Amber gooseberry: description of the variety and characteristics, cultivation and propagation

Description of the gooseberry variety Amber

The variety was created by a group of Soviet breeders under the leadership of the talented scientist M. Pavlov in the early 50s of the last century. Despite its fairly decent age, this variety is not inferior to new gooseberry varieties in most economic and biological characteristics.

Bush

The bushes of this variety are quite well developed. In structure, the bushes are semi-spreading, medium-sized and quite leafy. The average height reaches 1.6-1.8 m. The shoots are moderately spiny. The spikes are small in size, single, thin and straight. The leaves are light green, straight, slightly dissected. The leaf blade is small or medium-sized, having a straight base. The leaves are quite strongly curved in the opposite direction. At the edges, the leaves have small teeth. The variety has high resistance to diseases and pests. Drought resistance and winter hardiness are at a high level.

Berries

Ripe fruits have an orange-yellow (amber) color. In shape, the fruits are oval or slightly oval, having a relative thickening at one end. The berries have juicy pulp with a sweetish taste and honey aroma. The average weight of the berry is 4-5 g. The ripening period of gooseberries depends on weather and climatic conditions. The higher the temperature, the faster the variety ripens and accumulates more sugar.

Under such conditions, the ripening period lasts from mid-July to the end of August. When the climate is cooler, ripening occurs from late July to late September. Depending on changes in weather conditions of a particular year, the ripening date may vary by 6-8 days in both directions.

With proper care of plants, the yield of one bush can reach up to 7-8 kg. Cases have been recorded when it was possible to obtain up to 10 kg of ripe berries from a bush. The transportability of the harvested crop is characterized as quite good. This is explained by the presence of dense and strong skin of the berries, which does not crack or burst during transportation.

Harvesting

Honey gooseberry has a good yield - up to 4–5 kg of fruit can be collected from one bush. The variety is absolutely universal. Compotes are made from unripe greenish berries, jams, jams are made from unripe greenish-yellow fruits. The latter can also be frozen. It’s even a shame to use fully ripened fruits for winter preparations; it’s better to eat them fresh or bake pies, cakes, muffins, and so on.

Doctors recommend gooseberries to those who live in areas with unfavorable ecology. It contains pectins, which help remove waste, toxins and heavy metal salts from the body. It is believed that berries eaten directly from the bush and freshly squeezed juice help neutralize even the effects of radiation and prevent the development of cancer.

Technical maturity of gooseberries occurs approximately 2 weeks before full ripening. Therefore, berries for compote and jam can be collected already in the second and third ten days of July. The faster you process them, the more useful substances will be preserved in winter preparations.

If you plan to eat gooseberries fresh and right away, pick them in the morning or evening so that the berries are dry. You need to pick one bush at a time. Be sure to leave the stalk at least 5 mm long, and do not pick off the berries at the base. Use small (up to 2.5–3 liters) and wicker containers so as not to crush the berries that end up at the very bottom.

Gooseberries intended for transportation must be further dried, scattered in a thin layer on newspapers or cloth, and sorted, discarding all the berries with the slightest signs of damage. Select containers with hard walls.

Yellow gooseberry jam is not only beautiful, but also very healthy.

Place freshly picked gooseberries immediately in the refrigerator, cellar, basement or other place with a low temperature. But even if all conditions are met, fully ripe gooseberries will not last longer than 2-3 days.

You can extend this period to 10–12 days if you collect it 4–5 days earlier than the berries are completely ripe. Then they will ripen within 2-3 days. You can do the same if the forecast for the expected day of gooseberry picking and a few days before and after it is unfavorable - damp, cloudy, rainy weather. Gooseberries collected in advance will not crack, fall off or begin to rot.

Long-term storage of gooseberries (up to 1.5 months) is possible at a temperature of about 0ºC and a relative air humidity of 85–90%. Scatter them in a thin layer into cardboard boxes or wooden boxes, sprinkled with sawdust, straw, and finely torn newspapers.

In the refrigerator, in a special compartment for fruits and vegetables, gooseberries will last 3-4 months. To save space, place it in open plastic bags. Condensation can be prevented by pre-cooling the berries. Before use, place the package in a cool place (+8...+10 ºС) for 6–8 hours and only then into a room at room temperature.

