Gooseberry care should begin in early spring, as they say: prepare the sleigh in summer.

So gooseberries need to be cooked in spring. Thus, by the time the harvest begins, the bush will be healthy, strong, and the berries will be large and sweet. If you follow some rules, then just one full-fledged, well-groomed bush can give a crop that at least 4-5 not well-groomed, neglected plant bushes can boast of.

It should be understood that spring care for the bush must be done before the first buds appear on the bush. Therefore, it is necessary to meet in a short time, otherwise the future harvest will be meager, and the bush itself will constantly be attacked by diseases and all sorts of pests.

You will need to carry out a number of manipulations:

1. Treat the plant with fungicides.
2. Cut off old, extra branches.
3. Saturate the plant with moisture and perform intensive feeding.

These measures are not always required to be observed. If the bush is adult, then it must be fertilized only once every 2-3 years. It'll be enough.

Briefly, the outline of spring care activities is as follows:

activity	Target	Duration of the	Method of implementation
Boiling water treatment	Destruction of pests and fungi	End of March - beginning of April	With the help of a watering can, the crown and base of the bush are watered
Top dressing	Improving the fertile properties of the soil	April May	In different ways at the discretion of the gardener, in 2 or 4 steps
Mulching	Pest control, soil structuring, moisture retention	After feeding and loosening - May	Under the bush, the ground is covered with sawdust, peat, dry grass
Pruning	Destruction of pests, alignment of the shape of the crown of the bush	End of March - beginning of April	Dry shoots and branches are cut off with a secateurs
Loosening the soil	Weed control	First days of May	Under the crown it is loosened with a rake, at the base it is carefully dug with a shovel
Treatment	Disease prevention	Before flowering and after flowering	Sprayed with a spray bottle
Watering	Maintaining moisture in the soil	During flowering	Watering is done under the bushes

Pruning rules and correct formation of the crown of the bush So, measures for caring for gooseberries should not end with the departure of spring. Continue watering and loosening activities throughout the summer, as well as autumn. In addition to spring loosening, you need to loosen the soil under the bush at least 4 more times during the summer season.

Pruning is the most important manipulation, which is of no small importance for the future harvest. It is required to carry it out at a time when the buds have not yet blossomed.

Also, if you are late with pruning and carry it out when the buds are already dissolved, you can very much injure the plant and lead to its death. Some gardeners start pruning even in winter, even when there is snow on the street.

You need to delete unnecessary branches for the following reasons:

1. Weak, frozen branches will develop less.
2. Defective branches and weakened shoots will not yield crops.
3. Weak and dry branches will artificially thicken and shade the bush, which will not benefit the crop.

Pruning is one of the most important ways to increase the yield of gooseberries. It is worth pruning taking into account the age of the plant. The intensity, as well as the way of carrying out the work, depends on it.

That is why you need to familiarize yourself with the basics of pruning:

1. Pruning seedlings in the year of planting is important, since it is during this period that the correct structure of the plant is formed. It is not only the weak shoots that need to be trimmed. Strong branches should also be shortened, leaving 4-5 buds on each. According to professional gardeners, it is enough to leave only 3-4 shoots of which a full-fledged and strong bush, its crown and root shoots will grow in the future.
2. Pruning is also important in the second year after planting the bush. It is in this year that the first harvest of a young plant usually appears. Only weakened branches are cut. By the end of the summer season, a two-year-old bush usually has 3 main shoots and about 5 new, young and strong ones.
3. In the third year, the bush usually has about 25-35 branches that form the basis of the crown. After that, all young growth is completely removed.
4. Subsequent pruning only means maintaining the condition of the bush. Only the oldest branches are cut, the young ones are left and replace the old ones.

Also, it is required to cut off weak, frozen, broken and damaged shoots. You need to trim them completely or to the first healthy kidney. It is also required to prevent excessive bush density by cutting off excess branches.

After 7-8 years, the bush ceases to produce the previous crop. In this case, the pruning should be more dramatic. The grower needs to recreate the new skeleton of the plant. For this, 3-4 new shoots are left, and the old ones are completely removed. It is from this moment that the bush begins to form anew and the procedures can be repeated.

Watering the gooseberry

An adult gooseberry bush needs proper watering. This plant does not like too much moisture, but it does not tolerate dryness either. Gooseberries are watered mainly with fertilizer, so that the procedure is more effective. Watering is also done in case of too dry weather.

Protection of the bush from pests and diseases

Powdery mildew on gooseberries

Protecting the bush from pests is the main task of the gardener. It is in the spring that the fight against diseases begins.

During this period, it is required to take all possible measures to prevent fungi and other harmful factors that can harm the bush. One of the most common methods is spraying the bushes with hot water.

The main thing is to do this until the buds open. Otherwise, high temperature water can destroy young shoots and future crops. This treatment is good in that it kills most of the awakened pests and their young larvae.

You can cope with insects by protecting the gooseberries from them in the fall. To do this, cover the soil under the bush with dense material that will protect the bush from many pests, including the gooseberry moth.

Aphids also do not mind eating gooseberries. You can fight this by spraying the bush with tar soap and garlic or Fitoverm.

Powdery mildew is one of the most common gooseberry diseases. There are many options for dealing with it.

Here are just a few of them:

1. 50 g of grated soap (tar or household) and soda ash in the amount of 2 tbsp. spoons, are bred in a bucket of water. A spray mixture is used.
2. You can spray the bush with iron sulfate in the amount of 100 g per 1 bucket of water.
3. Spraying can increase the immunity of the plant and protect it from fungi and other dangers. For this, potash fertilizers are used. A solution of ash in the amount of 1.5 kg per 7 liters of water is excellent. You need to insist such a solution for a day, after which you can start spraying the plant.
4. The most natural and organic fertilizer is mullein infusion. Half a bucket of mullein is poured with a bucket of water and insisted for 7 days. After that, it is filtered and sprayed with plants.
5. Also, a good preventive measure is the treatment of bushes with hot water with potassium permanganate. Such a composition can rid the plant and soil of the most dangerous pests and fungi. It is necessary to carry out the treatment in early spring, until the buds appear on the bushes.

