The perennial bush of gooseberries belongs to the family of stone-furred. Often it grows to two meters high and fructifies well for seven to eight years. Due to the high content of vitamins in its fruits, this shrub is grown in many areas. And that the plant gave the maximum harvest, we will tell you about the peculiarities of planting and caring for gooseberry.
Correct planting of gooseberry
For growing shrubs, it is extremely important to immediately correctly determine its location. The optimal place for planting gooseberry is a well-lit, sunny side. It can be planted along the fence or fence at a distance of 1.5 m or between young trees. The plant prefers light loamy soils, it is important that ground waters pass at a depth of not less than 1.5 m.
Under the landing, you need to excavate a pit the size of a bucket, where then you should pour humus or compost , a glass of ash (if any). Complex or nitrogen fertilizers can be introduced into the planting pit during spring planting. If you make a gooseberry planting in the fall, no additional fertilizing is needed. The seedlings, when planted, should be dug into the pit 6-7 cm below the root collar - this will contribute to the rapid growth of shoots. The land around the bush must be trampled, watered and covered .
Care for gooseberry
If we talk about the peculiarities of caring for bush, then we can say that the agrotechnics of growing gooseberries includes three main activities - loosening the soil, feeding and forming a bush.
For good fruiting, gooseberry requires frequent weeding and loosening of the soil after each watering. It should be done very carefully, because the roots of the bush are located close to the ground. It is better not to deepen the tool more than 7 cm. Also, be sure to remove all weeds.
For cultivation of gooseberries it is important to systematically introduce fertilizers. It is enough to have three additional dressings during the period of active growth and fruiting:
- The first top dressing is carried out in the spring during the first loosening of the soil. Under the bush is recommended to make nitrogen fertilizers
- The second top dressing is performed during the flowering period of gooseberries. At this time, the bush requires potassium-phosphorus bait.
- The third feeding is made in autumn, it should be complex fertilizers, which will help the plant to survive the winter.
The formation of a bush of gooseberries is necessary for the formulation of its basis and increasing the yield. In the first 3-4 years pruning, carried out in the spring, is necessary for shortening the length of branches, getting rid of damaged shoots, and also giving the bush the right shape. In the future, it is necessary to remove obsolete branches that do not yield crops, replacing them with young shoots.
Ways of reproduction of gooseberry
Breeding perennial bushes, cuttings, division of the bush, layers and seeds. At the same time, the first three methods are considered to be the most effective on the backyard. The latter - the reproduction of gooseberries by seeds - is carried out by breeders to obtain new varieties.
Reproduction of gooseberry by cuttings is carried out in the early spring before the beginning of the active period of vegetation. Cuttings with a length of 15-20 cm with 4-5 buds are cut off in semi-mature shoots. They are placed in a container with a peat-sand mixture under a slope, leaving two kidneys above the ground. To constantly keep the soil with cuttings moist, it needs to be covered up. When the cuttings take root and they have several leaves, they can be transplanted into the garden.
But the method of propagation of gooseberry by layers is the easiest. Early in the spring, before the buds are blossomed, several basal twigs-one-year-olds are selected. Having made several grooves in the ground with a depth of 15 cm, these twigs are laid in furrows, pinned at the base of the bush and at the end of the shoot. It is possible to increase the increased layers when they are reached in a growth of 10 cm.
Division of a bush is better to apply at transplantation of all plantation of gooseberries to another place. After digging up the plant, it is neatly divided by a secateur into several parts, each of which consists of branches and roots. To make a division of a bush follows in the autumn after falling of leaves or early spring.