Cowberry: planting and care, cultivation

Cowberry, planting and caring for which do not require special efforts - a favorite berry, which gives a colorful taste to Russian national dishes. Known since time immemorial, it grows on vast areas, especially massively occurring in the taiga and forest-steppe zones, and yields yield only on cranberries. Its name is a perennial plant, which is a low evergreen shrub with fleshy succulent leaves, obtained from the word "brusvyany", which means "red". Cowberry is small enough (up to 25 cm), has creeping rhizomes and erect, well branching stems. Blossoms this pretty plant with small white-pink flowers, fruits berries large enough (up to 8 mm in diameter), which have a sweet and sour taste.

Cowberry in the garden: features of growing

Growing of garden cranberries is gaining increasing popularity both in the household and at the industrial level. The plantation bookmark requires minimal investment, and the return is expected to be high and in the shortest possible time. Especially since the excised repair classes fully stipulate the production of high yields (from 1 sq. M - 1 kg) and, accordingly, high profit.

At home, growing cowberry, planting cranberries, the characteristics of care are minimized, the main thing is to provide the plant with a comfortable growing place; The most optimal are well-lit areas that are not subject to regular flooding. You should avoid cavities, because they accumulate moisture and stagnate cold air.

Blueberries and lingonberries: planting and care

The soil for planting these shrubs should be light, sandy loam or peat, with an increased level of acidity. And plant the plant can be on any, even the most unsuitable for planting a site, pouring a 30-centimeter layer of sand with added peat and sawdust. Planting of cowberry saplings and caring for plants is carried out mainly in spring (April-May) or in autumn. The saplings are buried in the soil approximately 2 cm. It is desirable to plant a cowberry at a distance of 30 cm from each other in a row with a row spacing of 40 cm. This is convenient for manual and mechanized harvesting of berries. The main thing is to prepare high-quality planting material, and planting cranberries will not cause much trouble. The principle of planting bilberries and blueberries is the same. On beds and beds you can plant shrubs after 20 cm for complete connection of their crowns. After that, the area needs to be watered for sealing and covered with a layer of about 5 cm.

Mulching is a factor of a good harvest

As mulch it is recommended to use sawdust, needles, straw, wood bark or shavings. In the first two weeks, the plant should be watered regularly, then watered as needed. Top dressing starts from the second year after planting. Mineral fertilizers can be introduced during the period of fruiting cranberries. Organics do not contribute. By the way, the cranberry of the garden, planting and nursing, the reproduction of which gives more joy than any special trouble, has one interesting feature: it receives food from the soil with the help of the fungus living on its roots, sucking out of the soil and transferring the mineral elements to the roots.

Reproduction and watering of cranberries

Cowberry can be propagated by seeds or by cuttings obtained by separating a part of the terrestrial shoots from the roots of the mother plant. Seedling can be harvested from spring to autumn.

Cowberry, planting and caring for which are easy enough, negatively tolerates both stagnant water in the area and drought, so with watering the plant should be fairly accurate. The most optimal is drip irrigation or small-drop irrigation, recommended twice a week. The water flow per square meter should not exceed 10 liters.

For optimal moisture retention, the soil needs to periodically loosen and mulch. It is necessary to get rid of weeds; So to prevent contamination of the site it is initially required to provide the plant with mulch or modern covering materials. Also effective from the aesthetic and ecological point of view is the chips of coniferous species.

Cowberry: protection against winds

Cowberry garden, planting and caring for which provide a gardener aesthetic pleasure, does not like winds, so protection should be carefully thought through; Most optimally it provides planting of pine and juniper. The absence of wind ensures the active work of bees and bumblebees, a better warming of the site and a favorable climate for the early maturation of the crop. At the same time, moisture evaporates less, the quality of berries due to the preservation of wax plaque is higher, their sizes are larger. A small breeze is very useful for ventilating areas of cranberries after the rain.

Planting and carrion leaves are directed to maximum harvesting, and since bushes tend to thicken, periodically the plants need to be thinned out. At 7-10 years of age the plant is required to be cut off; It is necessary for the rejuvenation of the bush, maintaining the quality of berries and their fruiting. Cuttings obtained as a result of trimming are an excellent material for the reproduction and expansion of landing areas.

Winter hardy qualities of cowberry

Cowberry garden, planting and care for which does not require material costs, has excellent winter hardiness, does not require shelter for the winter; In the cold period, under the thickness of the snow, you can find dark green, shiny leaves of the plant. Flower buds can be adversely affected by temperatures below -4 ° C.

With proper harvest care, you should wait for the second year. Fruit ripening takes place in August-September, depending on the terrain and variety. The harvested crop can be dried, moistened, frozen, made with fruit and jam.

