Lingonberry, description of the plant. Conditions necessary for growing a crop. Features of planting and care of lingonberries. Harvest features. How to organize the planting of lingonberries on an industrial scale
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Introduction
Lingonberry berries contrast sharply with their bright color against the background of green foliage.
Lingonberry is an evergreen shrub of the Heather family. The Latin name for lingonberry Vaccinium vitis-idaea is translated as "vine from Mount Ida". This raises some questions, because, despite the fact that the mentioned mountain is located on the island of Crete, none of the ancient scientists mentions lingonberries.
Biologically, lingonberries belong to shrubs - they are undersized (no more than 10-15 cm in height) plant forms that do not have a main trunk with strongly branching strong or even lignified shoots. The difference between shrubs and full-fledged bushes is that they have buds and root shoots (actually designed to endure unfavorable periods, that is, provide plants with perennial life) are on shoots lying on the ground, or are located close to it.
In its natural form, lingonberries grow almost everywhere in forests and tundra. Often it is found in peat bogs, mountain meadows and also in mountain tundra. The frost resistance of the plant is quite high (zone 4, bushes in winter without shelter tolerate temperatures down to -30 ° C).
Their appearance attracts birds and animals, which facilitates the transfer of seeds over long distances.
Traditionally, the culture was harvested from the wild. The first attempts to "domesticate" lingonberries were made starting from the second attempt in the 18th century. But a real breakthrough was achieved about 60 years ago, when agricultural technology was developed that made it possible not only to grow lingonberries in gardens, but also to increase crop yields 20-30 times compared to its natural indicators. At present, with proper care, it is possible to obtain more than 50 kg of berries per season from one hundred square meters of cultivated lingonberries.
The article deals with the issues of planting and caring for lingonberries at home, as well as ways to increase crop yields, allowing you to get closer to industrial indicators.
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On the shoots, the flowers are collected in racemose inflorescences from 10 to 20 pieces in each.
Cowberry has a creeping rhizome and rising shoots 10-20 cm high. The rhizome is located horizontally in the near-surface zone.
The roots of lingonberries are densely braided with the mycelium of a fungus that lives in symbiosis with the plant. In whatever conditions lingonberries grow, they always coexist with the fungus, the spores of which are contained inside the seeds of the plant.
The leaves of the plant are arranged alternately on the shoots. They have a leathery texture and a slightly elongated elliptical shape.
The length of the sheet is from 5 mm to 3 cm, the width is not more than 1.5 cm. The color of the leaves is dark green above and lighter below. On the underside of the leaf there are small dimples that can accumulate water.
Fruits, which are red spherical berries, can have a diameter of up to 18 mm
They are equipped with short pedicels. Flowers bisexual, four-leaved. The petal size is 5-6 mm. Flowering begins in late spring and lasts 2 weeks.
They contain several seeds and a relatively large amount of pulp. The taste of hearths is sweet and sour. Ripening occurs in August-September.
The plant is a real long-liver. Each rhizome lives from 15 to 25 years, and the dead parts are regularly replaced by new ones. Cases of the existence of lingonberry plots with a single root system that have existed for more than 100 years have been recorded.
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The use of lingonberries
Open cranberry pie with sour cream
Blueberry berries are widely used in cooking. They contain up to 10% sugars, due to which lingonberries are used for making jams, jams, compotes, etc. Despite the relatively high concentration of sugars, the calorie content of berries is about 43 kcal per 100 g, which is slightly higher than that of blueberries (35 kcal), but less than that of raspberries (53 kcal).
Cowberry pies, various sweet and sour sauces and the legendary lingonberry water are popular. (a cold drink made from lingonberries and honey, obtained by infusion for several days).
The healing properties of lingonberries are due to the vitamins and minerals included in it. Most of all, the berries contain vitamins A and C. Of the trace elements, chromium, potassium and magnesium are present.
Abundant drinking of a decoction of lingonberry leaves is used as an adjuvant therapy in the treatment of colds.
The substances contained in the berries and leaves (in particular, benzoic acid) have a disinfectant, antiseptic and diuretic effect. In addition, lingonberries are recommended to be used to increase the acidity of the stomach and disrupt the cardiovascular system.
In addition, lingonberries in various forms are recommended to be used as a preventive measure in winter, to avoid the consequences associated with beriberi.
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Breeding work on culture began about a hundred years ago.