All of these methods can protect the plant from future attacks by pathogens and help the grower reap a really high-quality crop.

Spring feeding

In the event that the soil on which the gooseberry grows is not very fertile, then additional feeding is required. However, it should be borne in mind that if the bush was fertilized correctly, then it does not need to be fertilized for 3 years.

A young seedling needs to be fed 3 times over a period of 2 years.

According to the rules, this is done in the spring in the following sequence:

1. The first feeding is done in early April during the period of bud opening. To prepare the infusion, you need to take 1 kilogram of potato peelings and 100 grams of ash and mix it with 10 liters of water. Watering is done under the gooseberry bush. Consumption of 3 liters per 1 bush.
2. The second feeding is carried out during the flowering period of the plant. For cooking, you need to take 5 kilograms of various greens and 2 kilograms of manure. All this is diluted in 20 liters of water and infused for 3 days. Consumption of 5 liters of top dressing per 1 gooseberry bush.
3. The third feeding takes place during the implementation of the ovary of the bush. The feed is adjusted in the same way as in the second case.

Advice from experienced gardeners: in addition, straw, peat, sawdust, tree bark are used to fertilize gooseberries.

Tillage

Gooseberries are practically not picky about the soil. It does not grow on swampy, cold and acidic soils. If the bush grows on clay soil, then it needs to be loosened regularly.

If the soil under the gooseberry is sandy, then it needs to be enriched with organic fertilizers. It is better to cultivate the land in May. For this, a hoe is used. Processing is carried out within the crown, it is necessary to loosen it to a depth of 6-9 cm. You must first remove the foliage.

Loosening is rarely done as an independent procedure. Usually, soil fertilization is carried out along with it. After that, mulching is carried out. A sufficiently thick layer of mulch prevents unnecessary growth and retains moisture in the soil for a long time.

Mulching is carried out using humus, peat, potato peels, straw, small wood shavings, rotted sawdust, tree bark and grass cuttings. Mulching can significantly maintain the health of gooseberries in especially hot weather, when the land is very dry.

Care mistakes that should not be allowed

Often, amateur gardeners who have just begun to deal with gooseberries simply do not know how to care for the plant, making a number of mistakes. In some cases, such oversights can lead not only to a decrease in the quality of the crop, but even cause the death of the plant.

What mistakes are made most often:

1. Improper watering- gooseberries do not like drought, so they need regular watering. However, it is impossible to water the gooseberry, like a number of other garden plants, by sprinkling. For optimal and beneficial watering, moisture must be delivered directly to the root system. For this purpose, it is best to use subsurface and drip irrigation.
2. Incorrect digging- the gooseberry has a sufficiently developed root system that can be easily damaged by improper digging. The earth is loosened not with a shovel, but only with a rake and a hoe.
3. Formation of the crown of the bush at a time- if you try to form the base of the bush at one time, then this will have an extremely bad effect on the yield of the gooseberry. The crown is in the correct state for 2 years.
4. The wrong way to fertilize the soil- the plant cannot be fertilized with different fertilizers every time. If organic substances were used during planting, then it is undesirable to switch to chemical compositions.

What else does a gardener need to know?

There are a number of nuances that every gardener must know:

1. Mixing organic and inorganic fertilizers is not worth it. This can adversely affect the yield of the plant.
2. Once every 3 years, feeding must be done without fail. This is necessary in order to saturate the extremely depleted soil, which loses its quality due to the active nutrition of the developed gooseberry root system.
3. When using nitroammofoska as a feed, you must observe the dosage. If the soil is oversaturated with this fertilizer, the crop can suffer from nitrates.

Spring maintenance of the gooseberry bush is very important. It is in the spring that the gardener can provide the plant with a good harvest, protection from pests and active growth. All care should be taken according to the instructions.

Do not exclude any procedures, since it is possible to maintain the health of the gooseberry and prevent its diseases only with the help of a set of measures. And then, during the harvest season, the plant will certainly delight with its generous fruits.

The gooseberry is considered an unpretentious shrub. Gooseberry agrotechnology is a simple matter. But for a long life of the berry and worthy annual harvests, culture must be given time. Taking proper care of gooseberries in spring will provide the owner of the site with a bountiful harvest of sweet fruits, which will give a strong, healthy crop.

Culture care

Work on the gooseberry part of the garden begins as soon as the winter months are over. If we are talking about central Russia (for example, the Moscow region), then early gooseberry care is organized from the beginning of March, depending on weather conditions. The snow cover, which has not yet completely melted, does not affect the care procedures.

Gooseberry is one of the first plants to wake up from hibernation. Already at the end of April, you can see small leaves on it. Spring care manipulations should be organized before the juice flows and the buds begin to swell.

Additional Information. Well-tended gooseberries can produce quality berries every year for 25-30 years.

Gooseberries in the garden

If tightened with treatment, then the shrub can attack hungry pests. In spring, pests are looking for food, pounced on the first awakened plants.

Spring care consists of the following activities:

• Winter shelter cleaning, garter;
• Pruning activities;
• Watering;
• Loosening;
• Covering the ground with mulch;
• Fertilization;
• Prevention of diseases, insects;
• Transfer.

