Gooseberries are one of the first waking up garden crops. Therefore, in the spring, as soon as possible, you need to do all the necessary work to care for gooseberries, even before the swelling of the kidneys and the appearance of the first foliage. This article describes how to properly care for gooseberries in the spring, summer, and fall months.
When to take shelter from gooseberries
From the climatic conditions, the time directly depends on when it is necessary to remove the shelter from a sleeping bush.
In areas with a temperate and warm climate, in the first days of March, a layer of mulch is removed, which during the winter months saved the roots from hypothermia. The mulch is carefully removed, removed from the site and burned. This procedure is mandatory, since during the winter humus larvae or spores of fungi must have settled in humus.
Gooseberry
In regions with cold winters, in the second half of March, immediately after the snow has melted, agrofibre is removed from the gooseberries, the twine is cut, the branches are cut, the mulch is removed.
Note! Do not forget about cleaning last year's dry leaves from the open bush in order to protect the plant from nascent pests.
How to care for gooseberries in spring
Spring gooseberry care begins with the removal of excess shoots. Pruning of dead, frostbitten, weak and thin, damaged by diseases or close to the ground branches is carried out in the first half of March. Excess shoots are also removed.
All these actions allow you to direct the strength of the plant to the formation of large berries. The overgrown bushes with a large number of shoots are more susceptible to diseases and the appearance of pests, all their forces go to fight them and maintain the life of new sprouts. As a result, the plant is not pollinated properly, the berries are smaller and lose their taste.
For reference! Pruning in the spring is more preventive in nature, the formation of the crown of the bush is performed by cutting branches in the fall.
The next stage of spring care for gooseberries - loosening the soil, which will provide access to warm air and moisture to the roots. Loosening is carried out carefully using a chopper to a depth of not more than 6 cm, so as not to damage the gooseberry root system in any case. Next weeds are harvested.
In spring, as soon as the earth has dried out and dry weather has set, it is recommended to intensively shed gooseberries until a dirt state of the soil at the roots is formed. Then gooseberries are watered no more than once a week with slightly warm water in the morning or evening hours. Good watering is necessary during the flowering of the bush. But do not fill the bush - excess moisture provokes the formation of pathogenic vital activity in the roots.
Covered gooseberry
A new mulching layer under the base of the plant will prevent moisture evaporation, slow down the appearance and growth of weeds. The best option for gooseberry mulch can be:
- sawdust,
- Pine cones,
- straw,
- humus,
- compost or peat.
Fig. 3. swollen kidneys
A plant awakened after hibernation is recommended to be fed. In the early days of spring, during the period of kidney swelling, gooseberries are fed with nitrogen fertilizers. Mulching with compost in combination with nitrogen allows the plant to grow green mass.
The dosage is calculated according to the instructions on the package, an excess of nitrogen leads to an excessive build-up of greenery and the absence of ovaries.
During the appearance of the first flowers, they are fertilized with phosphorus and potassium-containing compounds, which can also be applied in the autumn period after harvesting. Phosphorus nourishes the roots, affects the formation, size and taste of berries. Reduced yield and lack of sweetness in berries is the first sign of a lack of this trace element.
Important!Fertilizers are applied only to moist soil, a reaction on dry soil can lead to burns on the roots and cause the death of the plant.
After top dressing, gooseberries need watering. Together with water, the fertilizer is absorbed faster by the root system.
How to care for gooseberries in summer
In the summer months, gooseberries are watered depending on weather conditions, it is necessary to monitor the soil moisture. If it rains in a day or two, natural watering will be enough for the bush. In dry weather, it is recommended to pour a large bucket of water under the gooseberry root.
Gooseberries with berries
During the intensive ripening of berries in the summer months, gooseberries need to be nourished with the necessary trace elements. To do this, the ground under the bush is watered with water with concentrate from manure and compost.
- A bucket of fresh manure and a quarter of a bucket of compost are required per hundred-liter barrel - all this is filled with water.
- For about two weeks, the dung mixture should be infused.
- Then one part of the concentrate is added to 10 parts of water.
The resulting liquid is poured into a small depression dug around the crown of the bush, then the furrow is buried and mulched by peat. Such top dressing is used no more than two times during the summer during the ripening of berries; after harvesting, such fertilizer is not applied.
