For those who are going to plant gooseberries on the site, my article will be very useful. I will tell you how to choose a place for gooseberries, how to prepare them, how to form bushes and much more.
Choosing a place and soil for gooseberries - expert advice
Gooseberry is a perennial plant with a well-developed root system. He needs to immediately choose a place where he will constantly grow. I want to immediately note that this culture is light-loving, so she needs to choose a place in a sunny clearing. It suits neutral or slightly acidic soils. But I do not recommend planting these shrubs in the lowland, as they cannot stand stagnant water.
How I plant gooseberries - step by step instructions
So, after I have decided on the gooseberry planting site, I carefully prepare it. Namely, I carefully clean the clearing from weeds, especially perennial ones. Because when the bush grows, it will be difficult to weed weeds under it because of the numerous thorns. As for the timing of planting, it is best to do this in spring or autumn. But I prefer autumn planting (from late September to mid-November).
I dig a planting hole twice as wide as the root system of a shrub. I mix the top layer of the earth with rotted manure. If the soil is too clayey, it is better to add river sand to it. Also, when planting a shrub, I add potassium sulfate and superphosphate to the planting hole. And for the next two years I do not fertilize the plant.
Before planting, I prune the roots of the shrub so that lateral sprouts develop better and faster. I install the bush itself in the planting hole at a slight angle. Be sure to straighten the roots and sprinkle with soil. After planting, I cut the gooseberry branches, leaving only 7 buds. Then I water the plant and mulch (to prevent moisture from evaporating). If you want to plant several gooseberry bushes side by side, then the distance between them must be at least 1.5 m. If you do everything right, then the bush you planted will take root well, and in three years it will delight you with delicious harvest.
How do I form gooseberry bushes
It is necessary to form gooseberries in the first year of planting. Because this culture gives a lot of side shoots that must be removed so that there is no thickening, which leads to various diseases and the appearance of pests. I want to note that if you do not prune gooseberries in time, this will negatively affect its yield. Every year I radically prune gooseberry bushes according to the following scheme:
- The first year I leave strong shoots. Usually these are 5 branches that grow in different directions. Weak, deformed and interfering shoots must be cut as close to the ground as possible.
- The second year I leave 5 more shoots. Here it is important to ensure that the branches are arranged in a circle, and do not interfere with each other.
- For the third and subsequent years, I cut out frozen, diseased, extra branches. Also, pruning necessarily lends itself to shoots that are more than 7 years old, since there will be no harvest on them.
As you can see, growing gooseberries on your site is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. The main thing is to choose the right place for him, prepare the soil and plant according to the recommendations of experienced gardeners. Do not forget to pay special attention to the formation of the bush in the first three years of its life. How do you plant gooseberries? What technology do you use to cut it? How do you care for gooseberries, and what kind of crop do you harvest? I propose to discuss all this below in the comments.
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