Shelter cleaning

The shrub is sheltered for the winter in the northern regions of our country, where the winters are severe. There, the branches are pressed to the ground, peat, straw, leaves are thrown over them. After that, to preserve heat, the formed mound is wrapped in spunbond. Ordinary film, roofing felt are also used. In the middle lane, pre-winter preparation consists in covering the ground under the bush with mulch (hay, grass, fallen leaves, bark).

In the spring, the shelter is carefully removed. First, the film layer is removed. After a day or two, a natural layer. Thus, the plant does not immediately appear in the fresh air, but gradually.

Winter mulch is removed. It can contain pests. The product is burned away from the garden. The open bush straightens out. It is tied up at will.

Pruning

The very first thing to do is to prune the bush. It is necessary to remove all sick, frail, dry branches with pruning shears. If some of the shoots are frozen, they are also disposed of. Under pruning fall horizontal branches, shoots that have grown at the root.

Pruning gooseberries in spring

Important! On too overgrown plants, small berries grow. A well-groomed culture produces large, juicy fruits.

As a result, several (4-5) strongest, not old shoots should remain. They must be aligned in length. Thus, the bush is put in order. When summer comes, it will not look like an incomprehensible thicket. The branches will receive all the necessary nutrients, enough sunlight. Air circulates better in a thin crown. This helps to protect the culture from fungal diseases. After carrying out all the manipulations with the pruner, the sections are processed with garden lime. It will protect the culture from infections.

For pruning gooseberries, the most optimal time is early spring, when the plant is still dormant. However, if the dacha is far from home, and the gardener did not have time to arrive in March, the pruning can be rescheduled. Autumn is suitable for this procedure.

Note! Five years after planting the bush, its rejuvenating pruning is performed. At this age, the best yield. In order for the bush to cope with the load, it needs help. To do this, it is updated: all thin branches are removed, the bushes are greatly thinned out. Some of the shoots are replaced with young ones. Rejuvenating pruning is done every 5-6 years.

Watering

Gooseberries are not picky about abundant watering. Moisturize it only in dry weather. But in the spring, it is best to refresh the soil and bushes. The plant itself is sprayed with boiling water. This must be done on the same day that the trimming was performed. This is an old method that performs two functions: firstly, it awakens the plant, and secondly, it kills pests.

Spring watering should be moderate. 3 buckets of 10 liters are poured under the bush.

In April-May, when the shrub blooms, it can be moistened again. 50 liters are taken per bush. During this time, water is needed for the formation of fruits.

Loosening, mulching

After watering, the soil under the bush is loosened. It is best to perform the procedure with a hoe. It should enter the ground by 6-8 cm. Thus, the soil is filled with oxygen, which goes to the roots. The water permeability of the earth increases.

After loosening, the trunk circle is covered with mulch. Straw, peat, sawdust, crushed tree bark will do. Thanks to mulching, moisture is retained in the ground longer. In addition, weeds do not break through the mulch.

Fertilization

How to care for gooseberries in springtime yet? An important stage is the application of fertilizers. Gooseberry is a long-liver. He has been decorating the site for several decades. At the same time, it constantly bears fruit. The soil in which the root system of the crop is located is depleted every year. The plant takes up all the nutrients. Therefore, growing a strong plant requires feeding. If fertilized correctly, it will have a beneficial effect on yields.

Fertilization

Important! Fertilizing under the gooseberry begins only 2 years after the planting was carried out.

First feeding

It is held in April. You can find out that it is time to feed the culture by the swelling of the kidneys. This means that the plant is awake and needs additional nutrition. For a young plant that is only 2 years old, 40-60 grams of urea is ideal. This volume is designed for one bush. Nitrogen fertilizer has a beneficial effect on plant growth. The granules are embedded in the soil together with the ash.

If the plant is adult, it needs to be fed better. It is recommended to use both organic and mineral substances. The simultaneous use of these fertilizers is allowed. For one bush prepare 2 buckets of nutrient solutions. In the first bucket, 20 grams are bred. superphosphate, 10 gr. potassium, 10 gr. urea. The second bucket contains 1 kg of poultry droppings. Instead of droppings, you can take slurry, which is also diluted in water. You can replace this organic matter with 4 kg of compost.

Bush transplant

Experienced gardeners feed the bushes using folk methods. For example, for the first feeding of gooseberries, you can mix a kilogram of potato peelings and 100 grams of ash in a 10-liter bucket of water. This feeding is enough for several plants. One bush uses 2-4 liters.

Second feeding

It is carried out during flowering. Half a bucket of rotted manure is mixed with 20 grams. potash fertilizer, half a bucket of humus. Fertilizer is embedded in the soil at a distance equal to the size of the berry crown. The roots of the bush extend to approximately the same perimeter.

Third feeding

It is carried out after the bush has bloomed. The plant is watered with mullein infusion. The fertilizer is mixed with water in proportions of 1 to 5.

After top dressing, the soil is mulched with sawdust, straw, peat.

Prevention and control of diseases, insects

Gooseberry is a good health crop. But the prevention of pests and diseases cannot be neglected. A good result is obtained by spraying the plant with Karbofos, Gaupsin, HOM preparations. You can pour garlic infusion on the berry from a spray bottle, dust it with wood ash. Pouring boiling water over the bush is also a preventive measure.

Anthracnose

Diseases that gooseberries can overcome:

1. White spot;
2. Anthracnose;
3. Powdery mildew;
4. Gooseberry mosaic.

The fight against spotting consists in removing damaged leaves, loosening the ground under the bush.

The disease can be defeated by spraying the culture with Bordeaux liquid 3-4 times, one percent will do:

• The first time the drug is applied before the flowers appear on the plant;
• Second time after flowering;
• The third time 2 weeks after the second spraying;
• The fourth time this must be done as soon as the harvest is completed.

Fighting anthracnose is exactly the same as fighting spotting.