In the process of assembling gooseberries, you need to follow a certain algorithm. This especially applies to varieties with a large number of thorns, including Honey. First, remove all the berries on the outer branches that can be reached without removing the binding or support. Only then is it removed, the bush slightly “disintegrates”, and you can get to the inner branches without significant damage to your health. In the very middle of the bush, help yourself with a pitchfork.

Be sure to use thin leather gloves or a canvas mitten for the hand you use to push the branches apart. To protect themselves and not spend a lot of time picking gooseberries, craftsmen come up with various devices. Most often, one side of an old saucepan, ladle or large mug is cut in half, attaching something resembling teeth to the cut. Then just lift the branch and run these teeth along the underside. A significant disadvantage is that vegetative and flower buds can be torn off from young shoots. In this case, do not expect a harvest next year.

Most berry crops are completely unsuitable for consumption when unripe. However, compote and jam from unripe and half-ripe gooseberries will turn out tastier and more beautiful than from ripe ones.

Gooseberry picking - video

Advantages and disadvantages of Amber

The Yantarny variety combines a whole range of economic and biological advantages.

• First of all, it should be noted the long fruiting period. Ripe berries do not fall off and remain on the branches for a long time.
• The harvested crop can be transported over a long distance.
• Grown berries can be used to make compotes and jams.

In addition to the above positive characteristics, the variety also has certain disadvantages:

• The bushes are quite spreading and dense. Therefore, during the growing process, it is necessary to install wooden or metal supports, which will ensure timely staking and sanitary pruning.
• Do not forget about the rather sharp thorns, which cause significant difficulties in the process of caring for gooseberry bushes.
• During prolonged heat treatment, the berries may burst or become soft.
• If cloudy weather persists during the cultivation of this variety, the grown berries may have a weak sour taste.

How and when to plant Amber gooseberries

To get a significant harvest of berries, you must adhere to the recommended growing technology. Any deviation from this technology is guaranteed to lead to a decrease in yield and a decrease in the intensity of development of the gooseberry bush.

Seedling preparation

Particular attention must be paid to the correct selection of high-quality, healthy seedlings.

First of all, you need to choose seedlings from certified gardening stores or from well-known amateur gardeners.

Planting material of this variety should be no more than two years old.

A standard seedling must have 3-4 well-formed shoots at least 30 cm long. The root system must be at least 25 cm long and consist of a large number of viable dark-colored roots.

A day before planting the seedling in a permanent growing place, it is necessary to cut off the tops of the shoots by 1-2 cm and place the seedling in water. It is advisable to add the drug Kornevin (4-5 ml per 3-4 liters of water) to this solution to increase the intensity of the formation of a new root system. It is also advisable to trim the tips of the roots by 1-2 cm. All damage on the surface of the shoots should be covered with garden varnish.

Features of planting shrubs

Seedlings of this crop can be planted throughout the entire growing season from early spring to late autumn. According to experienced gardeners, the most optimal planting time is autumn, namely September. When planted at this time, the young plant will be able to take root quite well before the onset of the first autumn frosts, which will ensure normal overwintering in the future.

For satisfactory development of gooseberries, you should choose a site that is well lit and with reliable protection from gusty winds. It is very important that the soil in this area is slightly acidic or neutral with the presence of a significant amount of nutrients. For the normal supply of moisture and oxygen to the plant bark system, it is necessary that the soil has a loose structure.

Planting process

2-3 weeks before planting, the area should be dug or plowed to a depth of 27-29 cm. After this, until planting, the soil surface should be kept loose and free of weeds. It is very important to level the soil surface for future high-quality watering and care of gooseberry bushes. As noted earlier, Amber gooseberries can be planted throughout the season.

The most important stage of planting is preparing the planting hole. It is very important that the dimensions of this pit fully correspond to the parameters of the root system of the seedling of a given crop. When choosing a location for a planting hole, you need to decide what planting pattern will be used. Since this variety has a fairly high above-ground part, it is necessary that the planting pattern be at least 2 x 2 m.