Currently, there are about a dozen varieties of lingonberries recommended for growing in a country house or a personal plot. Thanks to the work of breeders, unlike their wild ancestor, garden lingonberries have a larger berry size and better taste.
Below are descriptions and photographs of the most popular varieties recommended for planting in the garden.
Coral
Coral
One of the old remontant varieties of European selection, obtained in 1969 in Germany. It is considered the first domesticated variety capable of producing two harvests per season. Blooms for the first time in May, bears fruit in July. The second flowering begins immediately after fruiting, the berries ripen by the end of September.
This variety of lingonberry has an extraordinary appearance. (the crown is spherical in shape with a diameter of up to 30 cm), therefore it is often used as an ornamental plant. The berries are small in size, but due to two fruitings, the yield is maintained at a sufficient level.
Mazovia
Mazovia
A large-fruited variety with an average length of shoots (up to 20 cm). The crane of the plant is creeping, densely branching. The leaves have a convex shape. Due to its density, it is often used as a groundcover.
The mass of fruits reaches 0.5 g, with sizes of 15-17 mm. Skin color is rose red. The taste is sweet with medium sourness.
Kostroma pink
Kostroma pink
A variety of domestic selection, bred in 1995. The bush is medium tall, up to 20 cm in height. It has medium-sized leaves with a well-marked gloss.
The brushes consist of 4-5 berries with a diameter of 10-12 mm, weighing up to 0.5 g. The skin has a pink color. The taste is sweet and sour, the aroma is almost absent. Kostroma pink ripens in mid-August. The yield is relatively low - up to 380 g per 1 sq. m.
Ruby
Ruby
A late-ripening variety that bears fruit at the end of August. It is not self-fertile, that is, for high yields it requires the presence of several bushes of other species on the site. It was withdrawn in 1998, at the same time it was entered into the State Register for the North-Western region.
The height of the plant reaches 20 cm. The bush is compressed, the shoots are of medium thickness. The foliage of the stems is dense, which allows the use of the culture as a ground cover plant. The size of the berries reaches 12-15 mm, the skin is dark red or burgundy. The taste is sweet and sour. The yields of the Rubin variety reach 970 g per 1 sq. m.
Red Pearl
Red Pearl
The tall Red Pearl variety was bred in Holland specifically for commercial cultivation. Its main advantages are self-fertility and the ability to produce two crops during the season.
The height of the shrub is quite large - up to 30 cm. At the same time, the bush has a wide spreading crown, which should be taken into account when choosing a planting scheme. Fruit size - up to 12 mm, their color - burgundy. The stems of the plant are densely dotted with berries.
A feature of the variety is high winter hardiness and resistance to return frosts. Red Pearl bears fruit in late summer - early autumn.
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Selection and preparation of a site for planting lingonberries
The preparation of the soil mixture in this case can be carried out directly in the formed depression.
To grow lingonberries in a garden plot, you should know the physiology of the plant. Culture prefers sunny and well-lit places. Planting a crop in a site where it will be dark does not make sense. The soil at the planting site should be poor and dry.
Another important requirement for the site is the absence of slopes, lowlands and pits. Simply put, the area where it is planned to grow garden lingonberries should be flat. All this is necessary in order to avoid the possibility of flooding individual beds, because, unlike their closest relatives - cranberries and bearberries, lingonberries require metered watering with a moderate amount of water. Wind protection is not required.
To ensure such conditions in summer cottages, it is necessary not only to level their surface, but also use a special soil mixture.
In some cases, complete isolation of the soil mixture on the site is used by creating a separate container or forming a trench in which a plastic film is laid so that the lingonberry soil does not come into contact with the soil on the site
If the composition of the soil is different, you will have to make some efforts to provide the plant with the necessary conditions for garden planting.
To do this, the following components should be added to the dug up soil, taken in equal proportions:
- peat
- sawdust
- needles
- sand
A lot of components will be required, because the mass of each of them must be equal to the amount of dug up soil. Their introduction will lead to an increase in the height of the site by about 20 cm. You can grow a berry in this way, but this is somewhat inconvenient, in particular, it will be difficult to acidify the soil in such a design.
In order for the plot for lingonberries to be flush with the rest of the garden, it is recommended to do it in a recess, having previously removed the top layer of soil and transferred to a separate place. The more fertile top layer may be useful for other purposes.
Garden colloidal sulfur is sold in different packaging from a few grams to 5 liters
Additional mineral or organic fertilizers do not need to be applied, since peat contains a sufficient amount of nutrients. The only component that is required for growing lingonberries is sulfur. Its application rate is 50 g per 1 sq. m.