A disease such as powdery mildew is dangerous. It is difficult to deal with it. Chemistry is recommended. Oxyhom and Topaz preparations are suitable.

Gooseberry care in spring

Mosaic is considered a rare disease. It is virtually untreatable. Bushes are dug up and burned. The place where they were located is disinfected.

Additional Information. Shrubs must be constantly looked after. Gooseberries can be attacked by insects. The most common pest for the berry plant is aphid. The fight against it consists in treating the leaves and branches with tar soap, Fitoverm.

Bush transplant

This step is optional in plant care. The bushes are transplanted only when necessary. This is not difficult to do. The whole procedure takes place early spring, until the sap flow begins.

The shrub is pruned. Dig in around the perimeter of the crown. The roots lie at a depth of 50-70 cm. The plant is dug in at this depth. Next comes the rhizome. There is no need to remove the earth from it. The new place is fertilized with humus. It spills well. The planting hole should be about 50 cm long and 50 cm deep. Planting consists in placing the rhizome in a hole, sprinkling it with earth, another watering, mulching.

Spring crop care in different regions

Grooming gooseberries in spring takes effort

Many gardeners want to know how to care for gooseberries in the spring in a particular area. Russia is a huge country. In the south, spring comes in February, in the northern regions only in May. Therefore, spring care for gooseberries has its own peculiarities.

Spring is fast in the southern regions. All spring care activities need to be done in just a week and a half. They usually start at the beginning of February. Additionally, the culture must be watered every 2 weeks. One bush consumes 30-50 liters of water.

The middle zone of Russia (for example, the Moscow region) is characterized by a long spring. However, this is not a reason to postpone the care of the berry. Work begins in March.

In the Urals, the Volga region, the winter cold does not recede until the end of March. Therefore, you need to start working with gooseberries in the last decade of March or early April. It is recommended to pay attention to a more thorough loosening of the soil under the bush. The soil is heavy in these regions.

In Siberia, it is better to wait for the first thaws and only after that do gooseberries. The main advice for gardeners in the northern regions is to slowly release the plant from shelter. You can do this within a week.

Spring care mistakes

In order to get the maximum yield of gooseberries, spring care must be correct. Otherwise, the summer resident can only harm the shrub.

The most common mistakes gardeners make:

• You can not completely douse the bush with water. He only needs root watering. An exception is spraying the bush with boiling water. In this case, it is necessary to moisten all branches, shoots in order to rid them of pests;
• Pruning should take place before the start of sap flow. If the buds are swollen on the plant, it is better to postpone the procedure.
• It is necessary to cut off all frail, sick, old, dry branches. Do not allow the crown to thicken. Insect pests can settle in dense branches. Also, thickets do not allow air to pass through well. The plant can pick up the fungus;
• When loosening, it is better to use a hoe, hoe. It is not recommended to pick up a shovel. The roots of the culture are located close to the surface of the earth. When digging up the soil with a shovel, you can damage the root system;
• You need to be careful with fertilizers. Better not to feed than to overfeed. It is recommended to carry out a full cycle of dressings (that is, 3 dressings in spring) once every 2-3 years;
• It is not recommended to use fertilizers containing chlorine. This element can negatively affect the shrub.

Gooseberry care in spring can be done by an experienced gardener and a beginner. Spring events do not cause any particular difficulties. The main thing is to do everything in a complex. In this case, the summer resident will be provided with a large harvest of tasty fruits.

During spring, caring for gooseberries is extremely important.... It is complex and includes: preparing the plant for further active growth, treating bushes with fungicides (from pests), pruning branches.

The first step is to check the bushes planted in the fall; if necessary, add fertile soil where the soil has subsided.

It should not be forgotten that the growing season of gooseberry bushes is intense, that is, the shoots and branches of the culture develop faster than the roots. Therefore, the gooseberry needs special attention in the spring. If the culture survived the winter cold well and began to develop in the spring, then the care of the bushes was correct.

Weed control

The first step in the spring is to remove all the weeds.

As soon as the ground has warmed up, the gooseberry tree trunk must be cleared of weeds and old foliage.

They are not dangerous at an early stage of plant development, but subsequently they are able to feed on nutrients from the shrub. If the gooseberry has a large number of needles at the base of the bush, then removing such weeds is quite problematic.

That is why, in addition, it is recommended to treat the bushes with the drug " Fusilade Forte ". To prepare a solution, you need to take 20 milligrams of the drug and dilute in 3 liters of water. Some summer residents do not perform spring raking of weeds at all, but simply process the bushes with such a solution.

Pruning bushes

Gooseberry pruning is done in early spring before the young leaves appear.

Pruning gooseberry bushes is a very important part of plant care. In spring, the plant is rather lethargic and weak, and this is a normal state after the winter cold. It is in the spring that you need to prune the bushes..

Pruning the bushes increases the yield of gooseberries.

Spring pruning of a gooseberry bush: a - before pruning; b - after trimming.

Watering

The plant needs to be watered in the spring. But, if the winter was rather snowy, and in the spring there was a lot of rain, then the culture will not have problems with water. But if there was little snow in winter, and there was no rain at all, then it is necessary to water the bushes .

You don't need to water the bushes too often. It is enough to pour 1 bucket under each bush 2 times a week to ensure the water balance for the plant.

There is no need to flood the plant, as the gooseberry does not like excess moisture.

Top dressing and fertilizers

After winter, shrubs begin to wake up. That is why gooseberries are especially in need of useful components during the spring. The yield depends on what components were introduced into the soil.

