Blackberry is a shrub that easily tolerates drought: its roots are deep in the ground, so they usually have enough moisture. But during flowering and ripening of berries, water is needed several times more, otherwise the fruits will not be so juicy.
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How to water properly
In order for the shrub to give a bountiful harvest of sweet and juicy berries, you need to follow a few simple rules when watering.
- You can water the blackberries early in the morning or late in the evening: this is more likely that moisture will reach the roots, and not evaporate from the surface of the soil under the hot rays of the sun.
- Water temperature for irrigation is from 23 to 25 ºC.
- The water must be settled.
- A good solution for blackberries is drip irrigation: the water will definitely not be cold, but moisture can evenly get to each bush, the soil will be constantly moistened.
- If the weather is rainy, then excess watering can harm the shrub: the roots can rot, a fungus appears, the plant can even die from an excess of moisture.
Watering frequency depends on climatic conditions. In the south and in hot weather, water should be done once to twice a week. The volume of water per bush is a bucket of 10 liters, if the plant is young - 6-7 liters. If the summer is not too hot (middle zone of Russia), then the blackberries are watered once every 10-14 days, if the seedlings are young - a little more often, about once a week or every 10 days. The volume of water is the same as for the south.
Mulching is a convenient method that allows you to retain moisture in the soil longer than usual: the frequency of watering is reduced by 3-4 times. The layer of mulch should be no more than 10-15 centimeters, otherwise various pests may settle in it or a fungal infection may develop.
How to feed properly while watering
To increase yields and make the berries sweeter and juicier, it will be effective to combine watering with plant feeding. If the soil is good, then it is enough to use only organic fertilizers, if there is little nutrients, then nitrogen-containing fertilizers are applied every season, and complex fertilizers - once a couple years.
Top dressing during planting
If the soil is nutritious enough, then there is no point in actively applying top dressing. It will be enough to feed the blackberries with organic matter: 10 kg of manure will be needed for a bucket of water (10 liters). Mix these two components in a bucket, insist for a day and water the soil on which young blackberry bushes will grow.
Top dressing for the formation of healthy ovaries
To make young bushes grow stronger and greener faster, you can use nitrogen fertilizers. The solution is used for watering once every three to four years. A bucket of water with a volume of 10 liters requires about 50 g of nitrogen-containing fertilizer. Each bush needs to be watered; 2-3 liters of the mixture are needed for one plant.
Some summer residents water the blackberries with sugar syrup or a solution with yeast to make the berries juicier and sweeter. In fact, this method is ineffective.
What to do before feeding
Before you can feed your blackberries, you need to prepare the soil. The root system of blackberries is deep, so it is better to loosen the soil so that the nutrients penetrate as far as possible into the soil.
Do you grow blackberries?
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