How to water raspberries: types, methods, depth, frequency
Raspberry is one of the most beloved horticultural crops among summer residents; however, it is important to provide good care for the bush to receive a plentiful harvest of this berry, in particular, to properly organize the irrigation system. For this, the gardener must know how the needs of the plant for moistening the soil change depending on the growing season, what factors affect the intensity of watering the crop, how to properly balance the amount of moisture and keep it in the ground in order to save water consumption, etc. Let's try to find answers to these and many other questions.
The basic rules of watering raspberries
Seasonality is the first criterion that is important to consider when choosing a raspberry irrigation regime.
It should also be borne in mind that irrigation water should not be too hard and have a temperature significantly different from the ambient temperature . It is best to use the lower (root) type of watering and carry out this procedure in the evening or in the early morning, until the moment when the sun begins to intensively illuminate the area.
Important! The general rule is as follows: maximum hydration to the plant is necessary immediately before entering the flowering phase and then at the time of crop formation.
In the spring
Spring is the time of plant awakening and the formation of young shoots, on which fruit formation will take place. However, during intense melting of snow, raspberries are not needed for humidification, so the gardener can devote the beginning of a new season to the organization of the irrigation system, and not to watering itself.
And only in the southern regions, where the intensive growth of bushes begins already in late April - early May, at this time it is time to start moderate watering . At first, the water flow can be 0.5–1 l of water per bush, and then, as the soil warms and dries up, this indicator gradually increases to 2-3 l.
Summer
In the middle lane of the European part of the Russian Federation and more northern regions, raspberry watering begins with the beginning of summer and continues until the bushes begin to bloom. Then a short break should be made, allowing the plant to form an ovary, and then, as the fruit is formed, carry out regular, but not too frequent soil moisture.
Did you know? The legend connects the beginning of raspberry cultivation in Muscovy with the name of Yuri Dolgoruky - the son of Vladimir Monomakh and Prince Rostov-Suzdal, who is considered the founder of the modern capital of the Russian state.
By mid-summer, when the shrub is in the final phase of berry formation, the plant should be watered less often, only with strong drying of the soil, otherwise the fruits will ripen unsweetened and will quickly deteriorate. In addition, waterlogging during this period is fraught with the development of fungal infections on the berries, in particular, gray rot.
After the bush has spawned, the purpose of watering is to maintain the depleted forces of the plant, however, the water flow at this time should be moderate.
Video: Watering berry crops
Fall
By the end of summer and early fall, watering should be gradually minimized. In this period, it is impossible to create favorable conditions for the plant to form new shoots, since such a green mass does not have time to form, freezes in the winter and only takes away from the bush the forces it needs to prepare for the onset of frost.
However, in late autumn, immediately before sheltering raspberries for the winter, the bushes need to be watered once and plentifully. This procedure will prevent the freezing of the root system, the likelihood of which in dry land increases sharply.
Important! The cooler the weather, the less water should be watered. This rule applies even when the summer has turned out to be cold, but not rainy.
What does the watering regime depend on
The correct choice of the raspberryberry moistening regimen depends not only on the season, but also on many other factors. In particular, the following are important:
- variety (regular or remontant, early or late ripening varieties, degree of drought tolerance, etc.);
- climatic conditions (duration of summer, average temperatures and amount of snow in winter, regularity of precipitation, strength and intensity of wind);
- shrub age (a young plant needs more moisture to gain strength);
- current weather situation, etc.
Early ripe varieties of berries should be watered intensively and approximately uniformly from late spring to mid summer. Varieties with an average ripening period are moistened in two stages - at the beginning and end of the watering period of early raspberries. As for the late varieties, their watering is carried out throughout the season from the last month of spring until the fall (adjusted for weather).
Read also articles on this topic:
Frequency
The main botanical feature of raspberries is that this plant forms a superficial root system. However, in an adult shrub, the roots gradually go deeper into the soil. As a result, raspberries become much less dependent on precipitation and irrigation intensity, as well as on accidental damage to garden tools during weeding and loosening, freezing in winter, etc.
In order to ensure the correct formation of roots, young bushes must constantly be in a humid environment. But, on the other hand, the plant suffers from waterlogging as hard as drought. During the period of no rain, the frequency of watering should not exceed two times a week, and if the days are not too dry, the intervals between procedures can be increased.
Important! Raspberries, like garden trees, need to be watered rarely, but abundantly. This condition can be called the "golden rule" of caring for the fruit bush.
