How to plant gooseberries in spring? Saplings of gooseberry

For the excellent fresh taste of berries, high content of vitamins and valuable organic acids, gooseberries have long received a second, very respectful name - northern grapes. In the amateur gardening, interest in this culture is not weakened, and the breeding of new varieties and hybrids that are resistant to the traditional powdery mildew has served as a stimulus for an even more active interest in growing this magnificent species.

Gooseberries: description

Being one of the most productive crops of the Russian garden, gooseberries are distinguished by good winter hardiness, low demand for the place of planting, soils and subsequent care, able to grow in one area up to 40 years. The first 15-18 years have a peak in yield, in subsequent years, the yield of fruit begins to decline. This bush-longevity is very decorative with proper care, even the presence of thorns does not spoil the general picture: a strong bush of gooseberries is covered with dense shiny three- or five-lobed leaves through which large single berries glimpse, strewn along the branches falling under the weight of the crop.

The color of berries can be different - from emerald green and amber-yellow to maroon and blue-black. It depends on the variety. However, the thorns on the branches are no longer the business card of gooseberries, since bezgordnye grades and hybrids are bred and successfully grown by grandiose selection researches. Gooseberries start growing and blooming before all garden crops. Fruiting occurs in a half to two months of friendly, almost simultaneous ripening of berries. Propagation of the culture exclusively during the rest period - in autumn or early spring.

How to plant gooseberry in spring

Experienced gardeners recommend to plant a seedling of gooseberries in autumn, but in the spring, as soon as the soil is thawed, it can be successfully carried out. Considering that the berry is awakening early, it is necessary to have time to finish all planting works before this time. This is the main condition in the issue of how to plant gooseberry in the spring. Begin with the choice of location and preparation of the soil, which is better to hold in advance, even in the fall.

We are looking for a landing site

Like any berry, gooseberries are not indifferent to sunny, well-ventilated areas with fertile, drained, air-permeable soil without a close approach or standing of groundwater.

But the culture is undemanding to the structure of the soil. Gooseberries excellently grow on any soil with a neutral reaction, not transferring only swampy or acidic earth. Cultivation on different soils has its own characteristics, so the clay will have to be loosened more often, and in sandy loams and sandy ones it is necessary to make a greater norm of organic matter.

Preparation of seedlings

Optimal for planting are single or biennial seedlings. When purchasing planting material, you should carefully inspect the root system. It should consist of several skeletal lignified components of a length not shorter than 15-20 cm with developed lateral roots. The condition of the aerial part is equally important - one or two strong viable stems should not be less than 40 cm in length. All the decayed or broken parts must be removed. The roots of the seedling should not be left outdoors, they dry quickly and lose vitality. For a better survival, gooseberry seedlings are placed in a biostimulator solution before planting, for example, "Epin", "Zircon" or "Kornevin."

Preparing the soil

For a spring planting a dig dig a hole 0.5-0.6 m deep, 0.4-0.5 m in diameter. If the seedling is small, the pit size will be smaller. The upper soil layer is mixed with 10 kg of humus or compost, 300 g of wood ash and 100 g of superphosphate. If the soil is acidic, add 50 grams of dolomite flour. To balance the soil with sandy soils, a layer of clay 6-8 cm thick is laid on the bottom of the pit, and heavy clayey drains, adding large river sand. Prepared by a mixture of 2/3 fill the landing pit and generously watered. Lay the seedling at an angle of 45˚, spreading the roots well and making sure that they do not bend upward. This situation stimulates a rapid build-up of the root system, the formation of radical shoots, and, as a consequence, a young plant is easier to survive. The seedlings of gooseberries are placed with the burial of the root collar 3-5 cm. Then carefully close the plant, compact it so that the roots do not form voids, and water abundantly. Above-ground shoots are shortened to 15-20 cm, leaving on each 4-5 growth buds.

Caring for young bushes

Little to learn how to plant gooseberries in the spring, it is necessary and properly to care for planting. Care for the normal development of planted plants is manifested in regular weeding, loosening and watering. It is possible to considerably facilitate the care, having clouded the soil under plants with humus, straw, chopped wood bark, or overgrown sawdust. A 5-7 cm layer of mulch on the soil surface creates comfortable conditions for the formation of roots, retains moisture, suppresses the growth of weeds and unnecessary root shoots.

The main danger to the plant

Pests of gooseberries are not very numerous, but, unfortunately, the culture, especially its large-fruited varieties, is often damaged by the mildew of mildew. It affects all the aboveground parts, first appearing as a light cobweb, darkening over time and turning into a dark crust, enveloping shoots, leaves and berries. All attacked mushroom part of gooseberry stop in growth, dry up, turn black and rot.

There are new, resistant to powdery mildew, varieties of gooseberries - "Five-Year Plan", "American Mountain", "Mysovsky-37", "Mysovsky-17" and some others. But if you can not buy any of them, you need to be prepared to protect your plantations, since a malignant fungus can destroy the entire infected bush. How to treat gooseberries and how to act in such cases?

In the early spring, before swelling of the kidneys or late autumn (during rest), it is recommended that the affected bushes be treated with a 4% solution of copper sulfate. In summer, when the culture is damaged, you must immediately remove and burn all parts of the plant, up to a young growth and fastened berries with signs of disease. Prevent the spread of fungus can be treated with an aqueous solution of soda ash in the proportion of 50 g per 10 liters of water.

To spray the bushes, organic solutions can be used instead of chemicals. Here are some of them:

1. One third of a 10-liter bucket is filled with a flabby hay or manure, poured 3 liters of water, insist three days. Then the infusion is filtered and diluted with water to 10 liters. Sprinkle bushes three times a week.
2. 1 liter of whey is dissolved in 9 liters of water and cultivated 3-5 times.

Spraying with any of the listed solutions is carried out in a calm, cloudy weather or in the evening.

So, highlighting the question of how to plant gooseberry in the spring, incidentally, we also talked about how to protect him from a dangerous disease.