Types of gooseberries
Early ripening - Captain ( medium, black, thin skinned, sweet and sour berries), Curyu dzintars ( berries yellow, juicy, sweet), Non-rumored ( low bushes, small spikes, large violet berriesred, flesh dark-red, juicy, sweet), Eaglet ( berries large, black, with a strong waxy coating, sour), spring( compact bushes, large, yellow-green with reddish tan), Amber( bushes are high, slaboroskidistye, berries are very large, Ipackaged yellow, the skin is thick, taste sweet and sour), Spring ( ultraranny variety, straw-yellow berries, the skin is thin, very sweet).
Medium-sized - Belarusian sugar ( large, light green with whitish veins, fleshy green), Green bottle ( large, green or dark green, with weak pubescence), Kolobok ( medium and large berries,dark red with green veins), Malachite ( berries large, green, thin skin, clear, good sour taste), Russian ( big, paired, broadly oval, dark red with thick skin), Change berries are small, red), Phenicia ( berries are very large, green, completely covered with a dull purplish-red blush uneven, without pubescence).
Late ripening - Masheka ( spines rare and long, berries creamy-yellow, without pubescence, sweet and sour) and Ravolt ( berries dark red, almost black, without pubescence, sweet and sour).
Requirements: shrub well adapts to different soils. Only marshy, strongly podzolized, acidic and cold can not tolerate. This is due to the fact that its roots are not deep in the soil( the main mass lies at a depth of 50-60 cm) and does not reconcile with excess water and lack of air. It grows well on loose, nutritious, fertile soils. For gooseberries are necessary solar, sheltered from cold winds.
Ingredients: the chemical composition of the fruits of gooseberries is largely dependent on the variety and growing conditions. On average, its berries contain sugars( glucose and fructose prevails), acids, a small amount of vitamin C, carotene, but vitamins E and Щ a significant amount. When the fruits are ripe, the content of the fruit increases, while the content of sugars and acids decreases. Gooseberries are rich in potassium and iron, contains up to 2% fiber and up to 1% pectin.
Planting: planting gooseberries is better in autumn. Planting holes are prepared for seedlings with a diameter and depth of 40 cm, sometimes the diameter is increased to 60 cm. Fertile soil mixed with fertilizers is introduced into the pits( nitrogen is not added at this time).The seedlings are cut, leaving shoots 20 cm long with 4-5 buds. Distances when planting between rows - 2 m, in a row between plants - 1,5 m. The saplings fall into pits without inclination, several with a buried root neck( 5-6 cm).But it is not necessary to deepen the neck, especially on heavy loamy and clay soils, because this can slow down the growth and even ruin the seedling.
Reproduction of gooseberry by layers
On one or several branches close to the ground to make an incision, to bend to the ground, to dig a shallow hole, to lower in it a branch, to fill the pit with earth and water. During the growing season, keep the soil moist. By the autumn, in the cut of the branch, roots are formed. An entrenched seedling is usually separated from the uterine plant with a pruner in the spring of next year and planted on the undergrowth or on a permanent place.
Gooseberries grow well with woody, green cuttings and layers.
Care: for good development of gooseberries, loosening of the soil under bushes, weeding of weeds, application of fertilizers and pruning is necessary.
When loosening, you should not forget that the soil should be treated finely, and in autumn to dig at a depth of only 6-8 cm. If gooseberries were planted in spring, after 2-3 weeks of planting, you can feed nitrogen fertilizers at the rate of 13-16 grams of urea1 m2, seal it in the soil and water the plants well. Such doses of nitrogen fertilizers are introduced every year for the first 3 years after planting. In the future, depending on the cultivation of the soil, once in 2-3 years, the main fertilizers are applied per 1 m2: 25-30 grams of urea in the spring, and 6-8 kg of overgrown manure or compost, 50 g of superphosphate, 20-30 gramspotassium sulphate in the autumn. After flowering during the formation of ovaries and growth of shoots and during the filling of berries, it is recommended to fertilize with liquid organic fertilizers, combining them with watering. Soil around the bushes in order to preserve moisture better to cover up. Hanging branches of bush-shaped gooseberries, planted in rows in rows, are raised on thick nets or nets, set to a height of 25-30 cm on both sides of the rows. Pests of and of disease are the same for gooseberries and black currants. The methods of combating them are the same( see Pests and diseases of fruit and berry crops).