Depth
Natural deepening of the roots of the shrub can occur only if the soil is moistened not only at the surface, but also in the direction of movement of the root processes down. Therefore, it is considered optimal to saturate the soil in raspberries with moisture to a depth of at least 30 cm . Typically, such irrigation involves the use of approximately 20-30 liters of water for each square meter of the area of the garden.
Watering Methods
Watering a raspberry from a watering can, as our ancestors did, is a time-consuming and irrational option. You can resort to it if only a few fruit bushes are planted on the site. But even with time they grow so densely that physically transferring the entire amount of irrigation water is quite difficult.
In addition, the surface root system of raspberries is very sensitive to temperature changes, so you can not water the plant with cold water . All this leads to the fact that the raspberry humidification system must be automated.
Did you know? In addition to red and yellow, there is also black raspberry. However, the rarest berries are those that were bred at the end of the 19th century in Geneva by crossing red and black berries.
Drip
Drip irrigation is a modern irrigation system that is unparalleled both in terms of minimizing the labor required to care for beds and in terms of economical water consumption. The method involves holding special ribbons in rows between the bushes, in each of which tiny holes are provided at a certain distance from each other. By means of simple docking devices, the tapes are connected to the water supply, as a result, the water entering them through droppers slowly and evenly saturates the soil at precisely those points where it is necessary.
The only drawback of the method is the need to purchase special equipment for its arrangement, as well as the cost of some effort and creativity for the assembly and installation of the system. It should be noted that modern drip irrigation systems are not too expensive and the water saving they provide allows you to recoup the costs incurred . Therefore, even on small raspberries, the organization of such irrigation makes sense.
The above is true, provided that the summer resident always has access to a centralized water supply. In the absence of an organized water supply, when the gardener is forced to constantly or periodically collect rainwater for irrigation, automated raspberry irrigation should be organized using more complex methods, for example, trench or aryky.
Video: Drip watering of repair raspberries
Trench
The essence of the trench method is that, on the one hand, irrigation water is kept around the shrub for as long as possible, and does not spread over the entire area, on the other hand, to prevent damage to the roots of the plant by the strong pressure of the water, which usually gives the use of a hose.
Read also articles on this topic:
To solve these two problems, raspberries are fenced around the perimeter with a small fence, after which, between rows or along the fence (depending on the area of the plot and the number of plants planted on it), trenches are dug with a depth of about 10-15 cm, raking the soil removed from them to the bushes. As a result, close to each bush should be "own" irrigation canal . Then, the collected water is carefully poured into the trenches or laid at the base of the irrigation hose.
Aryky
The aryky method of watering raspberries is another name for the trench. Its essence consists in the same creation of grooves surrounding the bushes for the accumulation of water in them.
The advantage of this method over conventional hose irrigation also lies in the fact that it allows the most efficient use of rainwater, which is especially important in areas where water supply is absent or is associated with constant interruptions.
Did you know? Aryk is a term used in the languages of the peoples of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan), as well as some peoples of the Caucasus. In these hot and arid regions, the irrigation form of irrigation has been used by farmers since ancient times and, according to some reports, has been showing its effectiveness for at least three millennia.
Hose irrigation
You can water raspberries from a hose in two ways - under the root or along the leaves (by sprinkling). The first method is inconvenient in that it often leads to washing away the roots, therefore it is better not to resort to it without arranging trenches or irrigation ditches. Sprinkling also has its drawbacks. In general, raspberries gratefully respond to leaf moisture, but during flowering and fruiting, this way you can easily damage the future crop.
In addition, sprinkling involves a water consumption that is ten times higher than irrigation using a drip system, and modern agricultural science considers this wasteful attitude to natural resources to be absolutely unjustified. In fact, during such irrigation, not only the plants themselves are moistened, but the entire area around them.
DIY drip irrigation
Today in a specialized store you can find everything you need in order to make a high-quality drip irrigation system in your own summer cottage without any problems and without resorting to the help of specialists.
Read also about the technology of growing raspberries in the open field, on a large scale.
System selection
Drop watering is a kind of constructor assembled from special tapes interconnected by docking devices (corners, tees, etc.). On the one hand, they are connected to the storage tank or directly to the source of centralized water supply, on the other hand, they are clamped with special plugs.
In addition to the price, tapes differ depending on the distance at which irrigation holes (droppers) are distributed along their length. This step usually varies between 10-30 cm. Before buying, you need to carefully examine your raspberry, measure the average distance between the bushes and give preference to such a tape that will provide the most accurate water supply for each plant.
We advise you to find out what to plant after raspberries on a plot in the open ground.