On average, a planting hole has a width and depth of about 48-50 cm. In the process of digging such a hole, fertile and less fertile soil must be laid separately. A properly dug hole should have smooth and vertical walls. After digging a hole, it is fertilized with 8-9 kg of rotted manure, 30-40 g of potassium salt and 120-150 g of superphosphate. 7-8 kg of fertile soil are poured on top of all these fertilizers and mixed thoroughly.

Before planting gooseberries, pour 7-9 liters of water into the planting hole. After waiting for the water to be completely absorbed, a seedling is placed in the center of the hole and the root system is covered with fertile soil. In this case, the root collar should be located 4-5 cm below the soil surface. We have already written how to determine the root collar of a seedling, we recommend reading it. After planting is completed, a watering hole is made around the seedling.

Landing

The high winter hardiness and unpretentiousness of the variety allow planting at almost any convenient time. For conditions in the Central region, it is possible to plant bushes until mid-October.

However, even such an unpretentious gooseberry variety as Yantarny requires careful adherence to growing conditions.

The optimal option for placing gooseberry bushes: the row is located along the fence/wall on the south side at a distance of 1.5...2.0 m: the distance between the bushes in the row is 1.2...1.5 m, on large plantations the row spacing (between planting holes) must be at least 2 m.

Planting gooseberries of the Yantarny variety is carried out with 1- or 2-year-old seedlings.

1. Layers grown by yourself can be replanted without additional processing.
2. To guarantee 100% survival rate, it is recommended to treat purchased seedlings with an open root system with root formation stimulants (kornevin, heteroauxin) according to the instructions, or simply immerse the roots in plain water overnight.

Amber gooseberries are durable compared to other varieties - up to 15 years of active fruiting compared to 10-12 years for traditional varieties. When planting, you should immediately provide the most comfortable conditions for growth and nutrition.

Carrying out deep digging with fertilizer/improving the soil composition of the entire site is difficult and costly. To create favorable conditions for seedling growth in the first 2-3 years, high-quality filling of the planting pit is sufficient. To fill the root zone, a special composition is prepared in advance:

• 1 bucket (10 l.) humus or compost;
• 1/4 cup (50 g) superphosphate;
• 1/2 l. wood ash.

Planting technology is not difficult:

1. Dig a planting hole with a diameter of 50...60 cm and a depth of 30...40 cm.
2. The roots of the prepared seedling are slightly shortened by 1…2 cm.
3. The seedling is placed vertically in the hole with a depth of 5...6 cm, the roots are straightened, and covered with a nutrient mixture to approximately 1/2 of the depth.
4. The soil in the hole is slightly compacted and watered with 10 liters. water.
5. When the water is absorbed, fill the hole to the top with soil, form a hole for irrigation and mulch.

To improve survival rate, experienced gardeners recommend shortening the above-ground part of the seedling to 3-4 buds on the branches.

Plant care

After planting is completed, you need to begin organizing timely care for the young seedling. The intensity of development of the young plant largely depends on the correctness of such activities.

Seasonal Care Basics

Depending on the weather conditions of the season, certain care methods must be applied.

In spring, the main task of caring for gooseberries is to control weeds, fertilize and loosen the soil.

During the summer, the above methods of care should be followed, combining them with abundant watering.

In the fall, you need to prepare the Amber gooseberry for the upcoming winter. To do this, the bush is pruned and insulated.

Pest and disease control should be carried out throughout the season.

Soil care

To ensure rapid access of oxygen and moisture to the gooseberry roots, it is necessary to regularly loosen the soil to a depth of 5-7 cm. In addition, timely loosening helps to destroy weeds, which can greatly inhibit gooseberry plants and absorb significant amounts of nutrients. In case of prolonged drought, timely watering is necessary.

Watering should be done 2-5 times per season in a volume of 40-50 liters per plant. With this watering, the soil around the gooseberries should be moistened to a depth of 46-50 cm. In the second half of autumn, you need to perform one intensive watering with a volume of 60-70 liters per bush. During the entire growing period, regular watering should be carried out every 7-8 days. In this case, the irrigation rate should be 7-9 liters. for one gooseberry bush.

