How to feed gooseberries in the fall

Hello dear friends.

Today we will talk about feeding gooseberries in the fall. Fertilizers, organic matter and mineral supplements are necessary for the plant to survive the winter.

Proper care is the basis of the future harvest. You will learn how to prepare manure, droppings, and how to use wood ash and compost for fertilizing in this article.

Caring for seedlings is not that difficult. Timely pruning and fertilizing ensure high yields for the next year.

Proper preparation for wintering guarantees the safety of plants. Fertilizing gooseberries in the fall with fertilizers is not such a complicated procedure.

When to fertilize gooseberries in autumn

Autumn feeding of gooseberries is usually carried out simultaneously with the treatment of tree trunk circles. Fertilizers containing mainly potassium and phosphorus are used for it. The first requires about 20, and the second - 30 grams per bush. In addition, it is advisable to add a layer of humus or peat mixed with wood ash under the plants. Its thickness should not exceed 10 cm.

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This addition can be done simultaneously with fertilizing or after it. But it would be good to do it before the first frost. Typically, gooseberry feeding occurs in September-October.

Tips and reviews from experienced gardeners

Practical advice from those who have been growing gooseberries for a long time, know many of the nuances of this process, will help prevent annoying mistakes.

Here's what experienced gardeners advise:

Fresh manure should not be used to fertilize gooseberry bushes. This rule applies to other cultures as well. The consequence may be a burn to the roots. The plant will begin to wither and may die. Bird droppings must also be diluted with water at least ten times.
Before planting gooseberries, determine what type of soil is on your site and adjust its composition. If sandy inclusions predominate, organic fertilizers are required. Soils with a predominance of clay must be diluted with sand and organic matter. All additives are added during digging before planting.
Do not use fertilizers containing nitrogen for autumn feeding of gooseberries.

You can feed gooseberries in the fall using folk remedies:

take one kilogram of potato peels;
pour ten liters of boiling water;
close the lid tightly and let the mixture sit for an hour;
When the mixture has cooled, water the bush around the trunk.

Another recipe for a good harvest next year:

collect weeds after weeding;
fill the bucket halfway with grass and fill it with water;
leave for 5-8 days. The composition has an unpleasant odor, but is very effective as a top dressing.

Knowledgeable gardeners advise covering the gooseberry bush for the winter. This applies to the northern territories. As soon as the first serious frosts begin, bend the branches of the bush to the ground and secure them with staples or pegs.

When snow cover appears, the bushes can be covered with snow. If the winter is expected to be harsh, cover the gooseberries with spruce branches. Some people use pieces of plywood and construct a full-fledged shelter from them.

Mulching the tree trunk circle before winter is a prerequisite for preserving the root system. Suitable materials are those that are not subject to caking during winter. These are straw waste and conifer needles.

Feeding gooseberries in autumn

Compost. This is an organic mass that has rotted under the influence of microorganisms. The value of compost lies in enriching the soil with various nutrients for berry bushes. You can make it yourself by mixing tops, weeds and the remains of soda plants. The mass is left until it decomposes completely. You can tell if the fertilizer is ripe by its crumbly and moist appearance and forest smell. Compost is applied in autumn and spring at the rate of 3–5 kg per bush.
Ash. The natural product is sprinkled on the soil around the plant at the rate of 100 g per 1 m2 of soil. This fertilizer will not only enrich the soil with potassium and phosphorus, but will also prevent the development of diseases and the proliferation of pests. To fertilize heavy soils and alkalize, add up to 200 g per m2 of wood ash in the fall. The most valuable is the ash from herbaceous plants. For example, when burning sunflower and buckwheat tops, the ash will contain about 36% K2O. But the fireproof residue from the trees will be nutritious for the bush of birch leaves.

Fertilizer selection

For normal growth and development of gooseberries, a lot of substances are required, including:

Nitrogen.
Phosphorus.
Potassium.

Nitrogen is intended for the growth of green mass and is an indispensable link in photosynthesis. The lack of a component is accompanied by loss of yield and wilting of the green parts. In the absence of radical measures, gooseberry growth slows down, and the berries ripen unevenly or crumble. Oxygen starvation occurs when:

Excessively high soil acidity.
An overabundance of organic fertilizers, which is why nitrogen takes on a form that is difficult for the shrub.
Abundance of weeds that absorb substances from the soil.

However, excess nitrogen also negatively affects gooseberries and manifests itself in accelerated growth of green mass. This worsens the frost resistance of the bush and causes freezing of the young shoots during the cold season.

The soil is saturated with matter in the following ways:

Vital activity of microorganisms.
Addition of organic and mineral compounds.

