Gooseberry Lada

Each gardener seeks to plant an unpretentious gooseberry on his site, which does not require special care skills, has a strong immunity to most diseases, and gives a bountiful harvest of tasty and healthy berries. Gooseberry Lada fully embodied the above wishes. However, to obtain healthy bushes, you must follow the basic agrotechnical rules.

The plant is medium-sized and compact, reaching a height of 150-200 cm. The crown of the bushes is wide and semi-spreading. The shoots are strong and straight, with a small number of thorns. They are absent on the tops and on the fruiting branches.

The leaves are large and medium in size, three-lobed, smooth, slightly glossy. Their color is light green. The surface is pubescent on both sides. Inflorescences are white, medium in size.

The variety has significant advantages:

• frost resistance and drought resistance;

• high productivity;

• high adaptability to different types of soils;

• resistance to most of the diseases inherent in the culture;

• excellent taste;

• large-fruited.

There are few disadvantages, but they are:

• poor recovery of shoots, an excessively small amount of replacement shoots is formed, which makes the plant difficult to propagate;

• due to the thin skin, the fruits do not tolerate transportation well.

Lada has very large fruits, oval in shape. The mass of one berry can reach 8 g. The color of ripe berries is greenish with a red tint.

The taste of the pulp is dessert, sweet, there is a pleasant sourness in the peel. On a five-point tasting scale, the variety is rated at 4.8 points. The fruits contain a large amount of vitamins and healthy sugar. They make delicious preserves, jams, compotes, desserts. Berries can also be frozen and dried.

The variety is fast-growing, fruiting occurs in the second year of planting, quickly reaching the peak of yield. Refers to late ripening. The fruits begin to ripen by the end of August - beginning of September. The variety belongs to one of the most durable shrubs, capable of bearing fruit for 20 years. To get a good harvest, experienced gardeners recommend planting several bushes nearby for pollination.

Lada is a high-yielding variety. From one bush, you can collect about 5 kg of fruit. The fruit cluster resembles a grape cluster. One bunch ripens from 10 to 30 pieces.

Gooseberry can be cultivated in any region of Russia - the plant quickly adapts to various climatic conditions.

The culture prefers to grow in sunny places, but it can also put up with a little partial shade. The site should also be selected on a hill and protected from the winds. Gooseberry Lada is not particularly picky about the composition of the soil. It can grow on sandy, clayey or medium loamy soils. However, it categorically does not tolerate excessively acidic, swampy and poorly warmed places.

The best place for planting is the south side, along the fence, 1.5 m away from the wall. You should not plant bushes in the place where raspberries, red or black currants, and gooseberries grow, since they have the same pathogens.Bacteria and fungi that can infect young seedlings remain in the soil. In addition, after these crops, the soil is very depleted.

The choice of seedlings should be approached carefully. The root system should be well developed, with a central root and many small roots. Their color is light brown, without signs of disease, dry, damaged. There should be 2-3 shoots, 40 to 100 cm in height, light brown in color, without damage.

In the southern regions and the middle lane, the plant can be planted in autumn (October). This time is enough for the seedlings to take root and successfully overwinter. In areas with more severe climates, it is better to postpone planting to spring (April).

The planting hole is prepared 2 weeks before planting. The hole is made with a volume of 40x80 cm, the size depends on the root system. A drainage layer is laid at the bottom. Prepare a soil mixture consisting of garden soil, compost or humus, adding complex mineral fertilizers. After the prepared mixture is laid in 2 layers, forming a small mound on which the seedling is installed, the roots are gently straightened.

The roots of the Lada gooseberry are carefully poured with the remaining garden soil, deepening the root collar by no more than 5-7 cm. The deepening of the gang stimulates the development of new shoots. At the end, the bush is abundantly watered and mulched. After planting, the stems are cut in half to improve branching.

To obtain a bountiful harvest and maintain the bushes in good condition, Lada gooseberries must be properly looked after. Care consists in moderate watering, timely pruning and regular feeding.

The plant does not tolerate excess moisture in the soil. Irrigation is carried out infrequently, but abundantly. Especially during the periods of formation of inflorescences and berries. Watering is done with warm water under the root, trying not to get on the stem and foliage. After each watering, the soil is loosened. For better moisture retention in the ground, a layer of sawdust or straw mulch is laid.

Pruning is carried out several times a year. Autumn pruning is the complete removal of all shoots at ground level. It is impossible to leave even minor stumps. They can become a source of development of infections, and pests can overwinter in them.

In the spring, with the beginning of sap flow on the bushes, from 5 to 7 shoots are formed, while leaving no more than 5 of the strongest and strongest. With each subsequent year, the number of shoots is increased by 2. When the bushes are more than 6 years old, sanitary thinning is carried out. Remove dry, damaged and broken twigs.

They begin to introduce additional nutrition at the 2nd year of planting, until that time the fertilizer that was applied during planting is enough for the bushes. Further, Lada is fed 3 times a year. In early April, when the buds begin to bloom, the soil is enriched with nitrogen to gain vegetative mass. At the beginning of June, feeding is repeated. In September and October, organic matter and phosphorus with potassium are introduced.