Gooseberries - Growing, Planting, Reproducing And Caring For Gooseberries

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-17 02:10

Gooseberries: planting, reproduction and care

Gooseberry is a shrub berry crop of the family of the same name. The traditions of cultivation of this berry in Russia go back more than one century. In ancient Russia, the gooseberry was known as "bersen". From here the Bersenevskaya embankment takes its name along the Moskva River. According to one of the toponymic versions, gooseberry plantations were located near this place. The widespread use of gooseberries in Russia led to the fact that outside our country they began to call it "Russian cherry plum".

Gooseberry is a horticultural crop successfully cultivated in all regions of Russia. The plant is characterized by strong growth, its fruit is a drupe with excellent taste. The bush shows stable fruiting from the third year of life. The first harvest does not reveal all the possibilities of the variety; over the years the number of berries increases and can be quite impressive.

Content:

• Composition and calorie content
• The benefits of gooseberry berries
• Planting gooseberry seedlings
• Growing gooseberries
• Gooseberry propagation by horizontal layers
• Gooseberry propagation by vertical layers
• Gooseberry propagation by cuttings
• How to prune gooseberries correctly?
• Planting gooseberries on a trellis
• How to cut a standard gooseberry?
• Harvesting

Composition and calorie content

• Fats: 0.2 g
• Proteins: 1.0 g
• Carbohydrates: 12.0 g
• Water: 86.4 g
• Ash: 0.4 g
• Cellulose: 3.4 g

Vitamins	amount	% RDA
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)	27.7 mg	40%
Vitamin B4 (choline)	42.1 mg	eight%
Vitamin K	7.8 mcg	7%

Minerals (in 100 g):	amount	% RDA
Silicon	12 mg	40%
Rubidium	193 μg	nineteen%
Molybdenum	12 mcg	17%
Boron	11 μg	sixteen%
Manganese	140-450 mcg	fourteen%
Copper	70-130 mcg	ten%
Cobalt	0.9 μg	nine%
Potassium	198 mg	eight%

Other important connections:

• Phytosterols - 7 mg (12.7% of the RDI)
• Purines - 8 mg (6.7% of the RDI)
• Oxalic acid - 66 mg (16.7% of the RDI)

Complete chemical composition ➤

The benefits of gooseberry berries

Gooseberries are considered medicinal, they are included in many foods and dishes recommended for dietary nutrition. Recipes with gooseberry fruits appear in both folk and modern medicine.

Useful properties and uses of gooseberry:

• Prevention of chronic constipation;
• Treatment of anemia and nosebleeds;
• Treatment of diseases of the oral mucosa;
• Normalization of blood pressure;
• Prevention of the appearance of tumors;
• Treatment of diseases of the urinary system.

Planting gooseberry seedlings

The main requirements for a site for planting this berry crop is a flat area or a small slope, protected from the prevailing winds. In a high area, seedlings often freeze slightly, since it is difficult to save snow there to shelter bushes. Low areas are usually too wet, on which the gooseberries will constantly be affected by fungal diseases.

Photo caption: The best time for planting gooseberries is autumn, in the middle lane it is the end of September, October

Before planting seedlings, soil preparation is carried out.

It is carefully dug to a depth of at least 30 cm, fertilizers are applied:

• 300 g of complex fertilizer for each bush;
• Up to 10 kg of compost or humus per planting pit.

One to two year old seedlings should have a developed root system. They are planted according to the scheme 1.5x1.5 m. When planting, you need to ensure that the root collar of the seedling is buried in the soil at least 5-6 cm. After planting, the young plant is watered abundantly, the shoots are cut off, leaving 4 -6 buds, slightly spud.

The soil under the seedling should always be loose and free of weeds. The first loosening is carried out in early spring after the snow melts.

Loosening depth:

• Under the bushes - 6-8 cm;
• In row spacings - 10-12 cm.

Shrub planting needs regular fertilization. If the planting pit was well filled with potash-phosphorus fertilizers, it is not necessary to apply them in the first 3 years.

Gooseberry fertilization:

• Nitrogen fertilizers for young seedlings - 10 g of urea per m ²;
• Nitrogen fertilizer for fruit-bearing bushes - 30-40 g of urea per m ²;
• Organic - 10 kg annually for each bush;
• Full complex fertilizer - in the fall, every 2-3 years, 150 g per bush.