Usually a plot for growing lingonberries is located separately from the rest of the garden. Moreover, the concept of "separately" should be taken literally.
Such isolation of lingonberries is necessary so that soils of different composition do not affect each other. For other crops, the substrate will be too aggressive, at the same time, without isolation, the acidity of the lingonberry soil will constantly decrease due to its erosion. But even such isolation is not enough to provide the necessary soil acidity.
In the event that a decision is made not to isolate the site, it must be remembered that this is permissible only in those places where the groundwater level is not higher than 40 cm. But even with this design of the beds around the perimeter of the site, it is recommended to install shields made of plastic, slate or simple boards to a depth of about 30 cm.
After the soil has been prepared, start planting.
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As soon as moisture is absorbed into the substrate, the surface should be mulched.
Properly planting lingonberries is best in the off-season - a month before flowering or 1-2 weeks after harvest (respectively, at the end of April or mid-September). For planting, one- or two-year-old seedlings are used, which are placed in shallow (up to 2 cm) holes. It is believed that spring planting will allow seedlings to adapt perfectly to a new place, which will positively affect the health of young plants.
Depending on the goals pursued by the gardener (purely fruitful culture or partially fruitful, partially decorative) choose different distances between the holes.
In the first case, plants are planted according to the scheme 30x30 cm or 30x40 cm. In the second case, 20x20 cm. Decorative planting does not provide the desired yield, but allows you to create a solid carpet of lingonberries, which has a very spectacular appearance. Already in the first year, the plant begins to grow actively and the crowns of the bushes quickly grow together, forming a dense coating.
After the plant is planted, it is necessary to compact the site and carry out its watering.
The best option for mulch would be a crumb of the bark of coniferous trees (spruce, pine). You can simply fill the area with chopped pine needles. The height of the mulching layer is from 2 to 5 cm, depending on the growth of seedlings. Mulching will not only protect the topsoil and provide protection from weeds, but it will also provide some additional acidification of the site.
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Lingonberries are relatively undemanding in care
A plant predominantly growing in the wild, ubiquitous and highly immune, theoretically can grow without any additional procedures. But, since the gardener needs a certain level of productivity, lingonberries need some care.
Watering
Cowberry care - watering
Cowberry watering is carried out moderately, because the culture does not like waterlogging. The roots of the plant are located close enough to the soil, so its top layer should be slightly moist. The approximate frequency of watering is once a week. The best time for this procedure is in the evening, just before sunset.
Since water leads to deoxidation of the soil, once every 3-4 weeks, it is recommended to water lingonberries with an acidified solution (1 tablespoon of citric acid per 5 liters of water).
top dressing
Double superphosphate
The substrate in which the crop is grown is quite nutritious in itself and the supply of useful substances is enough for several years. Therefore, fertilization does not make sense. However, once a year, about a month before flowering, it is recommended to feed lingonberries with a fertilizer mixture (superphosphate + potassium sulfate) in microdoses (2-3 g per 1 sq. M).
pruning
Pruning lingonberries
When gardening in open ground, lingonberries develop quite quickly and in a few years fill almost all the free space around them. If you do not limit its growth, the bush may die in 10-12 years.
Therefore, once every 7-8 years, it is recommended to carry out anti-aging pruning of lingonberries. To do this, in early spring, all shoots on the bush should be shortened with a pruner. It will be most correct to prune in such a way that 4-6 leaves remain on the shoots. Often, anti-aging pruning is combined with a medicinal collection of lingonberry leaves.
Shelter for the winter
Shelter for the winter lingonberries
Despite the fact that lingonberries tolerate the cold season relatively well (most plant varieties can withstand frosts down to -30 ° C), in regions with little snow it is recommended to cover the plant with at least a minimal layer of heat insulator.
Usually, it is enough to cover the beds with one layer of agrofibre. If there is a lot of snow in winter, the culture does not need shelter.
Protection against diseases and pests
leaf roller
Lingonberry itself has a very good protection against pests and diseases. In cultural plantings, the probability of diseases is almost zero. However, for the prevention of fungi, it is recommended twice a season (one month before and one month after flowering) to spray the culture with copper-containing preparations (for example, Bordeaux mixture) in low concentration.
Sometimes the plant can be attacked by insects, in particular, a leafworm. It is recommended to periodically inspect the bushes in order to identify pests. If they are found, broad-spectrum insecticides (for example, Karbofos) are used.