Arrangement
Arrangement of drip irrigation in a small suburban area in essence resembles the assembly of a children's designer. According to the previously outlined scheme, the ribbons should be laid out between the plants, carefully making sure that the droppers are opposite each bush . Then the free ends of the tapes are fixed with plugs, and the ends into which the water will flow are connected into one chain using pre-purchased docking parts.
A common hose, to which all tapes are ultimately connected, is connected to the water storage tank or to the outlet of the water pipe . When using the tank, it is important to install it at a small elevation in relation to the surface of the earth, so that water can flow into the tapes by gravity. The standard tank installation level is 1.5–2 m above the bed.
rules
Using the drip irrigation system is very simple, and with it you can water raspberries at any time of the day or even under the scorching sun. However, in order for the mechanism to last longer, it is necessary to adhere to the following standard rules:
- at the entrance to the system, it is advisable to install a filter so that particles of dirt, rust and other impurities do not block the exit of water from the droppers;
- the water pressure in the tapes should be strictly regulated and not exceed the maximum values set by the manufacturer. It is even better to install it one and a half times less than the permissible limit (the longer the tape and more often the holes for droppers, the greater the pressure can be);
- in no case should you independently increase the irrigation holes in the tapes to reduce water pressure, such an intervention in the system will very quickly disable it;
- drip irrigation tapes need to be laid out on an absolutely flat horizontal section, otherwise it will not be possible to evenly moisten the soil (if the plot has a slope, you must first arrange the beds in tiers, and only then distribute irrigation tapes to them using special connections);
- as droppers become clogged, they should be cleaned, blown or rinsed;
- in the fall, the irrigation system must be disassembled and cleaned, and in the spring installed again, while the equipment must be stored in a dry and carefully folded form.
Did you know? Used by Russian agronomists, the term "remontance" comes from the French "remontant" - to rise up. In European terminology, two definitions apply to plants that produce several crops: fall-bearing (synonym - autumn-fruiting), that is, fruiting in autumn, or everbearing, that is, fruiting constantly.
Watering Repairing Raspberries
When buying raspberries, it is very important to clarify whether the variety is regular or remodeling. In the latter case, the bush is able to form fruits on both biennial and annual shoots, which from a practical point of view means obtaining not one but two crops from such a plant during the season. True, the quantity and quality of such a crop is usually lower than that of ordinary varieties.
The main feature of irrigating raspberry raspberry watering is determined by the presence of two successive phases of fruiting in the plant, for each of which it is necessary to provide standard conditions that apply to ordinary raspberries only once per season. These rules come down to the fact that the maximum watering of the plant is carried out until the beginning of flowering, followed by a gradual decrease in the intensity of moisture, and after the bush has spawned, it only needs to be slightly strengthened to prevent drying out.
How to water raspberries with urea solution in spring
Fertilizers cannot be applied to dry soil: the nutrients contained in them cannot be absorbed by the plant, but the root system may well get a chemical burn. Therefore, the raspberry feeding scheme is inextricably linked with watering.
Traditionally, in the spring time, all plants primarily need nitrogen. It is this mineral that provides the active growth of green mass, on which buds, flowers, ovaries and fruits will subsequently form.
Read also articles on this topic:
Поэтому опытные садоводы весной совмещают полив малинника с подкормкой растений карбамидом (мочевиной). Данное удобрение можно внести на грядку и в сухом виде, но делать это нужно ещё на этапе таяния снега, до момента пробуждения почек. Если момент упущен, используется жидкая подкормка: препарат следует развести в концентрации 20–30 г на 10 л воды, осторожно полить полученным раствором предварительно увлажнённую грядку или наполнить им траншеи с таким расчётом, чтобы на каждый квадратный метр было распределено примерно 3 л удобрения.
Полив с внесением азота
В качестве равноценной замены карбамида при весеннем поливе малинника можно использовать другое азотное удобрение — аммиачную селитру. Данный препарат используется по той же схеме, что и мочевина, но концентрацию рабочего раствора допустимо увеличить на 15–20%. Некоторые садоводы рекомендуют применять аммиачную селитру в концентрации, меньшей, чем карбамид. Поэтому, чтобы не ошибиться, лучше исходить из равнозначности этих удобрений.
Did you know? Примерно каждый второй малиновый куст из всех, выращиваемых в мире, растёт на территории России, однако лидирующие позиции по объёму производства и экспорта этой ягоды занимает Польша. Ежегодно эта страна поставляет на мировой рынок около 100 тысяч тонн малины, примерно столько же потребляется внутри государства.
