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Gooseberries are unpretentious and high-yielding berry bushes. It has been cultivated in Russia for several centuries. Planting gooseberries usually does not raise any questions for gardeners. But even experienced gardeners sometimes make serious mistakes when growing it, which threatens poor development and significant loss of yield. Therefore, it won’t hurt to update your knowledge before planting.
Biological features
Gooseberry is a long-lived plant. With careful care, 50-year-old plants produce 25 kg of berries. New branches grow from the base of the bush; an old bush can have up to 60 shoots.
Important! The productivity of shoots depends on their location and nutrition.
In the center of the bush, straight and elongated shoots usually grow, on which fruits grow at the top. The outer branches branch well, are better lit and are much more productive.
The number of shoots growing during the season differs for each variety. Early varieties can grow up to 30 new shoots. However, the thickening of the bush is a disadvantage.
Tillering ends after the growth of branches of the 5th–6th order. The fruits are short-lived, bearing fruit for only 3–4 years. Therefore, the highest yield is harvested from six-year-old branches; in older branches, fruit formation is sharply reduced and they are removed. But if there are shoots on these branches that have entered fruiting, then they are left.
Important! It is a self-pollinating plant, but the flowers attract bees. Their visit significantly increases productivity.
Fruit buds form at the end of summer, after the berries have finished growing. Their establishment requires intensive watering and fertilizing.
The root system is completely located under the projection of the branches. The main fibrous roots are concentrated at a depth of 15–50 cm. The roots are renewed annually, which determines the longevity of the plant.
Temperature conditions of growth
The awakening of the berry bush begins in the second half of April. By the end of the month it is already covered with young leaves. It blooms in early May, and in June the early varieties delight with the first berries.
The aboveground and underground parts are quite cold-resistant, flowering begins at +10 °C, roots begin to work at +1–3 °C. The critical temperature at which flowers are damaged is 1–2 °C. There has never been complete freezing of flowers and fruit ovaries in central Russia.
Moisture-loving
Gooseberries are a drought-resistant plant by nature. It tolerates short-term droughts more easily than prolonged rains. In addition, new varieties have been developed for the southern regions of the country, which have high heat and drought resistance. When deciding how to plant gooseberries correctly, you need to choose places with deep groundwater and not flooded by spring floods.
Photophilousness
Gooseberry is a very light-loving plant. Long-lasting plantings are possible only in a clean, spacious place. Gooseberries on the site, planted near dense bushes or under the crowns of trees, are oppressed, overgrown with thin and long shoots with berries only at the top.
Such shady shoots are poorly leafy, quickly freeze out and often suffer from sphaerosis. Therefore, when deciding how to plant gooseberries correctly, you must not forget about their light-loving nature and choose the right place for planting.
Soil preparation
Gooseberries love loose and nutritious soil, and do not like perennial weeds. Therefore, it must be prepared in advance: a year before planting. Experienced gardeners, before planting a plant, plant dahlias in the planting area. Powerful flowers prevent weeds from developing, cleaning the soil. After them, the beds are loose, clean, without grass.
Any soil is suitable for the development of gooseberries. It grows well:
- on clay;
- sandy;
- peat soil.
Therefore, when thinking about where it is better to plant a berry garden, you don’t have to worry about unsuitable soil.
When planting gooseberries, fertilizers are added to ordinary soil. A bucket of humus and a glass of ash are added to the planting hole. To neutralize the acid reaction, dolomite flour is added to the soil. If you add lime in the fall, by spring the soil will become light and loose.
The question of where to plant gooseberries is decided based on its biological preferences. For a light-loving plant, it is better to choose a bright location, protected from strong winds. The gardener decides where it is best to plant gooseberries based on the conditions of the site.
It blooms but does not bear fruit, what to do?
It often happens that a profusely flowering shrub does not bear fruit. There is an explanation for this. Gooseberries require specific weather conditions during the flowering period.
Active flowering begins at the end of April and ends in May. At this time, the plant requires increased air humidity. If there is no precipitation for a long time, a dry wind is observed. In this case, the pollen ends up on the dry stigma. Because of this, it cannot germinate. This prevents the formation of the ovary.
In addition, the reason why fruits do not form on a profusely flowering plant lies in late frosts. Exposure to low temperatures leads to damage to the formed ovary. Because of this, the ovary falls off and the fruits are not formed.
A too rainy spring can have an extremely negative impact on the gooseberry harvest. Heavy rainfall will become an obstacle for pollinators to fly around. In this case, the flowers cannot be pollinated, so the ovary does not form.
Boarding time
The best seedling for planting is a two-year-old one, with roots 20 cm long and 2-3 branches 30 cm long.
The time of planting a gooseberry seedling depends more on the possibility of purchasing it, since it is planted in spring, autumn and summer. It is impossible to accurately answer the question: when is the best time to plant gooseberries? Each term has its advantages and disadvantages.
