don't have to rush to pick them. But after being removed from the bush, the berries are not stored for a long time. The best way to prepare sunberries is to freeze them in the oven. This method of harvesting improves the quality of berries.
Features of the sunberry plant
Planting and care (the photo is given in the article) for the culture are simple. Therefore, it is quite possible to grow it in the garden. The plant has its own characteristics. It is worth noting that the sunberry blooms for a very long time. The process begins in June and lasts until mid-autumn, so cute bushes look very attractive. The flowers have white petals. Outwardly, they resemble stars.
After flowering, the ovaries begin to develop abundantly on the bushes. Outwardly, the berries resemble blueberries. In diameter, they reach no more than two centimeters. The fruits are black. Their flesh also has a rich purple hue. Berries are usually collected in clusters and are somewhat reminiscent of cherry tomatoes. They mature for a very long time. You can judge their readiness by the color of the skin - it should turn black. The uniqueness of the plant lies in the fact that it blooms and bears fruit continuously throughout the season. That is why on each bush there are berries and flowers at the same time. Blueberry forte has a high yield. From one plant you can collect 2-3 liters of berries. A big harvest can be obtained only in the first year. Therefore, in our regions it is necessaryuse as an annual plant. A huge advantage of the plant is its resistance to ailments.
If you want to taste fresh sunberries, it is recommended to scald them with boiling water. This will make them more delicious. Most often, compote or jam is prepared from berries.
