How to care for gooseberries in the fall?

The summer cottage season is coming to an end, and most of the gardeners begin to prepare the plants for wintering. On the site, cleaning of plant debris, pruning of trees and berry bushes, top dressing is carried out. Although the gooseberry is considered to be an unpretentious crop, it also requires regular maintenance. How correctly and on time the preparatory work will be carried out depends on how the plant can overwinter, which directly affects the yield in the next season.

If the gooseberry is properly and regularly looked after, it will give you a full-fledged vitamin harvest. A gardener can get at least a bucket of sweet berries from just one bush.

Watering can be called an integral part in preparing plants for wintering.

It is important to understand that insufficient watering can lead to the fact that the plant will overwinter with dry roots, which will lead to freezing of the branches during severe frosts. With a lack of moisture, the shoots on which the fruits are formed will suffer.

Irrigation is carried out at the rate of 30 liters of water per 1 gooseberry bush. For watering, it is better to dig hollows around the bushes and spill water into them, pouring it under the root or along the grooves. After waiting for the moisture to be completely absorbed, it is necessary to bury the deepening.

Shrub pruning is an important procedure. Careful, correctly carried out manipulations are the key to obtaining the desired harvest. They carry out sanitary pruning, rejuvenating and shaping.

Their purpose is:

• in the removal of old branches, including damaged branches, dry or diseased shoots;
• in cutting off non-fruiting branches;
• in cutting off shoots that overlap each other and prevent neighboring branches from fully developing;
• in the correct formation of the crown.

Pruning is recommended in the fall. The optimal time for manipulation is the middle of October, although this figure may vary depending on temperature changes.

A perennial plant planted this year also requires pruning. To make it, cut the shoots into 2-3 buds. The next year, the strongest shoots are chosen, acting as the base of the bush. They can be shortened by cutting a cut a couple of centimeters above the outward kidney.

With proper care, gooseberry bushes can delight with a harvest for more than 2 decades, but after 10 years, the bushes begin to reduce the fruit yield. That is why gardeners should rejuvenate perennials during this period.

In order to rejuvenate the old bush, disturbing branches should be removed, they must be properly thinned out. Often, gardeners, trying to update a bush, completely cut it at the root. After such an update, the bush will recover for several years. In this case, it is advisable to plant a shrub or propagate it with shanks.

Rejuvenating procedures can be started after 7 years of the life of the bush. In this case, long shoots are shortened by one third to stimulate the development of lateral branches.

In the fall, formative pruning is also carried out, in which with the help of a pruner, diseased, old and dry shoots are removed. It is necessary to get rid of the branches bent to the ground, as well as those that thicken the bushes, growing inward. The shoots growing inward impede the penetration of air masses, which leads to the development of fungal infections.

To enrich the soil and get a full harvest, autumn feeding is done. The best time for this is September or October. It is better to fertilize perennials with potassium-phosphorus fertilizers, adding 20 grams of potassium and 30 grams of phosphorus under each bush. To improve the quality of berries and get a good harvest, it is recommended to add compost mixed with wood ash under the bushes.

• Compost is an organic mass that slowly decomposes due to the influence of microorganisms. Organic matter enriches the soil layer with the necessary substances. For compost, weed residues, leaves, tops are suitable. Obtaining a homogeneous, loose structure with a peculiar smell indicates that the organics are ready for use. When fertilizing a gooseberry bush, it is necessary to add up to 5 kg of the mixture.
• Ash, which remains after burning wood, is also a natural product. The use of ash helps to enrich the soil with the necessary components, prevent the spread of diseases, and help get rid of insect pests.

You can feed the perennial by choosing any other mineral complex with a minimum amount of nitrogen.

It is better to introduce organic matter and other mineral complexes in the form of a liquid, having previously dissolved it in water. You can also do this dry, pouring them under the gooseberries and raking them into the ground. In dry weather, perennials are watered. Do this after fertilization.

Gooseberry bushes are often affected by powdery mildew, as well as white spot, terry, rust and other diseases. They can be attacked by insects. So that the plants do not get sick and are not affected by pests, they are treated with various drugs during the season, as well as in autumn.

In the fight against insect pests, gardeners use various insecticides. Processing is carried out at different stages of crop cultivation, most often by spring processing.

• "Lepidocide". It is brought in by diluting it in a bucket of water. It is suitable for removing leaf rollers, moths, sawfly caterpillars, for preventive purposes.
• "Bitoxibacillin". The drug must be diluted with water, adding 100 grams to a bucket of liquid. This tool is considered one of the most active drugs against dangerous crop pests.
• Actellik. It must be diluted in 10 liters of water using 15 ml of the drug. The product is intended for getting rid of aphids, moths, sawflies, and other beetles.

In the fall, you can also use other drugs, if you do not want to use chemicals.

Suitable for getting rid of pests:

• dusting the bushes with wood ash and further dusting the soil, next to the plant;
• "Karbofos" - it is used to destroy aphids, moths, sawflies and other pests;
• spraying the bush and the area around the bush with onion husks.

Chlorophos and ammonia are also used for these purposes.

Diseases often occur on gooseberry bushes.

This happens:

• due to excessive neglect of the bush;
• due to violation of the rules for caring for plants;
• at the wrong place when planting shoots;
• in adverse weather conditions;
• when planting initially infected bushes.

Good results are obtained by using complex action fungicides.They will help protect perennials from powdery mildew damage, get rid of rust on the leaves, anthracnose.

Most often, treatment is carried out with Topaz and Fundazol fungicides.

• The drug "Topaz" contains penconazole, an active active ingredient that helps fight fungal diseases. Dilute the drug by adding one ampoule per 10 liters of water. Use it to spray bushes. Such control measures will minimize the likelihood of fungal manifestations.
• Means "Fundazol" suitable as a fight against late blight, relieve anthracnose, yellow rust. The active ingredient in the composition is benomyl. After applying the product, it enters the root system, further spreading throughout the plant, but without affecting the fruits. When using, add 1 gram of "Fundazol" to 1 liter of water. For medicinal purposes, the bush is watered, and for preventive purposes, the plants are sprayed.

Preventive treatments of perennials against diseases and pests contribute to their better fruiting and growth. Carrying out therapeutic measures will eliminate the symptoms of diseases that have appeared. Compliance with the proportions and application schemes will help to obtain the expected result.

Other means are also used for this purpose. As soon as the foliage on the bushes ends, the bare branches are treated with special solutions that protect against the appearance of pests, scab and protect against diseases. As such means, it is advisable to use:

• Bordeaux mixture (3%);
• copper sulfate, at the rate of 30 grams per bucket of water;
• phytosporin, at the rate of 5 grams per bucket.

Spraying with Bordeaux liquid, iron sulfate will help protect plants from many diseases. Wood ash and baking soda are also used for these purposes. It is forbidden to use pesticides dangerous for the culture during the entire growing season. When spraying, pesticides will be absorbed through the leaves and spread throughout the bush, getting into the berries.

Having processed the plants and pruned them, it is necessary to prepare them for wintering. To prevent the plant from freezing, at a temperature of -40 degrees of frost, the bushes are recommended to be covered for the winter. This applies to perennial crops grown in harsh climates with low seasonal temperatures. It is especially important to insulate a young bush that is not yet adapted to such conditions.

Algorithm of actions.

• It is necessary to take the branches and tie them in a bundle using twine, then tilt them towards the ground.
• Cover the bush with sawdust, you can use dry foliage.
• Place agrofibre or burlap on top, pressing along the edges with bricks or boards.

You don't have to tie the branches and bend them to the ground. You can put arcs over the bushes and stretch agrofiber on top of them, fixing it with bricks. Snow is also suitable as insulation. For this, the plants are covered with a layer of snow for 10 centimeters or more. For shrubs growing in mild climates, shelter can be omitted.

Caring for gooseberries in autumn in all regions consists of similar stages. It differs only in the timing of the events.

• In the northern regions and Siberia work begins to be carried out earlier than in other regions. Harsh winters involve annual sheltering of the bushes. Special attention is paid to the feeding of berry crops, since their winter hardiness largely depends on this.
• In the Urals work is done in early autumn. In winter, the bushes are insulated with snow or other covering materials are used for this.
• For the middle lane similar events are held with the annual warming of gooseberries. In Siberia and the Urals, it is preferable to plant low varieties that will winter well under cover.
• In outskirts of Moscow varieties that adapt well to a small number of hot days, frequent thaws and snowy winters take root better. These are varieties with a well-developed root system, with increased frost resistance. They begin to care for such crops in October.
• Gooseberries feel best in the south, in the Krasnodar Territory., since the plant is a thermophilic crop. In these regions, the shrub does not require shelter for the winter.

Compared to other berry crops, gooseberries are less demanding. He tolerates drought well, he is not afraid of winter cold. Compliance with the necessary measures will allow you to get a good annual harvest of tasty vitamin fruits, pleasing with excellent taste characteristics.