Planting begins in early spring, before the buds open. The timing of spring planting of gooseberries is limited from late March to mid-April. This period has many advantages:
- fairly moist soil;
- suitable temperature and almost 100% rooting.
However, at this time it is difficult to find seedlings; it is better to grow them yourself in a schoolyard from autumn cuttings.
In addition, when planting gooseberries in the spring, the above-ground part mainly develops. Young bushes that look strong can freeze.
Can be planted in autumn, from mid-September to mid-October. The peculiarities of autumn planting of gooseberries are that at this time the root develops more strongly. In winter, young gooseberry seedlings are tested for frost resistance. Unrooted, weak seedlings freeze out. You don’t have to worry about the remaining plants; they will live in the garden for a long time.
Seedlings with a closed root system can be planted throughout the season. They have well-developed roots and branches; there is no need to shorten them. But summer weather is not conducive to the rapid development of the plant. A seedling that could only be planted in the summer needs abundant watering and temporary shading.
The gardener decides when to plant young gooseberries based on his free time and the availability of seedlings. How to plant a plant correctly depends on the time of planting.
Gooseberry pest control
Here are the pests that gooseberries suffer from:
Gooseberry shoot aphid
These are pests with a body 1.5–2 cm long and light green in color. They lay black shiny eggs on the branches of the bush at the base of the buds. The emerging larvae feed on the juice of gooseberry buds, leaves and petioles. As a result of this, the leaves at the ends of the shoots become deformed, the shoots themselves become deformed and stop growing.
The larvae turn into adult insects with wings, which settle on new bushes. Over the summer, several generations of aphids hatch, and the last clutch of eggs overwinters on the bushes, and the larvae emerge from them the following spring.
How to fight
In the spring, bushes are sprayed with nitrafen (300 g per 10 liters of water) on dormant buds. After the emergence of adult individuals, the tops of the shoots are cut off and burned, the plants are sprayed with tobacco infusion (400-800 g of tobacco per 10 liters of water), soap (300 g per 10 liters of water).
Acacia false scale
The females of this pest are convex, oval in shape and light brown with red color. Size 4-6 mm in length, 2-4 mm in width. The larvae are yellow or red-brown in color and have 3 pairs of legs. They stick to the branches of the bush, attach themselves to them, become covered with a semicircular shield and begin to suck the juice from the branches.
By the beginning of June, adult individuals form from the larvae, which after 20-25 days produce new larvae under the shield. The emerging larvae leave their shelter and begin to suck the juice from the leaves and petioles of the plant. For the winter, they move to the underside of the branches and are firmly attached to them until spring. In the spring, when the air temperature rises to 6-7 degrees, the larvae become active, move along the bark, stick to it and the cycle repeats.
How to fight
In the spring, before the buds open, the gooseberries are sprayed with a 2-3% solution of 60% nitrafen paste (concentration 200-300 g per 10 liters of water).
When the bushes fade, they are treated with 50% karbofos (concentration 20-30 g per 10 liters of water).
In autumn or early spring, scale insects are brushed off the bark. If the infection is severe, it is not advisable to do this; in this case, the branches are removed and burned.
Willow scale
Having settled on the bushes, this pest lays eggs in August, which in the winter, after its death, are stored under the scutes. The larvae hatch during the gooseberry flowering the following year. They crawl along the shoots, form scutes, stick to the bark and suck the juice from the branches. The branches look depressed and dry out.
How to fight
The fight against willow scale insects is carried out in the same way as against acacia false scale insects.
Currant glass
This pest is a butterfly with narrow transparent wings. Wingspan up to 28 mm. The body is blue-black with yellow rings.
Emergence occurs at the end of gooseberry flowering. Pests lay eggs on shoots around the buds. And after about 2 weeks, caterpillars emerge from the eggs, with a white body and a brown head. Caterpillars have 16 legs. The caterpillars bite into the shoots, where they make their home for 2 years. In the spring after the second wintering, pupation occurs. The branches dry out as a result of such lesions.
How to fight
Affected shoots must be removed and burned.
At the end of flowering, after 10-12 days, spray with 50% karbofos (concentration 20-30 g per 10 liters of water).
Green currant borer
This is a green-bronze beetle. Length 6-9 mm. The borers appear at the end of May and begin to eat the leaves, gnawing out small pieces along their edges. 7-9 days after departure, they lay eggs on the branches, from which larvae emerge after 2 weeks, white-yellow, legless, flat, with a wide chest shield, up to 20 mm in length.
The larvae gnaw holes in the branches and remain inside them for the winter. Damaged shoots dry out, starting from the top, or are severely retarded in growth. In March-April, without leaving their shelter, the larvae pupate.