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Photo of a bucket-harvester for collecting lingonberries
Berry picking can be done by hand, but it will be too slow and inconvenient. Therefore, in order to collect lingonberries, various devices are used. One of them is a bucket harvester, which is also used for picking berries in the wild. It is a scoop with plastic or steel spikes to separate the berries from the stems.
This tool is very easy to use - holding it by the handle, it is carried out 5-10 cm from the ground, approximately at the level of half the height of the bushes. The berries are easily separated, while the leaves practically do not fall into the bucket. The traditional picking time is the end of summer.
In addition, in addition to berries, lingonberry leaves are also harvested for their use in medicinal purposes. This procedure is carried out even before flowering begins, since at the end of spring and summer all useful substances leave the leaves for flowers and berries.
The harvesting of leaves is carried out manually, giving preference to young plates that have formed this year. In this case, you should not cut off more than 1/3 of all the leaves on the bush.
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Cowberry seedling obtained by cuttings and planted in spring
Reproduction of lingonberries can be carried out without problems on your own. Like most berry crops, it can be implemented in the following ways:
- cuttings (stem or root)
- dividing the bush
- with seeds
The latter method is rarely used, as it is relatively long and mostly effective for wild varieties. However, some domesticated varieties (such as Coral) are also perfectly propagated by this method.
In any case, seed propagation will require long-term (up to 5 months) stratification of seeds at a temperature of 4-5°C, followed by their planting in an acidic substrate. A seedling ready for transplanting will grow only after 2-3 years. The only advantage of this method is to obtain a practically unlimited amount of planting material.
The reproduction of lingonberries by cuttings will be more effective. Usually, they are formed from shoots at least 12 cm long with 2-6 leaves. Rooting with a similar method of propagation of lingonberries is carried out in a peat substrate (3 parts of peat and 1 part of sand). On average, the survival rate of rooted cuttings is 60%. Planting seedlings in open ground is carried out in 1.5-2 years.
The fastest way to get young plants, when they can be planted immediately in a permanent place and they will yield a crop in the next season, is to divide the bush. Usually, fragments with a length of at least 6-8 cm are separated from the rhizome, on which 5-8 shoots are located. They are simply transplanted to a new place according to the landing rules given earlier.
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Harvesting lingonberries with a berry harvester
When growing plants in large volumes, the most optimal technologies are used to maximize crop yields. Of course, at home it is difficult to recreate the entire growing process carried out in specialized farms. However, by making some adjustments to the previously discussed planting and growing methods, you can achieve results comparable to professional growing.
The first thing to start with is site preparation. In this case, a slightly different soil recipe is used for growing crops, more enriched with peat. This composition was originally applied in climates with short summers to speed up the process of berry formation.
Currently, it is used almost everywhere in the industrial cultivation of lingonberries. The composition of the soil will be as follows: for each part of the excavated land, 5 parts of peat, 2 parts of sand and 0.5 parts of needles and sawdust are taken.
The beds must be formed in complete isolation from the external soil. For this purpose, cultivation can be carried out in separate containers, or you can use the previously described method using plastic wrap. For the convenience of maintaining such beds, it is recommended to dig a trench 20-30 cm deep and at least 60 cm wide for planting lingonberries. The length will depend on the number of plants.
With areas larger than 10-15 acres, it will be more profitable to irrigate using mobile systems.
In some cases, the size of the plots can be quite large. It is commercially justified to use areas of at least 10 acres when renting mechanical means of processing the site and harvesting.
With areas of at least 30 acres, it makes sense to think about purchasing your own equipment. Naturally, the use of such areas makes it meaningless to isolate the soil - the soil mixture is formed directly on the plots.
The irrigation scheme will also differ from that described earlier. On relatively small areas, drip irrigation systems are used, as this will help to significantly reduce water consumption.
They can have the most diverse appearance: from home-made primitive sprinklers (in the form of a plastic container with water) on a mini-tractor to serious sprinkler systems.
Device for picking cranberries
Harvesting is carried out by the previously described buckets-harvesters, or with the help of specialized harvesting equipment designed for processing berry fields. It is believed that the same cleaning products can be used to harvest lingonberries as for cranberries. In some cases, modification of the device to remove the berries from the branches is required, but this can be easily done independently.
Thematic video: You will grow lingonberries! Bountiful harvests guaranteed
You will grow lingonberries! Bountiful harvests guaranteed
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