Our sea buckthorn harvest is coming to an end with the last few plants of Askola being cut over the next two or three days. The german plants have yielded phenomenally – over ten kilos. This is even more remarkable as the process has left the branches necessary for next year still laden with berries.
This plantation is made up of the first planting back in 2009, so these are now maturing to peak yield. Remarkably, they also receive no fertiliser, no irrigation, and a minimum of management except for a good prune in the winter.
This minimum management is on purpose to see how the plants perform under this regime. The one marked issue is the difference between the strong growers and the weak plants. i can only put this down to the potential frankia activity in the soil.
The great advantage with sea buckthorn is the potential of the frankia nodules on the roots to source and trap the nitrogen that the plant needs. Judging by the yields this year when this activity is successful it requires no further intervention. It is marked however that there are occasional plants that still yield heavily but the leaves are weak and discoloured. Consequently the berries are small and virtually unharvestable.
The conundrum is whether to provide fertiliser in order to bring all plants up to a standard or not. Providing nitrogen in whatever form will reduce the capacity of the frankia to operate effectively. Alternatively those plants that are weak I will identify and some I will spray with a solution of soil from the roots of alder trees – which also affiliate with sea buckthorn. This may provide sufficient frankia in the soil to rejuvenate these weak plants. A second group i will mulch deeply with compost and provide compost tea as i do with the Siberian plants. A third group will be left alone.
I will have to wait for another year for the results – but that is farming.