Support

In view of the powerful and spreading bush, immediately after planting the seedling, you need to take care of assembling and installing the support. The support can be assembled from metal structures or using wooden blocks. The main elements of this structure are vertically installed bars, across which thick wire is stretched at intervals of 50 cm.

Feeding

Amber gooseberry is very responsive to fertilizing during its cultivation.

• The plant needs the first feeding at the end of March. It is best to use a solution of ammonium nitrate - 20-25 g per 10 liters. water. 2-3 liters are consumed per bush. such a solution.
• After flowering is completed, the bush is fertilized with a solution of liquid manure. To do this, liquid mullein is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:8. 2-3 liters are consumed per bush.
• After harvesting, you need to perform a third feeding, consisting of 30-50 g of potassium chloride. This fertilizing significantly increases the winter hardiness of gooseberry plants.

Pruning and crown formation

At the end of the first growing season, all shoots are cut off, leaving 4-5 buds on the shoots. From the autumn of the second year of cultivation, 6-7 buds are left on each shoot. In addition, you need to leave 5-6 of the strongest secondary processes. All shoots affected by diseases or pests are completely removed.

Reproduction

Amber gooseberries belong to varietal plants, but at home the seed propagation method is not used as it is too troublesome. To obtain high-quality planting material, all types of vegetative propagation are used, which are simple and reliable, and fruiting begins within 1 year after planting:

1. Dividing the bush: if planted in the fall at the right time, fruiting will begin the next season.
2. Pruning: Cuttings can produce a large number of shoots. This method requires regular monitoring: frequent watering, sprinkling, and fertilizing.
3. “Chinese” method: bury a branch in the ground and in the spring grow a strong offspring - a scion of the parent bush.

The last method is simple and accessible even to novice gardeners. From 1 bush you can painlessly grow 2-3 shoots, and for many years your family will be provided with delicious berries and ingredients for winter preparations - compote, jam, marshmallows and marmalade.

Disease and pest control

Gooseberries are most often parasitized by moths, sawflies and aphids. You can fight them using ash infusion in a proportion of 200 g per 3 liters of water or using the insecticide Karbofos.

The most common disease of this variety is powdery mildew. To combat it, you should treat the shoots with DNOC before the buds open or scald the bushes with boiling water. When the first symptoms of the disease appear, you need to spray the above-ground part with fungicides Ridoil Gold or Fufanon. We recommend looking at the main gooseberry diseases with photos and treatment methods.

Reviews about gooseberry Amber

Andrey, Krasnodar

The variety is very productive and unpretentious. The bushes are powerful with a lot of fruits. Loves watering and fertilizing. The berries are large and fragrant.

Antonina, Moscow

I've been growing this variety for quite some time now. In some years, we collect up to 10 kilos of delicious berries from the bush. The variety does not require any special conditions. The most important thing is to fight powdery mildew in a timely manner.

Sergey, Ufa

Excellent variety. The yields are always high and the berries are sweet. Easy to care for. Loves watering, timely pruning and fertilizing.

Characteristics

• During the fruiting period, Yantarny enters the 2nd year of planting a 2-year-old seedling;
• In terms of ripening time, the crop is classified as early ripening. In the Central region, the berries ripen by the end of June - beginning of July;
• the yield is simply excellent (the author of the variety, M.A. Pavlova, paid great attention to this characteristic). Up to 10 kg (more than a bucket) of excellent quality berries are harvested from one bush. According to other sources, this figure is even higher – 11 – 12 kg per bush;
• when ripe, the dense skin protects the gooseberries from cracking, even in rainy weather;
• ripe fruits do not fall off, hang on the branches for a long time, and do not overripe;
• The plant's immunity is high - it is practically not affected by spheroteka (American powdery mildew). But resistance to white spotting is not very good;

• The winter hardiness of gooseberries is high; there is information that the crop is able to safely survive frosts of -40°C. The branches do not freeze;
• The drought resistance of the variety is good;
• Amber is a long-livers and is able to live fruitfully in one place for more than 30 years;
• transportability at a high level - the commercial appearance of the crop is not lost during transportation;
• The purpose of the berries is dessert, the method of consumption is universal. The fruits are suitable for jam, making marmalade, jelly, and wine.