Кроме того, азот можно использовать в составе комплексных удобрений, например, нитроаммофоски. Концентрация рабочего раствора — 30–40 г на 10 л воды, расход удобрения стандартный.
Как сохранить влагу после полива
Опытные садоводы хорошо знают, что результативный полив определяется не столько общим количеством воды, вылитым на грядки, сколько грамотной организацией удержания влаги в почве. В противном случае можно поливать участок максимально часто, а земля при этом будет оставаться пересохшей.
Сохранить почву влажной можно двумя способами — традиционным «дедовским» и более современным.
Первый метод предполагает обязательное рыхление земли вокруг кустарника после каждого полива. Целью проведения такой процедуры является недопущение образования на поверхности грядки плотной корки, через которую к корням не поступает воздух, а земля в течение нескольких часов превращается в плотный и сухой ком. Данный способ обладает целым рядом недостатков.
Прежде всего рыхление — процедура очень трудоёмкая и требующая больших затрат времени. Проводить её нужно не сразу после полива, а спустя несколько часов (в идеале утром, если грядка поливалась вечером), чтобы вода успела впитаться в землю, поскольку вязкую грязь «распушить» невозможно. Кроме того, рыхление должно осуществляться и после внеплановых поливов в виде дождя, что существенно добавляет объём работы в саду.
Не стоит также забывать, что малина — куст довольно колючий . Процесс рыхления почвы вокруг каждого растения превращается в занятие не слишком приятное, особенно если учесть близкое расположение корневой системы культуры к поверхности земли. Это требует от садовода повышенной осторожности при работе с культиватором, иначе манипуляции с почвой принесут кустарнику больше вреда, чем пользы.
Important! Идеальная организация увлажнения малинника — это совмещение капельного полива с мульчированием почвы. При этом ленты с капельницами следует укладывать поверх слоя мульчи, а именно в таком случае обеспечивается оптимальное увлажнение и «компостирование» нижнего слоя органического укрытия.
Следует заметить, что система капельного орошения позволяет избавить садовода от необходимости рыхлить землю после полива, поскольку не предполагает интенсивного расхода воды и образования вокруг куста огромных луж, которые впоследствии и приводят к формированию плотной корки.
Однако наличие капельниц не решает проблему сорняков, с которыми обязательно нужно бороться, иначе хорошего урожая можно не ждать . Более того, сбалансированное и равномерное увлажнение почвы, обеспечиваемое за счёт использования капельной системы, стимулирует очень интенсивное развитие сорной травы, которая прекрасно чувствует себя в столь благоприятных условиях.
По этой причине гораздо правильнее использовать для удержания влаги в почве метод мульчирования. Укрытие земли вокруг кустов плотным слоем органики позволяет решить сразу несколько проблем:
- не допускать формирования корки на поверхности земли без необходимости её рыхления;
- препятствовать прорастанию сорняков (мощная корневая поросль, которую даёт куст малины, легко пробьёт себе дорогу сквозь слой мульчи, а вот сорная трава с этой задачей не справится);
- без дополнительных усилий обогатить грядку гумусом (нижний слой мульчи, который постоянно остаётся влажным, довольно быстро перегнивает, а дождевые черви довершают процесс, в результате малинник постоянно получает качественную органическую подкормку. Причём, в отличие от навоза, такое удобрение никогда не навредит корням и не приведёт к перенасыщению почвы азотом);
- обеспечить малиннику готовое укрытие на зиму, оберегающее корни от перемерзания, но при этом хорошо пропускающее воздух и не дающее им перепреть.
Read more on how to mulch raspberries.
В качестве мульчи можно использовать торф или перегнившие хвойные иголки (такую подложку легко собрать во время прогулки по лесу). Преимущества этого материала состоят в том, что и торф, и хвоя обладают свойством сильно закислять почву, в то время как для малины это подходит как нельзя лучше . Однако если грунт изначально был кислым, накрыть землю вокруг кустов можно опилками или свежескошенной травой.
Малина — культура довольно неприхотливая, а потому её выращивание под силу освоить даже тем дачникам, которые не готовы уделять своему садовому участку слишком много времени и сил. Среди мероприятий, которые обязательно необходимо обеспечить для получения хорошего урожая ягод, центральное место занимает правильный полив. Организовав на грядке, где высажены плодовые кусты, современную систему капельного орошения и совместив её с мульчированием почвы, можно решить проблему увлажнения растений один раз на весь сезон, после чего останется лишь время от времени включать и выключать подачу воды, не тратя на уход за малинником никаких дополнительных усилий.