• Top dressing of gooseberries in the spring requires several stages. But, in any case, it is necessary to use fertilizers that are quickly absorbed. And you also do not need to use fertilizers that acidify the soil.
• As a fast-absorbing fertilizer, you can use nitrogen fertilization ... It is nitrogen that gives the plant strength for the growth and development of the buds. You can use manure, bird droppings. To prepare the solution, you need to dilute 1 part of manure in 10 parts of water and pour 1 bucket of solution under each bush.
• Mineral fertilizer you can make yourself, for this you need to pour 35 grams of ammonium nitrate under each bush and then pour water.
• At the first signs of flowering, under each bush you need to pour 45 grams of potassium sulfate ... If wood ash was introduced under the bush in the fall, then you can refuse this top dressing.

Pest control

The gooseberry is susceptible to attack by harmful insects that can destroy it. It is necessary to treat bushes in the spring from pests during the budding period.

The first preventive spraying of gooseberries is done before bud break.

Disease care

Most often, gooseberries are susceptible to powdery mildew. Such a disease appears in the form of gray spots on shoots and leaves.

To defeat the disease, you need to breed baking soda (5 grams) in 1 liter of water and treat the plant at the first sign of illness ... This procedure can be carried out as a prophylaxis of the disease. For this purpose, you can use ferrous sulfate (3 grams) diluted in 1 liter of water.

Spraying the gooseberry with a baking soda solution helps with powdery mildew.

conclusions

According to most gardeners, caring for gooseberries in the spring is very important, since it is he who ensures the quantity and quality of the harvest in the new season.

The culture is not too whimsical to care for, but timely fertilization, regular watering and pruning of bushes is a guarantee of increased gooseberry yields.

Video about spring pruning of gooseberries

Gooseberry is an amazing berry. Many people mistakenly think that it is very difficult to grow it on their site, but in fact, to get an excellent harvest, you just need to provide proper care in the spring. What it consists of, we will consider further.

Proper care of gooseberries in spring will ensure a good harvest, significantly increase the quality of the fruits and their size, and improve the characteristics in terms of storage and transportation. But if you do not provide the shrub with proper attention, it will turn into thickets and will, like a weed, only clog other plants.

Caring for gooseberries in spring is the timely removal of shelter, watering, loosening, mulching, feeding, pest control and pruning. Also, if necessary, a transplant can be carried out.

Taking shelter after winter

For the winter, gooseberries are covered by slightly bending the branches to the ground. Peat, dry leaves, humus, straw, needles, sawdust, tree bark, etc. can be used as a covering material.

In addition, from above it is necessary to wrap the shrub with agrofibre, film or roofing material. Be sure to bend the branches to the ground. You can fix them with hooks.

It is necessary to remove the shelter at the onset of the first heat. Otherwise, decay processes may begin. First, the film or agrofibre is removed, and the natural shelter is removed after a while, gradually.

Watering, loosening and mulching

The gooseberry has a fairly well developed root system, and it is because of this that many gardeners mistakenly believe that watering can either be reduced to a minimum, or not carried out at all.

If the winter was snowy, at first the gooseberry does not need watering, it has more than enough melt water. But after this procedure should become regular and it is especially important to shed the shrub well during the period of fruit formation. If this is not done, there may and will be a lot of berries, but they will all be small and sour.

It is also necessary to support the bush in the heat. On dry days, you need to water the bush at the root, loosen the soil and mulch. In the evening, it is good to fill in the aboveground part of the plant. If the leaves begin to dry out, this will affect the health of the entire plant.

Take note! A biennial plant should receive at least 20 liters of water per week.

Loosening in spring is of great importance for plant development. This simple procedure will provide access to the roots of moisture and air.

It is important not to loosen too deeply. Maximum 10 cm. Otherwise, the roots may be damaged.

Mulching gooseberry bushes in spring will help retain moisture, as well as nourish the plant with useful substances. It is good to use straw, sawdust, peat.

Top dressing gooseberries in spring

Spring fertilization is very important for gooseberries. They will help to form powerful shoots and improve the quality of the harvest, improve the taste and size of the fruit.

Gooseberries respond well to nitrogen. But you should not get carried away with it, otherwise you can achieve not a bountiful harvest, but only rough foliage.

You can use ready-made mineral complexes, or you can add nitrate or urea at the rate of 20 grams per square meter. You can also prepare a mixture of these substances by mixing them in equal proportions.

Fertilize gooseberries after removing the shelter, and then during the active growing season.

Pruning

To prevent the gooseberry from turning into an overgrown bush of thorns, pruning must be carried out regularly. It is a pity for gardeners to remove branches, but they cannot do without it. The procedure is carried out almost immediately after removing the shelter and raising the branches pressed to the ground.

Broken, damaged and old branches are removed first. If this is not done, the plant will direct all its forces not to the formation of fruits, but to maintaining its diseased or weakened part.

You can remove branches that have reached 3 years of age. The largest yield is given by a two-year gooseberry.

Treatment against diseases and pests

Gooseberries are not too susceptible to disease, and pests do not often infect it. But regular inspection and preventive maintenance should be carried out without fail.

In a special risk zone, bushes planted next to currants and raspberries. Pests and fungi (primarily spider mites, raspberry moths, weevils, aphids, etc.) can pass from them.

If a pest or larvae is found, the shoot must be cut off and burned, and the plant must be watered with a decoction of onion peel or sprayed with an infusion of laundry soap.

Of the diseases, anthracnose should be feared. It quickly destroys the plant, but it is also quite easy to identify it. After infection, the bush practically stops developing. Rust is also common on gooseberries. It mainly affects young leaves. To fight diseases, gooseberries should be sprayed with sulfur-containing preparations.

For prophylaxis, in the spring, you need to spray the bush with special preparations. Good results are given by Karbofos and Actellik. If there is a suspicion of infection or a diseased plant was found nearby, the treatment is repeated.