Growing gooseberries

In the first 2-3 years, the soil between the rows in the area occupied by the young berry is used for growing vegetables. They are looked after, and with the end of the growing season, the soil is cultivated with deep digging. Row spacings on a fruiting gooseberry plantation are kept clean of weeds and other plants, digging up the soil in spring and autumn. At the same time, mineral fertilizers are applied.

The gooseberry tolerates a slight lack of watering, however, during dry seasons, it needs irrigation. Soil moisture should not fall below 70-75%.

Gooseberry watering mode:

1. The first watering is after flowering, during the growth of berries (first decade of May).
2. The second watering is during the pouring of berries (1-2 decade of June).
3. The third and subsequent ones - as needed, with a consumption of 40-50 liters per plant.
4. Water-charging irrigation - from late September to early October.

Simultaneously with the autumn water-charging irrigation, complete mineral fertilizer (up to 150 g per bush) and organic matter (5-6 kg) are applied. Gooseberries are watered along the grooves. Their optimum depth is 10-15 cm, they should be located 50 cm from the bush.

Gooseberry propagation by horizontal layers

If you wish, you can independently provide your garden with a sufficient amount of gooseberry planting material, as it takes root easily.

Types of layering:

• Vertical,
• Horizontal,
• Arcuate.

For reproduction by horizontal layers, grooves are prepared in advance in the projection of the bush. Strong annual branches are laid out in them, bent to the soil, fixed with wire pins. Soon sprouting green shoots will appear from the ground. They are hilled when they reach a length of 10 cm, and the soil is kept moist. In autumn, young plants are separated from the mother liquor and planted in a permanent place. This method is considered the simplest, it is the most common among gardeners.

Gooseberry propagation by vertical layers

Reproduction occurs similarly to the previous method, with the only difference that here the shoot is fixed at the ground once, not far from the top. The very top is buried with soil, leaving it underground. With this method of propagation, seedlings are of high quality and powerful, but they grow a little.

The method of reproduction by vertical layers requires strong pruning of the mother liquor. Short stumps with 5 buds are left in the bush. Shoots grow from the buds located under the soil layer. They are huddled with moist and loose soil, separated from the mother plant in autumn. Powerful seedlings are planted in the garden, the rest are sent to the school for growing.

Gooseberry propagation by cuttings

Valuable varieties of this plant, if it is impossible to use other methods, are propagated by dividing the bush, which must be dug out of the soil and divided into several parts, keeping young shoots and roots in each. Delenki are dipped in a clay mash, in which a growth stimulant has been previously dissolved, or powdered with ash. Then the plants are planted in a permanent place, watered abundantly, loosened the soil and spud.

To carry out green cuttings, a miniature greenhouse with regular watering and a fogging installation are required. The optimum air temperature for propagation by cuttings is + 25 + 30 ° C, soil temperature - + 18 + 23 ° C, humidity - 100%.

The best time for cuttings is early July, when the tissues of the cuttings begin to lignify. Green shoots are cut into cuttings up to 10-12 cm long, while the top is left intact. The cut site is moistened with water, then dipped into a root formation stimulator of the Kornevin type, and then into the soil, deepening by 2-3 cm. After 2 weeks, rudimentary roots appear at the tips of the cuttings. For the winter, the cuttings are left in the same place, they are covered and the soil with a deep layer of mulch, and grown for another year.

Another option for grafting is to use planting material with a "heel", that is, part of the last year's shoot. Such cuttings are harvested when the length of the green shoot reaches 10 cm, treated with a root formation stimulant and buried 1.5-2 cm into the soil. Both green cuttings and cuttings with a "heel" are grown in an artificial microclimate, in conditions of warmth and fine mist for early rooting.

For planting in the ground without shelter, combined cuttings are used. They are harvested in late May - early June. The combined cutting is a basal branch with shoots of the current year at least 5 cm long. It is cut into pieces containing the green shoot and the last year's shoot. Planting material is planted in prepared soil to a depth of 3-4 cm, loosened and watered daily.

How to prune gooseberries correctly?

