Grow seabuckthorn
Before plantation
Before You beginn to plant You have to prepare Your field carefully. The field has to be sanitated of couchgrass and other hard rooted weed. You also have to check Your drainage so the water is not standing on the field.
Fertilize the field with burned cow -or pigmanure. The plants does not require nitrogen as they are selfmanaging there nitroge demand. Little nitrogen is fine in the start. Plow the field before the planting.
If You gonna have drip water irrigation its best to put them on the field before plantation so you can plant according to the tubes.
Plant in north-south direction for maximal sunlight. Dont forget to have 8-10 meter to turn the machines on the sides depending on the machine-equipment.
Also plan to divide the field in to 2 parts if you want to harvest each year if You cut the branches with berries on them. If You cut the branches You only get harvest every second year.
Plantation from spring to autumn
Decide distance of rows and plantdistance according to the width of the machineequipment. You can plant 4 meter between the rows and 1-1,5 meter between the plants.
You plant the frist row with 1 male and 9 female and repeat thirs all across the row. In row 2 You first plant 4 females and then 1 male and then 9 females and then 1 male. After that You plant 9 females and 1 male the rest of the row.
In row 3 You plants as row 1.
This way You get maximum pollination of the males across the field.
Leave the field naked with bare soil the whole first year and drag the soil a couple of times against weed during this first year. During autumn or spring the next year You can sow a slowgrowing grassmix between the rows and cut the grass gradually as it grows.
You can also plant the plants in plastic or use bark in the rows as cover. Water regular.
After 3-4 years You harvest the frist time.
You can choose to handpick the berries or vut the berries with the branches and all. You handpick 1 kg per hour.
If You cut the branches its important to leave approximately 5 branches with green leaves closest to the ground. if you also cut this the bush will die. And the bush has to have something to build around next year. Cut the bush horisontally against the ground. Next year the bush will grow up again but with no berries. This way You harvest every other year. Be careful to cut to much on the branches that is bending down to ground. If You cut this to much the bush will be to wide.
If you think the bush is to narrow after 2 year You can cut it down to get it more wide to the harvest a couple of yeras later. Its important in this case also to leave 5 branches with leaves down to the ground.
You can count on 3-8 kg per bush in harvest. More harvest the older bush.
Be careful when You buy foreign seabuckthornplants. They can contain egg from the seabuckthornfly that destroys the harvest. In Sweden we dont have the seabuckthornfly yet. It exists for instance in Germany.
After harvest
If you cut the branches You freeze the branches with leaves and berries in freezer in 24 degrees C. After that You shake the berries easy and clean the berries from leaves and little branches. You can blow away the leaves.
For the bigger plantation Wrams Aroma hs developed a tractorharvester and a strainer for the berries that You can buy from us. This machines will be in different sizes.