How to fight
Every 2-3 weeks, damaged shoots are cut out and burned.
The beetles are shaken off the branches onto a film spread under the bush, then they are destroyed. This should be done in the morning, because... during the day, especially if it is warm and sunny, the beetles are actively flying.
3 weeks after flowering, plants are sprayed with 50% karbofos (concentration 20-30 g per 10 liters of water).
Common spider mite
This pest is especially dangerous in hot, dry weather; several generations appear during the season. Mites gather on the undersides of leaves, from which they suck the juice. Because of this, the leaves first become light and mottled, then brown, and then dry out and fall off. In winter, the spider mite does not die, but takes refuge under fallen leaves.
How to fight
The leaves of the affected plant are torn off and burned, and the soil under the bushes is dug up.
During the entire flowering period from bud opening to its end, plants are sprayed with 50% karbofos (concentration 20-30 g per 10 liters of water).
For minor lesions, treatment with a decoction of onion, garlic or colloidal sulfur preparations is effective.
Gooseberry moth
This pest is a butterfly. The color is white and yellow, with many large black spots on the wings. Wingspan up to 45 mm Caterpillars have black spots and yellow stripes on their bodies. They move in a loop, the body being pulled towards the head when moving. They spend the winter in the soil or under fallen leaves.
After hibernating, the caterpillars wake up in early spring and begin to eat the buds and then the leaves of the gooseberry. By the end of the gooseberry flowering, the caterpillars turn into pupae, attaching to the leaves and branches of the plants.
After 3-4 weeks, butterflies emerge and begin laying eggs on the underside of the leaves. After 2-3 weeks, the caterpillars hatch and feed on the leaves, leaving holes in them. By the end of autumn, the caterpillars grow up and go to winter.
How to fight
Spraying the bushes before and after flowering with 50% karbofos (20-30 g per 10 liters of water).
In autumn and spring, digging up the soil under plantings is required.
Leaf litter under the bushes is collected and burned.
Since infection of thickened plantings occurs faster, the bushes must be thinned.
Gooseberry moth
This is a butterfly up to 30 mm in size with brown spots and stripes on the wings. When gooseberries begin to bloom, pests lay eggs in the flowers. Towards the end of flowering, when the berries are set, green caterpillars with a black head appear. They infect berries, forming a web around the grapes. Each caterpillar can destroy up to 15 ovaries.
By the end of the season, the caterpillar weaves itself a cocoon, in which it buries itself in the ground for the winter, to a depth of 3-5 cm. In the spring, a butterfly emerges from it.
How to fight
Damaged berries are collected by hand and burned. Before winter, the bushes are hilled to a height of 10 cm. Unhilling is carried out after flowering. Before flowering, gooseberries are sprayed with 50% trichlorometaphos-3 (30 g per 10 l of water), and after flowering with 50% karbofos (20 g per 10 l of water).
Traditional methods of fighting are effective. After flowering, when the berries set and ripen, you can carry out a series of sprays with tobacco infusion or wormwood decoction (2-3 times every week).
Landing rules
Proper planting of young gooseberries ensures their health and productivity for many years. The optimal approach to planting a plantation is to begin preparing the soil a year before planting.
- In the fall, the bed is dug up, adding manure or humus, phosphate rock and potassium salt to the ground. Acidic soil is neutralized with lime.
- In spring, the soil is loosened and sown with green manure - vetch or lupine. In the fall, the ground is dug up with green manure planted, after which the planting of gooseberries begins.
Gooseberry planting begins with the preparation of seedlings. They are pruned to 4 buds on each shoot. This is necessary so that the young gooseberry root system can provide nutrition to the above-ground part.
Before planting, seedlings are dipped for 5 minutes in water with a 1% solution of potassium permanganate for disinfection. After this, it is advisable to soak them in a solution of a growth-stimulating drug.
If the soil has been fertilized in advance, there is no need to worry about how to plant the plant correctly. It is planted under a shovel, trampling the soil near the seedling. The planting is watered 2–3 liters per plant and mulched with dry soil.
If the ground has not been prepared for planting, then a special planting hole is filled with fertilizers for each seedling.
Proper planting of new gooseberry bushes begins with preparing the planting hole.
- It is dug to a depth of 40 cm and a width of 50 cm.
- The top earth is folded on one side, and the earth from the depths is folded on the other.
- The top fertile soil is mixed with a bucket of humus and a glass of ash, poured back into the hole and a bucket of water is poured out.
- The pit should sit for a week.
- During this time, the soil settles, filling possible voids.
- The seedling is placed in the middle of the hole, the roots are straightened and covered with soil.
- The root collar remains below the soil level. This depth is at least 6–7 cm.
- New roots begin to grow from the shoots under the damp soil. If the root collar is less deeply buried, then frail shoots will grow from the root in the future.