Fertilizers with potassium, phosphorus and a small concentration of nitrogen water the roots or spray the crown of the bush. Root feed is the main, and the outer performs more additional function.
Important!External dressing is carried out in the evenings in dry, cool weather, so the beneficial solution will stay on the foliage longer, absorb gradually. Fertilizers are strictly dosed, because excess can burn leaves. Irrigation or irrigation by sprinkling after external top dressing is not performed.
How to tie gooseberries
After the formation of the crown by cutting unnecessary branches, a support is set for the garter of the bush. A bound plant is less susceptible to disease, settling insects, bears fruit longer.
In addition, the garter allows you to keep the shape of a bush, which gives an aesthetically pleasing look.
The plant is tied from the first year of planting, usually in the early spring before bud swelling or in the fall after the final harvest. In summer, it is not recommended to disturb the plant, since the gooseberry will spend all its strength on the restoration of damage that may be caused by tying.
How to grow gooseberries on a trellis, stem or support around the perimeter of the bush
The perimeter support is assembled from wooden battens, polypropylene pipes or reinforcing bars welded in a circle. All materials of the gooseberry backup are necessarily treated with an antiseptic composition and painted to protect the plant from harmful microflora.
Perimeter support
A stamp is a vertical support to which the strongest gooseberry shoot is tied up, growing up. Lateral shoots to such a support are not attached, but cut off.
In the future, you need to leave only the young, most powerful and vertically growing shoots that will form the crown of the bush. Undeveloped shoots growing on the bottom are necessarily cut off.
For the trellis along the rows of gooseberry bushes, two supports are installed on which the wire is horizontally stretched with a gap of not more than 0.3 m.
Trellis
For a simple trellis, three vertical shoots are left on the gooseberry, which are bred in different directions. New shoots in the future will be tied to the wire as they grow.
For double trellis, a U-shaped support is installed at the edges. Shoots from one bush are tied to rows of wire on both sides, which increases the number of fruit-bearing branches. This method is used in cottages with a large number of bushes that will grow freely without shading each other. In this case, the fruits are evenly lit and warmed by the rays of the sun.
Ripe harvest
Important! For the winter, the branches are carefully removed from the trellis, wrapped in a wreath and covered so that they do not freeze.
Harvesting
The harvesting time depends on the variety and climatic conditions of the region, most often this is the end of July - August.
In the northern regions, breeding of early varieties is recommended, allowing the berries to ripen in a fairly short time, such as Eaglet, Pink or Spring. The ripeness of the berries can be divided into technical and actual.
- Technically ripe berries are quite large, with a pronounced sour taste and crisp skin, are used for the preparation of winter preparations.
- In order for the berries to reach actual ripeness, they must be allowed to ripen. Such gooseberry fruits are quite soft inside and out, do not crunch when cracked, sweet-sour taste.
Fruits gain ripeness unevenly, first large berries are picked, and small ones remain to be sung on the bush. This feature of gooseberries allows gardeners to harvest several times during the month.
Gooseberry preparation for winter
After the last harvest, it is necessary to cut the broken and darkened shoots from the gooseberry. The base of the bush should be one branch without branching, in the next season such a plant will give a greater yield.
Winter preparations
In September, a couple of weeks after pruning, gooseberries should be fed with phosphorus and potassium - this will allow the branches to stiffen, which means that the bush will easily survive frosts. Then gooseberries are shed with compounds with fungicides that will destroy pests.
The ground under the bush is weeded, cleaned of dry leaves and loosened. After loosening, the insect larvae appear on the surface of the earth and die in the first frosts.
Important! A fresh layer of mulch will be a heater for the roots, and agrofibre will protect the gooseberry branches from frostbite. The first snow that falls is laid on the ground around the bush, from the following snowfall a snowdrift is built up, which will serve as a protection for the plant from wind and frost.
Timely procedures for the care and cultivation of gooseberries allow you to collect a rich and tasty crop for more than one year. Many novice gardeners ignore the above rules and then wonder why gooseberries have sour or small berries. In fact, each bush can delight with a plentiful harvest, subject to the rules of agricultural technology.
