Quite often gooseberries are planted in summer cottages. This is a tasty and healthy berry that is consumed both fresh and canned. Harvesting for the winter can be in different directions, and the fruits are used at different levels of maturity. When a gooseberry matures and when to harvest it depends on many factors.
Ripening time
The ripening terms of gooseberries depend on what kind of plant has been planted in a summer cottage, for what purpose it is planned to pick berries, and other factors. The climatic features of the region are also important.
Berry picking time depends on variety and climate
Harvest time by grade
When does gooseberry early varieties sing? On average, a month after the flowering season. Such species include gooseberries:
- Spring;
- Black Sea;
- Anniversary.
Varieties of medium ripeness ripens 1.5 months after fruit set. Representatives of mid-season species are:
- Gingerbread man;
- Krasnoslavyansky;
- Malachite;
- Pink-2;
- Salute;
- Prune
Fruits of shrubs with late ripeness begin to collect no earlier than 2 months after flowering. Examples of varieties:
- Russian;
- Change;
- Date fruit;
- Sirius.
Berry picking by region
The weather conditions of each region are different, therefore, the collection time falls on different periods of summer. For example, in the Far East, in the Moscow Region, gooseberries ripen when they harvest in central Russia. The first berries can be enjoyed in the first half of July, mid-ripe varieties at the end of the month, and late at the very beginning of August.
Ripe berries have a characteristic color depending on the variety
In regions of a sharply continental climate, for example, in the Urals or in Siberia, warming comes only at the end of May. Gooseberries bloom in the second decade of June, so the collection of early varieties occur at the end of July, when the gooseberries ripen. Ripe berries of the remaining varieties are harvested 10 to 15 days later, respectively.
In the southern regions, the earliest start of the gooseberry season. Already in the month of June, you can get the first crop.
Important! The life span of a bush also varies by region. Centenarians are specimens growing in the middle lane. In the south, plants bear fruit no more than 10 years.
Of course, the indicated dates when the gooseberry ripens are nominal. Weather conditions change from year to year, therefore, the timing may shift. It is necessary to visually assess the condition of the berries - color, degree of filling and taste.
Harvest time for various needs
Initially, technical maturity occurs in the berries. During this period, the peel acquires a characteristic shade of the variety. The taste of pulp with sourness. In this case, they are best prepared for the winter in the form of compotes or preserves.
Gooseberry jam has excellent taste
When to collect gooseberries for fresh consumption? Best of all during his biological maturity. The color of the fruit does not change, but the flesh becomes juicier. The tail dries, and the skin bursts when pressed.
Well-ripened berries have a juicy pulp, acidity is significantly reduced, sugar is accumulated. In this form, the fruits are consumed fresh. They are great for jam, and you need to put much less sugar.
Important! It is not recommended to pick berries with the hope that they will ripen later. Gooseberry fruit is not inherent. Such berries will have properties much worse than in fully ripened form. Most vitamins and nutrients will be lost.
How to collect gooseberries
How to collect gooseberries is the number one question for gardeners. The problem is the presence of spikes on the branches, which brings a lot of inconvenience. Most often, this process is carried out manually. He is the most sparing, the berries retain their integrity.
But the gooseberry stems have spikes, which causes some inconvenience when harvesting. Therefore, in order not to injure your hands, you need to choose the right clothes. It should be with a long sleeve. Also use leather or suede gloves. There are certain disadvantages to this method of harvesting. The sensitivity in the gloves decreases slightly and there is a chance that overripe berries will burst and lose their properties. Therefore, it is necessary to try to remove them with the peduncle. In addition, the work is quite slow.
Interesting! In order not to use gloves, many gardeners resort to using wooden or plastic tongs. With one hand, the tweezer bends and fixes the shoot, and with the other the fruits are removed.
Mechanical way
With the mechanical method, a special device is used - a vibrator. To begin with, a film or dense fabric spreads around the bush. Then they tilt a separate stem and act on it with a vibrator. The branch begins to fluctuate, as a result of which the berries begin to crumble and fall on the litter. At the next stage, the fruits begin to clear of impurities. This is done by a stream of air from the same vibrator.
The disadvantage of this method is the fact that, under the influence of the mechanism, not only ripe gooseberries are crumbled, but also unripe. Therefore, subsequently it is necessary to sort.
Using the comb method
Gooseberries are collected by combing using a thimble that is put on the thumb, and a device similar to the comb is attached to it. You can make it yourself with wire. Usually, 4 to 6 cloves are mounted on it. The dimensions of the teeth are 1 cm long and 0.7 cm wide.
Gooseberry picking comb
During the collection, the branch is held with one hand, and the second is held as close to its base as possible with a homemade comb. You need to advance the device towards yourself. Berries coming off fall in the palm of the hand. Using this method, the collection is much faster. It allows you to painlessly remove fruits from the bushes, even with large spikes.
Post-harvest plant treatment
Having gathered the current harvest, you should take care of the future. In order for the bush to please with an abundance of berries on the bush, you need to perform a number of measures after the fruits are removed from the branches:
- Trimming the bush. Remove all broken, thickened and darkened stems. They are cut with a sharp secateurs at the very base of the bush.
- Rugged shoots of this year are being cleaned. That is, straight shoots without branching should go from the very base of the bush. Large and juicy berries will be born on them next year. A mature bush should have no more than 20 shoots.
- After a couple of weeks, the plant is fed with compost and potash fertilizers. Around the bush make a small deepening at a distance of 20-30 cm, put fertilizing in it and sprinkle with soil.
- The bushes are treated with fungicides and other sanitary means to destroy diseases, pests and their larvae before the shrub enters the winter sleep season.
Gooseberry pruning after harvest
Harvest Storage
Before collecting gooseberries, you first need to think about a way to store berries. You can do this in several ways, depending on what purpose the crop will be used for.
Berries of technical ripening can be stored fresh for a certain period. But, they must be dried after washing, laying out on a cloth or paper towel. Then they are placed in dishes with a volume of less than 5 liters. Further, the container is left in a dry and dark place. The maximum shelf life of such berries is 4 days.
For mature fruits, the tare volume must be reduced by 2 times. Basket material - chip tape. Shelf life under similar conditions is not more than 2 days. Such baskets are very convenient for transporting crops.
Important! If gooseberries are harvested for further processing, the material and volume of the dishes does not matter.
Some tips from the experience of gardeners on the storage of gooseberries:
- Berries harvested in dry weather can withstand storage in a cool place for up to 10 days.
- Gooseberries must not be harvested in the early morning, when Ross has not yet dried. Shelf life will be significantly reduced.
- To extend the shelf life, it is necessary to conduct short-term drying of the berries, spreading them on a clean surface in one layer.
- In boxes up to 2 liters and at a temperature of 00C, the crop can be stored for a month or more.
- Berries packed in plastic bags, and subject to a temperature of -20 ° C, can last up to 3 months.
You need to store berries in a bowl made of natural materials
Gooseberry is a berry rich in vitamins, possessing excellent taste. But many gardeners refuse to plant these shrubs in their area precisely because of harvest problems. However, if you study when the time comes to ripen gooseberries, and choose the appropriate methods for this, you can greatly facilitate the task.