The soil must be trampled down and watered again. After which the tree trunk circle is mulched with peat or humus. Planting is carried out in the evening or on a cloudy day.
The gardener decides individually how to plant gooseberries - on prepared beds or in planting holes. The first option is, of course, preferable.
At what distance to plant seedlings depends on the height of the selected variety. The standard planting pattern for gooseberries is 1.5 m between bushes and two meters between rows. The rows are arranged from north to south for better lighting.
A large distance between gooseberry bushes is necessary to maintain the optimal area for feeding and harvesting.
Gooseberries, as a self-pollinating crop, bear fruit well when planted alone. But if 2-3 more varieties grow next to the planted bush, blooming at the same time, the yield will increase significantly.
How to plant gooseberries so that they feel great for 30–50 years and bear fruit regularly is a real garden art.
Where are they planted?
Planting new gooseberry seedlings in small areas is usually located along the fence. This is a good choice; the fence protects the plants from winds and cold air. In this case, you must maintain a distance of 2 meters from the fence to make it convenient to care for an adult bush.
There is often a suggestion to plant a gooseberry bush between young plantings of pome fruit trees. In such a place it grows well for fifteen years. When tree branches grow, the planted plants do not have enough light, they weaken and die from frost or powdery mildew.
You cannot plant gooseberries after raspberries or black currants. These shrubs greatly deplete the soil; it takes some time for it to restore good fertility.
Planting care
Planting and caring for young gooseberries is not difficult; even novice gardeners can easily master them. This includes loosening, watering, fertilizing, pruning and protection from diseases and pests.
Loosening is done monthly, trying not to damage the roots and remove all perennial weeds. It is good to sow green manure beans around. When they grow, they are buried in the ground to improve its structure.
Watering the seedling is carried out weekly until rooting. Then regular watering is required only at certain times:
- in early May when new shoots grow;
- in early July during the ripening of berries;
- In early October, moisture-recharging irrigation is carried out.
For the first three years, young bushes are not fed. They only need fertilizer applied to the garden bed or planting hole. Then they begin to carry out the standard four-time feeding:
- before the leaves bloom;
- before flowering;
- during the formation of berries;
- after picking berries.
The plant responds well to organic fertilizing with manure (1:10) or bird droppings (1:20). You can spread manure near the roots in an amount of 3–4 kg/bush. This mulching suppresses the growth of weeds. Nutrition improves, moisture and warmth of the earth are retained.
If you mulch the ground in the middle of the bush with humus, then there will be few root shoots. But they will be vigorous and productive.
However, manure can be a source of fungal infection. Therefore, it is better to use fermented grass, yeast infusion or whey. Insoluble residues of mineral fertilizers contaminate the soil; it is better to use them in extreme cases.
The size of the harvest does not depend on fertilizer, but the size of the berries does. It often doubles when sufficient fertilizing is applied.
The most important agrotechnical technique is pruning and shaping branches. It is necessary to form young seedlings, leaving no more than three of the strongest shoots on them. At the age of five, 15–18 shoots are left in the bush, and an adult seven-year-old bush has 25–30 branches.
On old bushes, branches are cut out annually, which do not produce a good harvest and have little growth. Cut out frail, twisted, dried shoots. It is especially important to thin out the center of the bush so that the branches do not shade each other. Three new shoots and all two-year-old branches are left annually. Pruning is done in October, after leaf fall.
The young bush begins to bear fruit after 2–3 years of growth. Fruiting increases every year and reaches a maximum at the age of ten.
The berry plant reproduces mainly by various layerings:
- horizontal;
- vertical;
- arcuate.
Cuttings also give a good percentage of propagation:
- green;
- lignified.
It is better and more productive to propagate gooseberries by cuttings than by layering. How to properly plant cuttings for propagation, where to plant them and in what soil, how long they grow - all these questions are important if you need to obtain a large amount of planting material.
Young seedlings are grown for one year. At the end of the next season they are ready for planting in a permanent place. The gardener determines when to plant gooseberries based on his capabilities. But if the seedlings are ready for transplanting in the fall, then this will be the optimal time.
When and how to water?
Although gooseberries are quite resistant to temporary drought, high yields of large berries are possible only on sufficiently moist soil. We do the first watering of gooseberries after flowering - during the period of increased shoot growth and ovary formation. The second - during the ripening period of the berries, and the third - after harvesting, for the formation of future flower buds.
In a dry autumn, abundant moisture-replenishing watering is necessary to enhance root growth and improve the overwintering conditions of plants. To ensure proper watering around the bush, we dig a ditch running approximately along the perimeter of its crown. We supply 30 liters of water into it for each bush. When the water is absorbed, we level the groove. After watering and loosening the soil around the bushes, we mulch each time.