Without regular pruning, carried out in accordance with all the rules, it is impossible to control and maintain the yield of gooseberries at the proper level. The optimal pruning time is autumn or spring (before bud break). In the second or third year of life, plants carry out sanitary pruning, removing weak, curved shoots. In total, 7-8 shoots should remain in the bush, strong and evenly spaced.

In this way, the shrubs are pruned for 7-8 years. After that, old shoots older than 7-8 years are regularly removed, as well as branches affected by diseases and crooked specimens. To activate fruiting, branches over 4-5 years old are shortened. This technique helps them overgrow with side shoots. Ideally, there should be 2-3 shoots in a gooseberry bush from a year to 8 years old.

Fruiting is stimulated by pinching the ends of strong shoots. The optimal time for this operation in the south is late June - early July. This method helps to increase the number of fruit buds, especially if pinching is combined with thinning the bush.

With any pruning, branches are removed that lie on the ground, transferring them to the side branches. The bush becomes more permeable for ventilation, solar insolation, and is not damaged by fungal diseases.

The gooseberry bush successfully grows and bears fruit in one place for 15 to 25 years. If it is not possible to update the planting, you can try to rejuvenate the bush. To do this, remove old shoots at the very root, at soil level. In the next 8-10 years, only thin weak branches are removed, leaving only 15-25 shoots on the bush.

Planting gooseberries on a trellis

To grow gooseberries on a trellis, tall varieties should be selected that do not give a large number of small branching or zero shoots. It is desirable that they have large, brightly colored berries.

First, you need to build a trellis, for which supports are used pipes made of plastic or iron, reinforced concrete or wooden pillars with a length of at least 2 meters. They are pretreated against corrosion, dug into the ground, and, if necessary, concreted. Additional supports are installed in long rows. 3 rows of galvanized wire are pulled over the entire structure, the distance between the rows is about 50 cm.

Gooseberry seedlings are planted along the trellis at a distance of at least 1 m from each other. Each seedling should have 4 branches extending from the root. They are tied to the bottom wire, fan-shaped. Subsequently, the branches of the seedling are directed upward. Since the extreme shoots may lag behind in growth due to a large deviation from the center of the bush, they are cut off more. Significant pruning stimulates high shoot formation and kidney awakening.

With further care of the gooseberry, branches older than 6 years are cut into the ring, replacing them with young lateral shoots of this branch. If there is a shortage of shoots, they are replaced with reserve zero branches.

How to cut a standard gooseberry?

Some gardeners, experimenting, tried to grow gooseberries as a standard crop. However, these attempts were unsuccessful for a long time, since heavy pruning led to thickening of the shoots and a drop in yield. The way out of the situation was the grafting of gooseberries on golden currants.

The term of the operation is the beginning of sap flow, which occurs in the middle lane in the first decade of April. The method of grafting is in cleavage. The gooseberry stalk is prepared in advance, keeping it in a cool place so as not to provoke sap flow. The currant stock is split and the cutting is placed in it. If the rootstock is thicker than the scion, the cutting is moved to one side, combining the cambium layer at the scion and the rootstock. The inoculation is wrapped with PVC film, the cut on the handle is coated with pitch.

The shoots that have appeared from the buds of the gooseberry cuttings are sent to the right place for the formation of the stem. All other shoots at the base are cut into a ring.

When pruning a standard plant, the central branch is shortened, the rest are cut in accordance with it, giving the plant the desired shape. On each branch, leave 4 branches up to 20 cm high. Old or frozen branches are replaced with new ones. Further care consists in rejuvenation, thinning of the bush, sanitary cleaning and stimulation of branching.

Harvesting

As soon as the berries acquire the color characteristic of the variety and soften somewhat, they begin to collect them. A delay in harvesting results in overripe fruit and crop failure. The collection of berries is carried out at the same time, sorting them into ripe and unripe specimens. Ripe berries are used to make compotes, jellies, juices with pulp, used for dessert, and wine. Unripe berries are used for jams and preserves. According to radiologists, unripe berries contribute to the elimination of radionuclides from the body.

To easily pick the prickly gooseberry berries, various devices are used.

Find out more: Gooseberry varieties

Author of the article: Alexey Kuzmin, expert agronomist, specially for the website ayzdorov.ru