The main sources of nitrogen include the following compounds:

Ammonium sulfate. Intended for the formation of above-ground elements and affects the fruiting of the crop. Fertilizer granules quickly dissolve and are not washed out of the soil by precipitation. The disadvantage of the composition is the increase in acidity.
Ammonium nitrate. Strengthens the gooseberry immune system and has a healing effect on the soil. The substance dissolves quickly, but in excess it causes burns.
Urea. It also strengthens the immune system and is used to prevent dangerous diseases and pests. The composition is applied to the soil during spring digging. It dissolves quickly and is well absorbed by the bush. At the same time, there is practically no negative impact on the soil or green parts.

The next important element is phosphorus. It is necessary for most life processes in the berry bush: respiration, water absorption, berry formation, etc. A lack of phosphorus results in purple or dark green spots on the foliage. In addition, this problem reduces the number of ovaries and makes the shrub stunted.

Excess of the substance does not cause negative consequences, since the plant consumes only the required amount of phosphorus and no more. A deficiency of the chemical element is especially dangerous for young bushes. The symptoms of phosphorus starvation cannot be eliminated even with increased feeding in the future.

Phosphorus is found in the following mineral compounds:

Simple superphosphate. Needed by the bush at the stage of fruit formation. Affects the taste and aroma of berries.
Double superphosphate. Used to strengthen the gooseberry root system.
Phosphorite flour. Used for cultivating highly acidic soils.

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Potassium is also required for the development of gooseberries. It is involved in photosynthesis and metabolic processes, and also determines the sugar content in berries and affects flowering.

A lack of potassium leads to the fact that the bush ceases to form lateral shoots, and the leaves curl and die. The size of the fruits decreases and their quality becomes poor. Excess calcium causes the ovaries, leaves and berries to fall off.

To saturate gooseberries with potassium, the following fertilizers are used:

Potassium sulfate. It is applied under the bush in the fall and is intended to improve the frost resistance of the crop.
Potassium chloride. It is the most popular component when growing berry bushes. It is the main fertilizer for the normal course of vegetation processes.
Potassium salt. It is effective when digging the soil in autumn and spring.

In addition to the fertilizers listed, complex formulations are used for gooseberries. Among them:

Nitroammophoska. It is a balanced triple fat containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Top dressing is used in the autumn in the amount of 100 g per bush or in the summer in a liquid state (50-60 per sq. m).
Nitrophoska. Contains 3 important components (nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus). The composition is suitable for autumn-spring treatment of bushes and is consumed at the rate of 70-80 g per square meter. m.
Ammophos. It is a combination of 12% nitrogen and 40-50% phosphorus. Apply to gooseberry bushes in the fall.
Nitrophosphate. The composition consists of 23% nitrogen and 17% phosphorus. Intended for both summer and autumn use.

Gooseberries respond well to fertilization with organic means. They saturate it with useful substances, strengthen the immune system and increase resistance to diseases and pests.

Under the bushes bring:

Slurry.
Bird droppings.
Mullein.
Compost.

It is better to provide organic matter in a liquid state, diluting the components in a bucket of water. The proportions of substances are determined according to the following scheme:

Slurry – 1:10.
Compost – 1:4.
Mullein – 1:6.
Bird droppings – 1:13.

How to properly apply fertilizer in the fall for gooseberries

In order to avoid actions that could result in the death of your currants, fertilizing in the fall should be carried out not only technically correctly, but also using the right components. Components containing nitrogen are added first. In just a week you will be able to see the results of this feeding. This is due to the fact that such fertilizers act very quickly, and buds appear on a growing bush, and shoots of one year are well compacted. Mid-October is the time to apply manure. The first part should be buried deep enough. This feeding of currants in the fall begins with the manure being scattered around the bush, and then digging up to a depth of about twenty centimeters. After such manipulation, the soil surface should be leveled with a rake. There is no need to bury the next portion, but simply place it around the bush.

Why is it necessary to feed gooseberries?

This shrub begins its growing season in early spring, so caring for it also begins early, soon after the snow melts, during the period of bud break. In order for the gooseberry to have enough nutrition for growth and development, it must be fed for the first time in the season at exactly this time.

The first feeding will provide the bush with nutrients before flowering, which it will spend on the growth of leaves and young shoots, the second will promote abundant flowering, the third will allow the gooseberry to grow a crop of berries and improve their quality.

How to feed gooseberries in the fall after pruning

Beginning gardeners may have questions about whether they need to feed gooseberries in the fall after pruning, and how to do it correctly. In the fall, in the 2nd year after planting, compost should be added to both varieties of shrubs, on average 3-5 kg per bush. You can also feed the shrubs with slurry in the proportion of 1 bucket of manure to 8 buckets of water.

