Gooseberry is a shrub plant from the genus Currant of the Gooseberry family, which is found in almost every household plot. Appearing in the gardens of Europe in the 16th century, the berry culture gained such popularity that already in the 19th century more than 100 varieties were bred and the work of breeders to create a hybrid resistant to powdery mildew was carried out.

Species and varieties

Ordinary gooseberries are cultivated in the gardens, it is also European or rejected.

For more than four hundred years of continuous work, breeders have bred many varieties, conditionally divided into two large groups:

  1. European varieties;
  2. American-European, they are also hybrid.

There are also classifications based on various parameters:

  • fruit size;
  • shape and color of berries;
  • ripening period;
  • productivity;
  • the presence of spikes.

Among the most popular varieties that are distinguished by excellent characteristics, deserve special attention:

  • African - winter-hardy variety with a small number of thorns. Medium-sized berries have a dark purple color and a pronounced currant flavor.
  • Russian - a tall variety of early ripening. The average weight of dark red berries is 4 g.
  • Malachite - mid-ripening variety with medium-sized fruits, which, when ripe, acquire a sweet taste with a pleasant acidity.
  • Date fruit - a fruitful, late-ripening variety from which up to 12 kg of berries can be harvested during the fruiting phase, with a weight of one in 20 g.

Gooseberry planting in the garden

The future crop will depend on how well the planting of young plants in the garden was carried out.

How to choose gooseberry seedlings

First of all, in order to grow healthy, large bushes, you must choose a quality planting material, which should have the following parameters:

  • Age is a one- or two-year-old seedling.
  • The root system is a well-developed root with a length of at least 25 cm.
  • Shoots - the presence of at least three healthy twigs.
  • Condition - green seedling without visible manifestations of the disease.

Location and soil requirement

Gooseberries show the best results in sunny areas with light soils, where groundwater is deep enough. The soil is prepared 20 days before the seedlings are planted: the selected area is cleaned of weeds, deeply dug up with the simultaneous application of compost, which has a loosening effect, providing good aeration on the site.

Gooseberry planting nuances in spring, autumn

Gooseberry can be planted in spring, but the best planted specimens are planted in October.

With an autumn landing:

  • At a dug up and leveled area, landing pits of 50x50x50 cm in size with a row spacing of 3 m and a distance between future bushes of 1.5 m are prepared.
  • A nutrient substrate is prepared from the upper fertile layer with the addition of humus and 150 g of nitroammophos.
  • Saplings with a well-spread root system fall into the pits, after which they are covered with a substrate so that the root neck is buried 2 cm into the ground.
  • The soil in the near-stem circle is compacted, watered and, after drying, mulched with a peat layer of 3 cm.
  • Shoots are shortened to 5-7 cm.

Planting in the spring is carried out according to a similar pattern, but the survival rate of bushes planted during this period is much worse.

Goose Goose Care

It’s easy to take care of gooseberries if you responsibly approach compliance with the basic agrotechnical requirements for growing.

How to care in the spring?

Spring care for the bushes involves the following activities:

  • Pruning - the procedure is performed immediately after the snow melts until the kidneys wake up.
  • Treatment of bushes - during the period of swelling of the kidneys, preventive spraying of gooseberries with tank mixtures is carried out to destroy pathogens and wintering stock of the pest.
  • Fertilizing - after waking up, the bushes need additional nutrition, which is provided by introducing nitroammophos, containing all the necessary macronutrients.
  • Loosening and mulching - at the end of spring, the trunk circle loosens, and then is covered with a layer of mulch to protect against rapid evaporation of moisture.

The nuances of summer care

Summer care is the simplest and consists of regular watering, which provide the plant with the necessary soil moisture reserve, and two top dressings containing phosphorus and potassium.

Gooseberry Care in Autumn

Autumn care includes harvesting, harvesting fallen leaves and preparing for winter (pruning, fertilizing with phosphorus fertilizers and mulching the trunk circle).

Trimming and shaping bushes

Trimming gooseberries is carried out in spring and autumn.

