Potato Peels for Currants as Fertilizer: Feeding and Tips

The peel of a potato is not of particular value in cooking, but is one of the best organic fertilizers for country plantings. Potato peelings are used to protect currants from pests, provide the bush with nutrients, increase yields and improve the taste of berries. The main condition is the correct preparation of top dressing.

Properties of potato peels

The peel of a potato contains a lot of useful substances that are required for the full development of the culture. It is an organic growth stimulant that promotes intensive growth of green mass.Fruits from bushes that have been fertilized with potato skins are juicier and sweeter, since the top dressing contains a large amount of glucose and starch.

Potato skin properties:

saturates the soil with nutrients and increases fertility (components are easily digested by bacteria);
increases the friability of the soil, providing an increased flow of oxygen and nutrients;
accelerates the growth of currant bushes;
protects plants from the negative effects of pests.

Fertilizer is affordable and effective, its main advantage is safety for people, animals and the environment. Unlike chemical preparations, it is impossible to oversaturate or “burn” plants with such top dressing.

How to harvest potato skins

The benefits of fertilizer depend on the preparation of raw materials for storage. Cleanings are prepared in two ways - dried and frozen. Everyone chooses the most convenient option for themselves.

Drying

In order to fertilize currants with high-quality top dressing in the spring, it is necessary to properly dry the raw materials. The procedure is as follows:

Potato peels are thoroughly washed in a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
The raw material is squeezed out, left in the air for a while to evaporate the moisture.
Next prepare fabric or paper and proceed to the main step.
You can dry the potato peel both outside and in a ventilated room, spreading it out in a thin layer. You can use the microwave or oven. Drying on a radiator is allowed, but always in a room with a regular supply of fresh air.
Usually 10 days is enough. It may take longer depending on the thickness of the potato peels and environmental conditions.

If potato skins are dried indoors, it is important to regularly ventilate it, when drying outdoors, avoid exposure to direct sunlight.

In the oven, the peel is dried for 3-4 hours at temperatures up to 100 °C. The baking sheet is covered with parchment paper and the raw materials are evenly distributed in one layer. Leave the door ajar.

Drying is even faster in the microwave, especially at high power. To speed up the process, the peel is crushed with a knife. Cleanings are dry when they are translucent and brittle.

Ready-made fertilizer is packaged in cloth bags and put into the pantry. If the raw materials were dried naturally, a cold place is chosen for storage. For example, a balcony, unheated garage or barn.

Freeze

This method is less commonly used as freezer capacity is limited and sufficient space must be left to store food. However, you can harvest fertilizer in winter and store it on the balcony at a temperature not higher than -1 ° C.Wash and dry before freezing. You can twist them in a meat grinder. Refreezing is prohibited.

It is more convenient to use dried fertilizer, but frozen peels are more beneficial.

Frozen top dressing from an open container must be used in full. Dried cleanings last longer and are used as needed.

How to apply fertilizer？

It is important to understand not only how to perform harvesting work, but also how to feed currants with potato peels. You can apply one of three options - infusion, gruel, flour.

Infusion

Frozen top dressing is thawed at room temperature. Raw materials (2 kg) are combined with hot water (10 l), mixed thoroughly and left to infuse for 24 hours. Each bush of black or red currant is poured with a liter of strained product.

Dried fertilizer can be prepared in a similar way. Raw materials are used less - 1 kg. Watering starts from the end of March. It is recommended to water currants with infusion for 10 days in a row. You can re-feed the bushes during the formation of the ovary, at maturity and 7 days before the fruit is harvested. In this case, the duration of watering is reduced to 3 days.

Mush

The product is prepared on the basis of dried raw materials. The peel is placed in a pre-prepared container and poured with hot water, periodically mixed. This approach allows you to get rid of germs, pests and fungi.

After 7 days, when the cleanings have absorbed moisture, they can be easily turned into mush. The tool is ready for use. Top dressing is filtered and used for watering every 14 days. You can bury gruel next to the bush.

Flour

Dry peel is crushed with a coffee grinder, in a blender or in a meat grinder.The fertilizer is universal, it is stored in bags made of fabric, but not for long. If stored for a long time, pathogenic microorganisms and pests may appear in the flour, and the process of decay may also begin.

The result of top dressing

Potato peel as a fertilizer for currants is the most effective composition for nourishing and protecting the crop from possible harm. This is a universal tool that can almost completely replace chemical fertilizers, since the composition contains a lot of useful substances for the full development and growth of bushes.

Potato peels can be used in autumn, spring and summer. As a result, fertility increases and the structure of the soil changes, the fruits are large, juicy and sweet. It is also recommended to fertilize the soil before planting the crop.

Organic fertilizers decompose faster because the bacteria present in the soil are involved in their processing.Macro-, microelements and other components of the potato peel penetrate into the root system as soon as possible. If both the plant itself and weeds grow intensively when using other organic fertilizers, then when applying potato peelings as a fertilizer, such a “side effect” is not observed.

Use restrictions

The peel is not used fresh, as it rots and attracts the attention of rodents. It is all the more impossible to bury raw cleanings, the decomposition process is long and is accompanied by an increased risk of developing diseases.

Advice from experienced gardeners

If there is no time to implement a long process of preparing potato peels, in the fall you can take the advice of experienced gardeners and follow these steps in turn:

remove fallen leaves and other parts of the crop;
dig the ground around the currant bushes;
prepare a shallow groove around the trunk circle and fill it with dried potato peels (recommended layer thickness is 5 cm);
pour soil on top of the fertilizer, then put dry grass in a thick layer.

Many gardeners use starch as an effective fertilizer for currants. This tool is used for a powerful growth of branches, followed by the ripening of large and tasty fruits. For 3 liters of cold water, 200-300 g of potato starch is required. The resulting mass is kept on low heat until thickened, stirring constantly. Kissel is combined with 10 liters of water.

The bushes are irrigated with such a liquid after watering with ordinary water. Approximately 2-3 liters of fertilizer is required per plant. The first time top dressing is used before the beginning of the flowering period, again - when the berries begin to gain weight.

Often, this feeding option is alternated with the use of ash. The main component is combined with water in a ratio of 1: 1. Top dressing is insisted for 2 days. To reduce the dosage of ash, the resulting product is diluted in a ratio of 1:10. For each bush, 1-2 buckets of fertilizer are used, this is the optimal volume.

Currant bushes respond positively to the intake of starch and glucose, which are rich in potato peel. This fertilizer can be applied at any time. Just a little effort, and the culture is provided with a mass of useful substances, reliably protected from many pests. The manipulations done are rewarded with a good harvest.