Characteristic variety of gooseberry "Spring"

Gooseberry variety Spring is the most common among gardeners. He is loved for excellent frost tolerance, pleasant taste and great yield.

Gooseberry Spring is well adapted to our volatile climate. The variety not only withstands severe frosts in winter (up to –35 degrees), but also severe temperature drops in spring. This fact is remarkable: even if frost occurs during the flowering period, the yield does not suffer from this.

Main characteristics:

• large or medium-sized oval-shaped berries, yellow-green in color with light streaks, uneven redness appears in ripe berries;
• taste sweet-sour, juicy flesh;
• shrub sprawling, with medium branches, leaves wavy, brilliant green;
• thorns are mainly found at the base, they are not hard, of medium thickness and do not impede harvesting.

100 g of berries contain:

• vitamin C - 23 mg;
• acids - 2.7%;
• sugar - 7.7%.

Shrub breeds in two ways.

1. Layering - fruit-bearing branches are cut off in late September, leaving young shoots that need to be shortened by 20-30 cm. It is important to separate the layering during the fall of the leaves.
2. Green cuttings - in greenhouses in mid-June.

The following pests can attack the shrub:

• gooseberry sawfly;
• gooseberry fire;
• gooseberry aphid;
• gooseberry moth.

Insects are used for insects such as Iskra, Karbofos, Detsis, Aktellik, etc. But the drugs are potent and are not recommended to be used without particular need.

The gooseberry variety Spring is ideal for the changeable climate that is characteristic of the middle zone.

Advantages:

• good taste;
• the ability to self-pollination (one bush will produce a crop);
• frost resistance;
• tolerates transportation;
• seedlings take root well and bear fruit in the second year;
• early maturation;
• good immunity.

Disadvantages:

• after heavy rains, the berries fall off;
• can get sick with anthracnose (fungal disease).

The variety has a good survival rate, but annual bushes with a closed root part are well suited for planting. Such bushes well take root in the new place.

If the root is open, it should be with long roots and a fresh cut, without any damage. Before planting, the roots are shortened and soaked in a special solution. If the shrub needs to be transported to another location, the roots are wound with a well-moistened cloth and covered with plastic wrap on top.

A place for shrubs of this variety should be chosen light and without drafts. The shrub is badly taken root in areas with high humidity and low-lying areas. At elevated groundwater levels, an additional system for drainage water should be created. The distance between plants should be about a meter, it is better to plant from a tree at a distance of 2-3 meters. If the bush is in the shade of buildings or trees, then the time of ripening may increase, and the yield will be less.

If the whole site is with acidic soil, then it is necessary to make liming. Such treatment will not only reduce the acidity, but also make the soil looser, saturate the soil with calcium and magnesium. Liming is best done in the spring a few weeks before planting or in the fall before digging up the beds.

Lime flour is used to neutralize. For its preparation, lime is poured on a flat area with a layer of 8-10 cm and moistened with water (it is best to use a sprayer).After 20-30 minutes, the extinguished and dried lime - the fluff - is collected in a separate container, and the remaining lime is moistened again and the process is repeated. The resulting lime powder for 2-3 weeks before planting the gooseberry fertilizes the soil.

Planted gooseberries are recommended from mid-September to early October. The pits should be from 50 cm in diameter, 30-40 cm in depth. It is recommended to put mineral fertilizers on the bottom of the pit. On average, 50 g of potassium salts and superphosphate are enough for one season, which will provide the shrub with the necessary nutrition.

The young bush is set vertically up, the roots are leveled and covered with earth, constantly wetting and compacting. After planting the bush should be well watered. If desired, the top layer of soil can be covered with mulch, it allows you to retain moisture at the roots and get rid of weeds.

The gooseberry variety Spring is unpretentious in care; it is not afraid of sub-zero temperatures even during the flowering period. The bush has good immunity and is resistant to almost all diseases, the only weakness is anthracnose fungal infection.

Gooseberry likes moderate humidity, so it must be watered often, but with a small amount of water. If the gooseberry is heavily poured, the berries become watery.

Loosening the soil should be done every 3-4 weeks. The root part is located close to the ground and it is necessary to work the soil gently. It is necessary to feed the shrubs three times per season (new bushes, if fertilizers were used during planting, should be fed from the next season). The first feeding with nitrogen complexes is necessary even before the spring awakening of the plant, the second with potassium and phosphorus before flowering, the last with organic fertilizers at the end of the season. On scanty and non-nutritive soil, it is recommended to use humus during the entire period of growth and development of the shrub.

The spring is small in size, but a garter is still needed. This is done to ensure that a number of bushes are smooth and to simplify harvesting. Also, the garter does not allow branches to bend under the weight of the fruit. The trellis method (poles with wire tension) is suitable for this variety.

Unnecessary shoots interfere with the growth and nutrition of the shrub, the berries lose their taste, and over time the amount of the crop falls. To prevent this from happening, gooseberry should be periodically cut. This is one of the most important processes in the care of gooseberries, allows you to save the plant from damaged branches and improve the growth process.

In our climate pruning is recommended either in late autumn or in early spring when there is no sap movement in the plant. First, all damaged shoots are removed, then the shrub can be given any shape you wish.

After pruning unnecessary and diseased branches, the plant must be treated for diseases and harmful insects. The most common disease for shrubs is powdery mildew. Despite the fact that this variety is resistant to diseases, additional precaution will not be superfluous. For this, a solution with copper sulphate will be suitable (for 10 liters of water 10 g of vitriol and 100 g of soap).

Also from the fungus and other lesions will help boiling water, which need to process each branch for no more than 5 seconds. All these activities should be carried out in early spring.

Spring is a relatively new breeding variety that was specially for our climate, taking into account the wishes of gardeners. It tolerates harsh winters and spring frosts, has good immunity and taste, gives a lot of harvest during the season. Cultivation does not cause much trouble, even for novice gardeners.

The spring was bred by crossing two varieties of gooseberry with different characteristics - Lada and Purman. It was received by breeders I. V. Popov and M. N. Simonov at the Moscow fruit station.

Gardeners note a good survival rate of the variety and the ability to harvest a large crop the next year after planting. The taste of this variety according to experts corresponds to the best European varieties.

Its fruits are among the most valuable for human health. Berries help reduce cholesterol and blood sugar, normalize blood pressure. The maximum benefit of fresh berries, heat treatment destroys most of the nutrients. To save the benefits, many housewives freeze the berries for the winter or prepare a light jam.

Review of the gooseberry variety "Spring", see below.