Transfer

Many plants are transplanted before winter, but the opposite should be done with gooseberries. Young shrub seedlings take root well in spring. And the soil contains such an amount of natural moisture that it is very difficult to create artificially with the help of irrigation.

The procedure is carried out almost immediately after the removal of the shelters. We must be in time before the buds have blossomed. Then the seedling will be able to put out a sufficient number of roots and normally take root in a new place.

The selected stalk should be shortened so that the aerial part is no more than 20-25 cm. Grease the cut point with garden pitch.

Care in different regions (Moscow region, Volga region, Siberia, Ural)

In the Moscow region, the procedures are the same as in the south of the country. They consist in watering every two weeks or more often if it is hot, in loosening, mulching and dressing.

In the Volga region, it is advisable to plant young seedlings not immediately into the ground, but into separate buckets or other containers and rearrange them in a greenhouse until they begin to take root, and when the weather is stable warm, move them to a permanent place in open ground.

In the Urals and Siberia, it is undesirable to carry out pruning in the spring and the shelter is removed gradually, only in the daytime, until the threat of frost has passed.

Care errors

If all the points that we stopped at in the article were completed, but the gooseberry did not give a good result, then it is quite possible that you made one of the most common mistakes:

• too late they removed the shelter. Then a greenhouse effect forms under it and the plant begins to rot;
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After winter, the gooseberry wakes up one of the first among the berry bushes. Care for this crop begins with the first warm spring, almost immediately after the snow cover melts. All early spring work must be done as soon as possible before the buds swell and foliage bloom.

Gooseberry: Spring Care Highlights

Proper care of gooseberry bushes in early spring includes a whole range of measures, without which it is not possible to get a good harvest of large and sweet berries. It consists of the following actions:

• cleaning the territory after winter;
• sanitizing shrubs from pests and diseases;
• pruning bushes;
• transplant;
• feeding plantings;
• soil processing.

In order for the gooseberry bush to be healthy and bear fruit abundantly, it must be properly looked after from the very spring.

Some procedures do not require annual performance, they are performed as needed. For example, there is no need to replant gooseberry bushes every spring. The culture feels great in one place for 15-20 years.

Removing winter shelter from gooseberry bushes

As soon as the snow melts and you can get close to the bushes, you need to remove the insulation that was used to cover the bushes for the winter. In the northern regions, where the climate is unstable, the shelter is removed in layers. First, the branches or spruce branches are thrown back, then the covering material (burlap, polyethylene, spunbond, etc.).

With the arrival of warmth, the winter shelter must be removed

Last of all, the mulching layer is removed, which acts as a heater in areas with milder and warmer climatic conditions. From under the bushes you need to scoop out all last year's garbage and remnants of vegetation. Spores of fungal diseases and larvae of various harmful insects hibernate in old mulch and plant residues, so all organic waste (last year's leaves, dry branches, mulch residues, etc.) must be destroyed (burned).

All plant debris must be burned

We never cover the gooseberries on purpose for the winter. Usually, it is enough to simply bend the branches closer to the ground. The fallen snow cover completely covers the bushes and perfectly protects them from frost. But in the spring, you need to quickly raise the shoots so that they do not touch the soil.

Preventive spring treatments of gooseberry bushes against insect pests and diseases

The simplest and safest preventive measure for the destruction of overwintered spores of fungal diseases and insect larvae is boiling water. The procedure is carried out in early spring (late March or early April), when sap flow has not yet begun and the buds have not swollen, and the plant is just beginning to wake up from hibernation.

Most of the spring gooseberry care needs to be done before the foliage blooms.

It is extremely important to correctly guess the moment and carry out the treatment on time, otherwise the set kidneys will die from hot water.

You can scald with boiling water only on bare branches, until the buds swell

Gooseberry bushes are spilled with boiling water from a metal watering can with a spray on bare branches. They also water the ground under the plants, because pests like to settle there. On average, a bucket of hot liquid is spent on one bush.

Video: scalding gooseberries with boiling water

Before flowering, the shrub is sprayed with the following chemicals for prophylaxis:

• copper (3%) or iron (1%) vitriol;

  Solutions of copper and ferrous sulfate are actively used in horticulture and horticulture for the treatment of leaves, stems and roots from harmful insects and bacteria

• Bordeaux liquid (3%);

  Bordeaux liquid - a proven remedy in the fight against various plant diseases and pests

• fungicidal and insecticidal complexes (Topaz and Aktara).

  You can use complex preparations of double action

You can use for preventive spraying with biological products:

• From diseases:
• Fitosporin-M and others.

From pests:

Bitoxibacillin;

Lepidocide, etc.

Photo gallery: biologics for gooseberry

Aktofit - insecticide against agricultural pests
Gaupsin is an insecticidal and fungicidal preparation containing two strains of bacteria Pseudomonas aureofaciens, as well as biologically active substances produced by them in the process of industrial cultivation Trichodermin is a new generation agent that will protect plants from diseases, accelerate their growth and increase soil fertility
Fitosporin-M is the only drug that can reduce the bacterial and fungal threat at an early stage.
Bitoxibacillin is an organic powder for the control of a wide range of garden pests
Insecticide Lepidocide is a biological preparation that targets insects of various ages.

It must be remembered that preparations of biological origin are most effective at an ambient temperature of at least +14 ° C. At lower rates, the use of these funds is impractical.

Video: spring preventive spraying for diseases

• For fungal infections:
  • infusion of onion peel - 0.3 kg pour 10 liters of boiling water and leave for 2-3 days;

    The use of onion peel infusion in the garden is quite popular among adherents of eco-farming, it can be used not only for plant protection, but also as a top dressing

  • ash infusion with the addition of laundry soap - 0.9–1 kg of ash is poured with a bucket of water, kept for 5–7 days, then 50–60 g of grated soap is added;

    In order to prevent diseases and pests, it is useful to spray fruit and berry plants with ash infusion on the leaves.