Of the mineral fertilizers after autumn pruning, only potassium and phosphate fertilizers are applied. It is enough to do this in a year. Thanks to the autumn application of phosphorus and potassium, the winter hardiness of plants significantly increases. These fertilizers are applied at the rate of 50 g of superphosphate, 30 g of potassium sulfate or 100 g of wood ash per 1 square meter. m of soil.

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Trimming

Gooseberries are fast-growing crops that are prone to thickening, so they require annual sanitary and formative pruning, as well as rejuvenating pruning for plants older than 7 years.

Gooseberries need to be pruned every year

Late in autumn, after leaf fall, branches are cut from the bushes:

dried out, broken and damaged by diseases or pests;
thickening the crown, growing in the center of the bush and tilted too low to the ground or lying on it;
twisted and thin unripe;
old shoots with almost black, dark brown bark (while leaving an equal number of replacement young shoots).

Anti-aging pruning begins from the seventh year of the plant’s life.

This year's very long shoots are shortened by a quarter or a third of their length to stimulate lateral branching.

Video: trimming gooseberry bushes

Caring for gooseberries after autumn feeding

At the stage of preparing gooseberries for winter, we must not forget about late autumn watering. It serves to saturate the berry plant with moisture. After all, the roots of the plant go deep. In order for all the moisture to go to the roots of the plant, you need to make grooves along which watering will be carried out. Water consumption in this case is 30 liters per bush. Such moisture-charging watering is done no later than mid-October. In the northern regions a little earlier, a month before the onset of frost.

Late watering cannot be neglected. This will reduce the yield of the bush. After all, young shoots on which fruits are formed suffer from a lack of moisture. In the conditions of the southern and middle zones, additional shrub cover other than mulching is not required.

In harsh winter conditions, the plant simply will not survive without additional shelter. After all, gooseberries cannot tolerate temperatures dropping to -40 degrees. There is no point in hoping for a warm winter and risking the bushes. Gooseberry shoots must be carefully tied with twine and bent to the ground at an angle. Next, the bush is covered with dry leaves or peat. Wooden panels are installed on top and covered with burlap or covering material.

Treatment of the root zone

Gooseberries grow and bear fruit better on loose soils, so the row spacing and the soil underneath are carefully loosened - the roots grow shallow. In autumn, a lot of garbage accumulates there: fallen leaves, rotten berries, broken branches. Be sure to clean everything up, because pests and pathogens overwinter in the garbage. It is best to burn the collected branches and leaves.

Then all weeds are removed from under the bush. It is not recommended to use herbicides for these purposes; it is better to remove the weeds manually. At the same time, weeding and loosening the soil help get rid of pests that remain in the soil for the winter. Pay special attention to weeding the wheatgrass; aphid larvae remain on it, which then move onto branches and leaves.

What to do if you didn’t have time to feed the gooseberries in the fall

If you forgot to feed your garden well, and it entered the winter weakened, then in the spring give it more nutrients. Immediately after waking up, treat the leaves with complex fertilizers. Or rather, the kidneys. To give her strength, it is worth using stimulants, for example, Epin. It will give strength and help cope with spring frosts, as well as diseases and pests. The natural product will also be effective on other trees and shrubs in your garden.

Do you want to collect fifteen kilograms of delicious large berries from the gooseberries growing in your garden? Then you need to try to provide the shrub with the best conditions for growth and fruiting. Although some gardeners manage to get a good harvest without making much effort, for a plant like gooseberries, planting and care are of great importance. This article examined how to fertilize gooseberry bushes in the fall. We found out what fertilizers are applied and in what way. When applying fertilizers, it is important to remember the sequence in which nutrients are added to the soil, and also try to adhere to the timing of fertilizing as much as possible. And then the gooseberry harvest will delight you for many years. And the plant will be healthy, hardy and will survive any winter well, even the coldest.

Disease and pest control

When caring for bushes, pay attention to the presence of diseases. In autumn, shoots are often affected by diseases and pests. Frequent watering or rainy summers lead to increased humidity and a favorable environment for the development of powdery mildew. A thin cobweb appears on the leaves and shoots, and later a felt coating appears. Aphids appear on young eyelids and leaves, and a sticky coating appears on the underside of the leaf. The leaf blades first curl into a tube and their growth slows down.

Determine the degree of plant damage. Severely affected branches are immediately cut off at the root. In case of small lesions, as a preventative measure, the bushes are treated with Bordeaux mixture, copper sulfate, Inta-vir, and the drugs Fundazol and Topaz help a lot. If there is a large number of pests, the bushes are treated with Atellik and karbofos.

Have a good harvest!