Pruning: the formation of a bush of gooseberries begins with post-planting pruning. The strong branches of the planted shrub are shortened to 3-4 kidneys above the ground, weak ones to 1-2 buds. From the branches that grow in the next season, you should choose the 5 strongest and well located ones. They will serve as the basis of the bush, the extra branches should be cut at the very base. A year later, a bush of gooseberry must be supplemented with another 3-5 branches by the same scheme. Thus, the formed bush of gooseberry must have 8-10 strong branches, which are its crown. In the following years it is necessary to maintain the crown in order. The main requirement for the normal development of a gooseberry bush is sufficient sunlitness of all parts of the crown, as gooseberry does not tolerate shading at all. When there is a lack of sunlight, the growth of the bush slows down, branches grow older before the term, the yield of the plant and the quality of the berries decrease. To prevent thickening of the crown, it is necessary to regularly cut old and otplodonosyvshie branches older than 8 years, remove weak and thin shoots, of which still will not develop full-length branches. Immature, frozen or powdery tops of branches must be shortened to healthy wood. At the started thickened bushes it is necessary to make sanitary pruning in order to clear the crown. At the same time, it is necessary to start by removing old, dry, rubbing, broken, sick and fallen branches, then removing some healthy branches, leaving only the 10 most well located ones. Unhealthy treetops should be cut to good wood.
Annual thinning of a bush of gooseberry
It is impossible to suppose thickening of a crown of a bush of a gooseberry, as the plant badly transfers shading. For this, must be thinned annually, cutting out old, breeding, unsuccessfully located and weak branches. In the bush of gooseberries should always remain no more than 8-10 branches, which ensures good illumination of all parts of the crown
Thinning of the old run of gooseberry bush
If the bush has grown much, has not been thinned out and launched for a long time, the clearing will have to be carried out in several stages.
1. First, it is necessary to carry out sanitary pruning of the bush, during which old, dry, rubbing, broken, diseased and dead branches are cut from the crown. If drooping branches are necessary for you to propagate gooseberry by layers, you can leave them.
2. After sanitary clearance, you can proceed to the formation of the remaining part of the bush. To do this, choose 8-10 most well-developed and well-located branches that will form the basis of the crown of the new bush, the remaining branches cut at the base of the at the soil level
Unsuccessfully located and rubbing shoots, as well as frozen, unripe and diseased branches of the branchesshorten to healthy wood. Affected by mildew powdery mildew parts of branches after pruning it is necessary to burn, and tools, to disinfect
Thinning of fruits
Young plants of gooseberries are often used to thin the fruit at the stage of their size with a pea. This is necessary in order not to deplete the strength of the plant, which can not provide juices and nutrients to all the fruit. The left fruit will be large and quality, and the plant will save the strength of
. Harvesting: gooseberry berries ripen almost simultaneously 1.5-2 months after the beginning of flowering. Unlike all other berry crops, gooseberries are harvested in full and technical maturity, which occurs 10-15 days before full. The fruits of gooseberry in the technical ripeness phase are solid and begin to acquire the coloring peculiar to the variety. Such berries are suitable for all kinds of processing. If they are intended for local consumption, they pick berries when they reach full maturity. If the fruits of gooseberries need to be transported, they are harvested a few days before full ripening. After picking berries, gooseberries of many varieties are badly ripening. In the rainy season for varieties with brightly colored fruits, berries are recommended to be removed when they turn pink - in order to avoid losses from cracking. In order not to injure hands with thorns when collecting berries, it is recommended to work in leather gloves or put on the left hand a tarpaulin mitt. Mature berries should be torn together with the peduncle.
Usage: mature gooseberry is a very tasty dessert berry, which is loved by both adults and children. From berries get delicious jelly;at home use for the preparation of jam, marmalade, juice and delicious diet drinks. The increased content of pectin substances in fruits promotes the binding and removal of heavy metals from the human body. In folk medicine they are recommended for chronic constipation, kidney and bladder diseases, with some skin diseases and beriberi. Apply it to strengthen the walls of blood vessels in diseases of atherosclerosis and hypertension.
Varieties with a high sugar content in berries are not recommended for patients with diabetes mellitus, and for those suffering from peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum they are contraindicated in the period of exacerbation of the disease due to high fiber content.