  • soda solution with soap - 10 liters, 50 g each;

    Using a soap and soda solution, they fight against the manifestations of powdery mildew on gooseberries

  • mullein infusion - add 1-1.2 kg of fresh cow dung to a bucket of water, leave for a week, dilute the working solution in a ratio of 1:10 before use.

    Mullein infusion is an affordable and well-known plant nutrition tool that can also be used against fungus.

• From insect pests:
  • mustard infusion - 0.1 kg of powder is dissolved in 0.5 l of water, then the volume is brought to 10 l;

    Mustard infusion works great against moths, sawflies, bedbugs, thrips, aphids, apple moth and other leaf-eating caterpillars

  • tobacco infusion - finely chopped leaves (dry - 0.1 kg, fresh - 1 kg) pour 10 liters of water for 2-3 days;

    Tobacco infusion has a wide range of applications - it is effective against aphids, leafworms, honeydew, cabbage and apple moths, onion flies, and ringed silkworm

  • infusion of garlic - 0.4 kg of chopped cloves in a bucket of water.

    A pungent garlic smell repels many pests of the garden and vegetable garden

To prevent the emergence of pests from the soil, it is recommended to cover the ground in the near-trunk circle with dense material (pieces of linoleum, roofing material, thick film, etc.) for several weeks.

We have gooseberry bushes planted along the path. In the spring, as soon as the bright sun begins to shine and thawed patches appear, we shovel off the snow so that we can approach the bushes and spill them with boiling water. My grandmother taught me how to water gooseberries and currants with hot water. For greater efficiency, she advised adding a little potassium permanganate to the water to make a light pink solution.

Video: fighting insect pests

Spring pruning of gooseberries: sanitary and formative

Pruning is a fundamental activity that directly affects the yield of gooseberries.... This fast-growing culture is prone to overgrowth. Fresh young shoots grow very actively, forming dense impassable thorny thickets of intertwining branches.

There are few berries on neglected bushes and they are small

In poorly ventilated thickened bushes, fungal infections often progress and all kinds of harmful insects live. The ovary is formed a little, since pollination is difficult. The overgrown shrub bears little fruit, the berries are small and sour in taste, since the sun's rays do not penetrate into the bush. Gradually, fruiting stops altogether.

Excess thickening branches must be removed

Spring pruning is considered sanitary because most gooseberry pruning is done in the fall. In early spring, in the first decade of March, cut out:

• dried, frozen and partially frozen branches in winter (up to living tissue);
• shoots damaged by fungal diseases or insect pests;
• weak, thin and curved twigs;
• shoots growing inside the bush, rubbing against each other and crossing;
• branches located too close to the ground or lying on it.

The gooseberries must be cut off before the sap begins to flow.

Regular shaping pruning is done like this:

1. When planting a seedling in open ground, no more than 3-4 of the strongest and thickest shoots are left on it, which are located in space in the right way. About 4-5 buds are left on each of them. Everything else is deleted.
2. The next year, 5–6 powerful and well-oriented branches are chosen, and they are shortened by a third to stimulate branching. Weaker ones, facing inward or strongly inclined to the surface of the ground, as well as curved and sick ones, cut out.
3. In the third year, when the first berries appear, again no more than 4–5 strong shoots are left, cutting out all that is superfluous. The shoots of the current season are pruned to a third of the length.
4. In the fourth year of life, several successful and strong branches are again left, removing unnecessary ones. The bush at this time should have about 18–20 shoots of different ages (from 1 to 4 years), its crown is considered to be formed.
5. Starting from the fifth year, light anti-aging pruning is carried out.

The formation of the gooseberry crown is carried out for four years.

The cut should be made over the bud located on the outside of the stem. It is important not to damage the flower bud. 5–6 mm recede from the peephole and cut at an incline of 45–50 °. If you cut the branch below, then the developing bud will not have enough nutrition and it will dry out. The cut made above can lead to drying out first of the part of the stem above the bud, and then of the entire branch.

In the spring, there is usually always little time and it is difficult to have time to do everything in the garden on time, so I try to cut the berry bushes in the fall. In mid-March, I only remove branches that have broken under the snow or frozen.

Video: features of spring gooseberry pruning

Anti-aging work for gooseberries

Anti-aging procedures consist in removing branches older than 6-7 years, because their yield gradually decreases and fades away. Starting from the fifth year, during the annual pruning, old shoots are removed, they are distinguished by a very dark, brown, almost black color of the bark. In this case, the same number of new replacement stems must be left. Competent annual pruning allows the shrub to stay young for a long time and give a guaranteed bountiful harvest.

Old gooseberry bush can be rejuvenated with proper pruning

If the gooseberry is neglected and for some reason was not cut off in time, then it is rejuvenated. The procedure consists of the following steps:

1. In late autumn (late October or early November), after leaf fall, all branches are cut from a third of the gooseberry bush. The next year, there will be an enhanced growth of zero-order shoots.
2. A year later, the regrown young stems are shortened and another third of the old branches are cut out.
3. In the third season, all remaining fruiting shoots are removed, and the young are pruned again.

With rejuvenating pruning, old branches are gradually cut out.

There is a more radical way to rejuvenate gooseberry bushes. To do this, remove all shoots completely. Only a few stumps are left, from which young growth will go.

Video: gooseberry rejuvenation

Top dressing gooseberry bushes in spring

With proper planting with a full-fledged filling of the planting pit with the necessary fertilizers, you need to feed the gooseberries only after 2-3 years. All this time, he does not need additional food.

In early spring, gooseberries need nitrogen-containing fertilizers.