Spring pruning

Before awakening the buds, the bushes are sheared for sanitary purposes: unproductive, injured, diseased branches are removed. And also basal shoots are cut to the base and the frozen ones are slightly shortened.

Autumn pruning

An annual procedure to avoid thickening and the formation of low-quality fruits.

Taking into account the value of five-seven-year branches and branches of the first or third orders, pruning should be carried out according to the following scheme:

  1. Branches older than 8 years are trimmed to the base, which stimulates the development of zero shoots.
  2. Low and far growing shoots are also removed.
  3. The tops of the shoots are cut off, on which the fruits began to fade.
  4. Places of cuts, especially on old, thick branches, are cultivated by garden var.

Breeding methods

Gooseberry propagation, as a rule, is carried out by vegetative methods, which do not cause any special difficulties during carrying out - cuttings, reproduction by layering.

Cuttings

Cuttings are carried out in the period of slowdown, which occurs in the month of July.

Wherein:

  1. Cuttings of the first order up to 20 cm long with 10 internodes are cut.
  2. Planting material is aged for 8 hours in a growth promoter to improve root formation.
  3. Prepared cuttings are buried by 2 cm in a loose substrate of sand and peat in equal parts.
  4. A mini-greenhouse is created above the landings to provide the necessary parameters - humidity 90%, soil and air temperature 20 and 27 ° C, respectively.
  5. After 10 days, the film is removed, and the cuttings are seated for growing.

Horizontal layering

With a similar procedure, which is subject to three to four year old bushes before sap flow, the following steps are taken:

  1. Annual basal shoots are selected.
  2. Shallow grooves are excavated next to them.
  3. At the selected shoots, the apical part of 3 cm is pinched, after which they are laid in grooves, where they are fixed with wire staples or wooden studs.
  4. The first time the layering is sprinkled with soil after germination of shoots from the buds by 5 cm.
  5. After reaching young shoots of 15 cm, the shoots are earthed up almost to the tops.
  6. By autumn, from one horizontal layering, up to six seedlings will be formed with roots that can be separated and planted.

Gooseberry diseases and their treatment

European gooseberry varieties are susceptible to defeat by such a dangerous fungal disease as powdery mildew, the peak of development of which is observed in warm and humid weather. The disease, developing on all parts of the shrub in the form of a white coating, and then brown spots, can cause the death of the entire crop. In the future, if untreated, the whole bush may die for several years. In case of powdery mildew, the plant should be treated with a copper-containing preparation before flowering. If weather conditions are favorable for the resumption of the development of the disease, then the treatment is repeated.

Also, anthracnose, spotting, rust and mosaic can be observed on the culture, the last of the listed diseases cannot be treated due to the viral nature. The remaining fungal diseases are treated with fungicides by spraying twice - before the awakening of the kidneys and after harvesting.

Plant pests and control

Often, gooseberries are attacked by aphids and gooseberries. Defeating aphids is very simple with insecticidal treatment. And for effective protection of a plant from a butterfly, it is necessary to know the specifics of its development. The damage to the culture is not caused by the butterflies themselves, but by the caterpillars hatching from the eggs laid by the firearm, which begin active feeding after flowering. During this period, it is necessary to immediately spray the bushes with an insecticide.

Harvesting and storage

The berry ripens in the second half of summer: depending on the variety, the fruiting phase can occur in different summer months. Gooseberries are characterized by amicable ripening of fruits. However, the harvest can be carried out for a month due to its interesting developmental feature - the fruits are not prone to shedding even after the onset of biological ripeness.

The delicious fruits of the berry shrub are not suitable for long-term storage fresh, but they make excellent jam and jam.If the gardener wants to preserve the gooseberry flavor without adding sugar, then you can use the freezer or dry the fruits.

Attention! Whole berries that have just reached biological ripeness are used for freezing and drying.

Thus, after a competent planting and observing simple rules for care, the gardener will provide himself with stable, high-quality gooseberry crops for many years.

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