Currant Natalie

Natali is a popular and promising red currant variety. Differs in frost resistance and strong immunity to major diseases. Produces crops regularly even with minimal maintenance. Berries are used universally: for the preparation of compotes, jelly, sweets, freezing.

Received on the basis of the All-Russian Institute of Selection and Technology of Horticulture and Nursery by breeders N. K. Smolyaninova, V. M. Litvinova. Included in the State Register in 1991.

Vigorous bush up to 150 cm high, medium spreading, powerful and wide up to 150 cm, densely leafy. The root system is developed, the roots are long and strong. The branches are smooth and straight: young ones are green with redness, then they become lignified gray-brown. The leaf is medium-sized, five-lobed with a wavy jagged edge, leathery, wrinkled, green with a bluish tinge. The flowers are large, cupped, reddish, collected in clusters of 9-10 pcs. The plant tends to grow very strongly with age. It is allowed to cultivate this currant with new agrotechnical methods: on a trellis and on a trunk.

Small ones weigh 0.7-1 g, round, blood-red, small seeds. The skin is dense, not damaged during transportation. Stored well, dry berries lie in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks.

Sweet and sour. Contains sugar - 6.6%, ascorbic acid - 40 mg per 100 g. Tasting score 4 points.

It is considered a type of medium ripening, begins to bear fruit from mid-July to August. Harvest even after ripening does not crumble. Fruiting for about 10 years, after 12 years it ceases altogether.

About 3.6-4 kg are removed from one bush.

Approved for planting throughout Russia, except for the northern, Lower Volga and Far Eastern regions.

This is a self-fertile currant, no other pollinators are required for the crop to appear.

Saplings are chosen with a height of 25-45 cm, strong with 1-2 straight branches and 3-6 strong intact roots, braided with many adventitious ones. It is better to purchase planting material in special nurseries or from trusted gardeners.

The culture prefers well-lit places, withstands slight shading, but does not tolerate drafts. A place along a deaf fence is perfect. Do not plant in lowlands or in areas with close groundwater. Prefers black earth, loamy, sandy loam substrates with neutral acidity - up to 7.5.

The optimal time for planting is late April, early May.Can be planted at the end of September. The soil must have a temperature of at least +14 degrees. The soil must first be dug up and fertilized: for this, a mixture of humus, wood ash and superphosphate is introduced. The holes are made 50 cm wide and 40 cm deep. A distance of 1 m is left between the holes.

A mixture of compost and humus with the addition of potassium sulfate is poured into the holes. The roots can be dipped in a liquid clay solution before planting. The root collar is buried in the ground by 3-4 cm. The seedlings are placed at an angle, covered with half of the earth and watered, the second watering is carried out immediately after planting. On average, about 1 bucket is poured under one seedling.

The plant does not tolerate drought and waterlogging. In the spring, before bud break, it needs abundant watering with settled water at a temperature of about 80 degrees. With a lack of moisture, the ovaries can crumble, and the crop can be chopped. For 1 sq. m, about 25 liters are poured, preferably into specially dug grooves at a distance of 30 cm from the root collar. When setting and ripening berries: from the beginning of June to the beginning of August, watered so that the soil is wet 30 cm deep, then it is loosened. After leaf fall, you can carry out water-charging irrigation.

Top dressing increases the yield of currants: 10 g of urea is introduced under the bush in April to a depth of 30 cm, in June 0.3 mullein or bird droppings are dissolved in 5 liters of water, watered. In summer, on a cloudy day, they are sprayed with a solution: 2 g of boric acid and 5 g of manganese sulfate are taken for 5 liters of water. In the fall, 5 kg of compost, 200 g of wood ash are introduced; instead of organic matter, you can add superphosphate - 100 g and potassium salt - 50 g.

Pruning is recommended in spring and autumn. The branches that thicken the inner part of the crown are cut off, leaving only 15-20. Remove dry and frozen ones. The tops of the shoots are not pruned: there are fruit buds. Old branches after 6-8 years of fruiting are removed completely.

After planting, they are thinned out after 1-2 years. In the 5th year, old unpromising shoots are removed, leaving only young ones. On the 7th, the bush is cut from above by almost 2/3.

Differs in good immunity to powdery mildew, anthracnose, columnar rust. In case of signs of the disease, they are treated with a 1% solution of copper sulfate (from anthracnose, septoria) or fungicides (from rust or powdery mildew).Of the pests, you should not be afraid of the red-gall aphid, it can be attacked by moths, caterpillars, spider mites. Narrow-bodied goldfish, kidney moth, gooseberry sawfly can attack. When the first signs of pests appear, the damaged branches are cut and destroyed, the earth around the plant is dug up, and marigolds, marigolds, and garlic are planted in the aisles. The leaves are sprinkled with ash, sprayed with wormwood infusion - 800 g of dry grass is poured with 10 liters of water and insisted for 3-4 hours, then boiled for 30 minutes, filtered, diluted in another 10 liters. Insecticides are used only in advanced cases: in the spring before the beginning of the growing season and repeated in late autumn.

It has high winter hardiness, tolerates temperatures from -34 to -40 degrees. To protect against freezing in the northern regions, it is recommended to mulch with a layer of manure mixed with silt in equal proportions. The mulch is laid 5 cm thick in a radius of 70 cm around the bush. In summer, Natalie's currants withstand cold snaps perfectly. It grows and bears fruit best in the middle lane.

Many gardeners praise Natalie for her excellent taste and high yield. Among the disadvantages is the tendency to grow in width. They note the simplicity of growing this type of currant, unpretentiousness, resistance to diseases and pests. It is very profitable to grow the Natalie variety: when preserving berries, they require less sugar than other red currant varieties.