At the very beginning of the growing season, the berry bush is fed with nitrogenous fertilizers:

• Urea (urea) or ammonium nitrate. The granules are scattered under the bushes, covered with a rake into the ground to a depth of 5–6 cm and watered well. Application rate for 1 bush:
  
• Infusion of potato peelings. 1 kg of peelings is poured into a bucket of boiling water and covered with a lid. When the water has cooled slightly (up to 45-50 ° C), add 0.2 kg of wood ash. About 3 liters are spent on a bush.

  Some gardeners just scatter potato peels under bushes.

• Bird droppings. Dilute with water in a ratio of 1:20. A bucket of infusion is poured under each plant.

  Poultry manure is one of the best organic fertilizers, but its use requires the utmost care.

• Manure. They are scattered under bushes (even on the snow) with a layer of 6–8 cm.

  Fresh manure is a long-lasting fertilizer

• Humus. Spread in a near-trunk circle (5-6 kg per bush), sprinkle with earth.

  Spread humus under the gooseberry bushes

Nitrogen-containing fertilizers should be applied with caution, since nitrogen causes increased growth of ground green mass. An overdose will lead to the formation of an excessive number of new shoots, which is fraught with a decrease in yield.

Video: spring feeding for gooseberry bushes

Soil cultivation in spring: loosening and weeding

The soil under the bushes is loosened with a hoe or hoe to a depth of 6–8 cm, between the rows it is dug about 10–15 cm. All weeds must be regularly pulled out, preventing them from taking away nutrients from cultivated plants. Usually, they try to combine loosening with fertilization.

The land under the gooseberry bushes should be loosened regularly.

Mulching is an important step in proper soil preparation. Mulch prevents weeds from growing and prevents the formation of excess root growth, as well as retains moisture. As a mulching material, you can use:

• sawdust or small shavings;
• humus;
• peat;
• cones;
• small pieces of tree bark;
• straw;
• cut grass;
• potato peelings, etc.

Pine cone mulch is not only healthy, but also beautiful.

Gooseberries develop poorly and bear poor fruit on highly acidic, marshy and cold soils. The culture prefers loam and sandy loam, but can grow on sandy and even clay soils. In this respect, she is not at all capricious. Heavy clayey soils need to be loosened more often for better aeration, and sandstones must be enriched with organic matter.

It is very convenient to use grass cut from the lawn as mulch. Small grass dries quickly and becomes an excellent fertilizer for all shrubs. But I always try to shovel it to the side when watering, because gooseberries hate excessive dampness. Then I put the mulch layer back on.

The gooseberry is a richly fruitful crop that severely depletes the soil. And this inevitably leads to a decrease in yield. Therefore, the quality of the land must be regularly improved. For this, natural organic fertilizers are used:

Work to increase the fertility of the soil under the gooseberry bushes is carried out as follows:

1. First, in the near-trunk circle, the weeds are cut down with a hoe and the soil is slightly loosened.
2. Then crushed wood ash is scattered (0.2–0.3 kg).
3. Spread humus on top of the scattered ash (5–6 kg).
4. Mix both components with a chopper or rake, while slightly embedding them in the soil.
5. At intervals of once every 2-3 weeks, the soil is loosened.

Soil fertility is increased by the introduction of organic matter

It is not necessary to specially water the feeding layer, useful substances and microelements will gradually penetrate deep into the earth under the influence of atmospheric precipitation. At the same time, a mixture of ash and humus is also a mulch, retaining moisture and fighting weeds.

Common mistakes in caring for gooseberry bushes

Novice and inexperienced gardeners alike make several very common mistakes in caring for gooseberry bushes:

• Improper watering. It is impossible to water the shrub from above on the leaves by sprinkling, as this leads to the appearance of various fungal pathologies and rot. The culture is very sensitive to drying out of the soil and lack of moisture, but only the soil should be moistened, preventing water from getting on the foliage. Moisture should saturate the ground to a depth of 40 cm, so it is better to do drip irrigation or dig special grooves around the perimeter of the crown.

  Gooseberries should not be watered by sprinkling.

• Insufficient pruning. Overgrown and unkempt gooseberries are often affected by fungal infections and bear poor fruit.

  An improperly cut and thickened gooseberry bush does not bear fruit well often is affected by fungal infections

• Traumatic digging. The gooseberry has a branched and superficial root system, too deep digging injures the delicate roots. Loosening the ground under the bush should only be done with a rake, hoe or hoe, but no deeper than 5–6 cm.

  It is not necessary to loosen the ground under the gooseberry bushes very deeply.

• Illiterate crown formation. Heavy pruning for rejuvenation can kill the plant. It is highly discouraged for inexperienced gardeners to use this method. If you do this in stages over 2-3 years, then the bush will be renewed and the harvest will be.

  It is important not to overdo it with nitrogen fertilizers.

• Late pruning. You cannot cut the plant if young leaves have already appeared. In this case, it is better to postpone the procedure until the fall. Otherwise, the bush will hurt, take a long time to recover and, as a result, bear fruit poorly.

  If you cut the gooseberry with blossoming leaves, then the plant will hurt for a long time.

• Late removal of the winter shelter. Bushes can rot as a result of overheating and the greenhouse effect.

In the early days of gardening, I had the bad experience of growing gooseberries. I did not cut the bush and it got to the point that it was simply impossible to get to the berries because of the many thorny branches. Cutting off a neglected plant was also not so easy, the thorns were very scratched and dug into the skin. Since then, I have tried to avoid this situation anymore.

Video: what to do with gooseberries in spring

Spring care for gooseberry plantings does not take much time and effort. Agrotechnical measures carried out in a timely manner will ensure a future bountiful harvest and preserve the health of the shrub for many years.