Cowberry - pledge of excellent health

For the health of lingonberries, growing, planting, caring for which is only a pleasure - it's just a godsend! In this pretty little plant, everything is useful: bright red berries (accumulating a huge amount of useful microelements and vitamins), as well as shoots and leaves, which are an excellent basis for a useful curative decoction.

Cowberry leaves have powerful antiseptic, wound healing, diuretic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and tonic effects. This is an excellent tool for the treatment of viral diseases. Decoctions and infusions are recommended to apply to rinse the throat and mouth, which is very effective in treating many infections, especially staphylococcal. It is also an excellent remedy for reducing the concentration of sugar in the blood, which is very useful for people with diabetes. This is a valuable source of protein for people on the diet.

Leaf collection for medicinal broth

Leaves of cranberries for preparation of medicinal broth should be collected early in the spring, before the beginning of flowering, and it is required to take only survived the winter, because young leaves will dry up during drying. Secondary raw materials can be harvested in the autumn period, after the flowering of the cowberry. Leaflets from the bush should be plucked neatly, without breaking off the shoots, to avoid injury to the bush. Repeated collection of leaves is allowed after 5-10 years, after complete regeneration of the plant. Before drying, unsuitable leaves should be selected: traumatized and blackened. The fabric for drying needs to be spread in a warm dark place, the leaves are spread out in a thin layer.

Useful qualities of cowberries

Basically cowberry is used as a diuretic and is used to treat kidneys (if they have stones in them) and the bladder (with urinary incontinence, especially in children). Also this acidic berry helps to get rid of gout, rheumatism and diarrhea; Has the ability to lower blood sugar.

Juice from ripe bilberry, as well as the fruit itself, is useful for high blood pressure and beriberi. With catarrhal diseases and feverish conditions of berries, plants make healing calming tea. The bitterness found in this priceless berry causes an increase in appetite, so for children and people weakened by the disease is an indispensable ingredient.

Planting and care of cowberries are often produced for medical purposes, because this berry is an excellent antiseptic that does not allow infection into the genitourinary system and protects the intestines and stomach from poor-quality food. A long daily reception of broths or tea from berries and leaves completely cures the infection of the urinary tract. Cowberry is used in the treatment of various diseases. Also, the plant has a good antipyretic effect.

Cowberry in cooking

Despite the fact that the berries of the cowberry are sour for taste, jams and jams are simply magnificent. By the way, cowberry jam is a sweet drug for prostatitis, and tincture cooked on cowberry will help with hypertension, fever and chronic gastritis.

The food is used for berries in both fresh and wet form. Due to the content of benzoic acid, berries can be stored for a long period, about 2-3 weeks. For a long time to preserve the valuable qualities of berries, as well as their natural wax coating can be by soaking in water or low-temperature freezing.

In cooking, cranberry sauce is often served in meat , because it helps to maximize the assimilation of dishes from it, reducing energy consumption for digestion. And in the old days, fresh meat was often stored in cranberries.

Decoction for the kidneys and liver.

60 g of leaves for 3 cups of water - boil 10 minutes in enameled dishes. After cooling, strain and drink for a day in 3 divided doses.

There are several varieties of cowberry, which are popular, giving excellent harvests and having large berries. In general, varieties differ in height, decorativeness, size of berries and yield.

Varieties of berries

"Ruby"

This type of cowberry is characterized by dark red berries, which have a sweet and sour taste and weigh about 220 mg. Leaves are leathery, with a smooth surface. Flowers of medium size, white. The variety can withstand temperatures of -30 ⁰ C, in the spring can withstand frosts to -30 ⁰ C. The maturation period of berries - late.

"Coral"

High-yielding decorative variety, which came from Holland. The bush has a spherical compact shape and reaches a height of 30 cm. The average weight of the fruit is about 300 mg. Harvest yields 2 times a year, from one plant you can get up to 120 g of harvest.

Red Perl

This variety reaches a height of 25 cm, is characterized by round-shaped berries, which have a dark red color. Fructifies 2 times a year, is bred in Holland.

Mazovia

The short-grown variety, the height of the bush is 20 cm, the berries are dark red, the yield is high.

"Kostroma pink"

Shrubs up to 15 cm tall, berries are pink, about 1 cm in diameter, ripen in mid-August.

Sanna

The variety is bred in Sweden. The mass of fruits reaches 400 mg; Yield from the bush is up to 300 g.

Cowberry - a delicious berry, characterized by useful properties and excellent yields of fragrant sweet and sour berries. In any case, the cultivation of red bilberries is an interesting activity that brings a lot of pleasure and delivers aesthetic pleasure.