Under the name cranberries unite the breed of plants of the heather family, representing creeping shrubs that grow mainly in the northern hemisphere.
Cranberry fruits contain a huge amount of vitamins that are useful for the body micro and macro elements, are not high-calorie, contain little fat and carbohydrates.
Initially, cranberries were exclusively wild plants and only after the 18th century, breeders were able to cultivate varieties that are still successfully cultivated in country houses and kitchen gardens.
Where does garden cranberry grow?
Previously, before the cultivation, cranberries grew only in the marshland, where the acidity of the soil is significantly increased. Its homeland is considered North America, and the first researchers of America called it a crane berry.
Only a couple of centuries ago, cranberries were harvested in the swamps, and now they are already cultivated on a large scale on plantations, where favorable for growth and conditions are created that are most similar to natural ones.
In Russia, the most common varieties of cranberries received in Karelia, Kostroma and the Leningrad region.
By creating suitable conditions and proper care, cranberry yields can reach up to 11 tons per hectare of plantings.
Cranberries are now widely used in the manufacture of confectionery, juice drinks and fruit drinks, jams and jelly, and therefore, the cultivation of this plant is not only in demand, but can also become a good source of income.
About the cranberries tell the program "Live is great!":
Requirements for a garden plot for growing
Despite the fact that cranberries are considered to be frost-resistant and unpretentious plant, growing them in their backyard and suburban areas is considered to be quite a laborious process due to the need to ensure a special microclimate and the conditions in which it will yield a good harvest.
Land for cultivation before planting young shoots carefully prepared, as this plant feels good in high humidity.
Cranberry is a moisture-loving plant.In this connection, the presence of groundwater will be a significant advantage of the planting area; the depth of their flow is approximately 40 centimeters.
In this case, the best option for growing soil will be peat, in which the water level is at the optimum level for cranberries. Also suitable for growing loam and sandstone.
It is better to make a plot for planting cranberries among trees or other plantations.which will not interfere with hit of sunshine on it, but, at the same time, will protect it from wind.
How to grow cranberries on your site:
When is it better to plant a berry in the country
Believed to plant and grow cranberries best in spring timeas soon as the land on the site thaws and warms up to 10 cm.
Since the plant develops better in a more acidic soil, then if your site does not have one, you need to clean the top layer of soil to 20-25 centimeters and fill it with a mixture of humus, sand, forest land and peat with added pine needles instead.
Prepare wells before planting, dig them up to a depth of 10 centimeters and a distance of about 20 centimeters between each other, spilling water before planting.
Two seedlings with a height of up to 20 cm are lowered into each well, and the hole is filled up with the prepared soil. It is very important not to overly consolidate the soil after planting, since this can significantly hinder the development of the seedling's root system.

After planting, the first two years, the cranberries will only take root and gain strength - the first berries the plant usually gives three years after planting. Well, already a fully good harvest will be only starting from the fourth year.
The average yield with good care is about a kilogram of two square meters of planted plants.
Cranberries are not planted in autumn in the mainHowever, this time of year is used to prepare the beds for disembarkation.
The main preparation operation is the fence of the future bed by digging to a depth of up to 20 centimeters of any decay material - plastic, slate.
Landing methods
There are two ways of reproduction and further planting cranberries - generative and vegetative.
Generative - seeded it is made very rarely and mainly for any breeding experiments, since the resulting plant does not have the characteristics of its parent.
If your goal is to grow cranberries with certain properties inherent in the maternal runaway, it will be better to use grafting method.
Cranberry cuttings are prepared during the period when their shoots grow intensively. Take green cuttings from 10 centimeters in length and planted in pots with a mixture of peat, sand and rotted needles, or immediately into the soil - to a permanent place.
Cuttings deepen by two or three centimeters, slightly compact the soil around the trunk and abundantly moisturize.

Until rooting cuttings happen need to monitor soil moisture - depending on the humidity and temperature conditions, sometimes the bed is watered two or three times a day - under the condition of abundant irrigation of the soil with water, shoots take root rather quickly.
If the landing site is under the sun, then it is better to make protection for the cuttings of fabric.
When seed reproduction take ripe fruit cranberriesrub gently and rinse with water. Selected seeds are planted immediately. This operation is carried out in the spring or before the fall in pots containing peat and a small layer of sand.
The seeds in the soil are covered with glass, irrigated with abundant water and placed in a warm place accessible to light. After planting the seeds, the soil is watered regularly, and the room, which contains containers with germinating seeds, is aired.
If mold appears on the ground from abundant moisture, they will need to be treated with a fungicide solution.

Average, after three to four weeks with proper care shoots appearafter which it will be necessary to remove the glass, but to keep the mode of abundant watering.
After the shoots have four or five leaves, they are seated — picks, either in pots one sprout, or immediately into the soil of a greenhouse or greenhouse at a distance of 10 centimeters from each other.
The further cultivation of shoots is carried out throughout the year with special care - abundant watering and regular feeding with Kemira solution - at the rate of one tablespoon per 10 liters of water.
Usually a solution is prepared at the rate of one liter per square meter of a plot with shoots, and when watering it is necessary to make sure that the solution does not fall on the leaves - otherwise it is possible to burn the leaves.
Then the shoots are transplanted to a larger place where they grow for another two or three years.after which you can plant them in a permanent place.
Nuances of care
The main rule for the care of cranberry seedlings for good development and to ensure a rich harvest in the future is ensuring sufficient watering.
Especially important is the presence of high humidity during the rooting of seedlings, especially at high temperatures.
Twice a month during the growing season, plants are fed with various complexes of mineral fertilizers and watering with water containing a weak solution of acids (citric or acetic).
Acidification of the soil the first two or three years after planting can not produce.

For the formation and growth of a large number of fruits must be removed from the plant horizontal shootsthus stimulating the development of vertical, on which a greater number of fruits develop. This operation is performed in spring or autumn.
For winter in areas with a lack of sufficient snow, cranberries are poured with a layer of peatthat protects the shoots from freezing.
With constant proper care for the plants and the presence of good weather conditions, cranberries will surely please you with a rich harvest of berries.
Garden cranberries: