How To Choose And Grow Fruitful And Tasty Gooseberry Varieties. Part 2

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

A good gardener - a large gooseberry

Read the first part of the article How to choose and grow fruitful and tasty gooseberry varieties

Gooseberry varieties: pros and cons

The early variety Yarovaya bush is medium-sized and medium-spine. Berries (weighing 3-5 g) are yellow, sour-sweet taste; when ripe, they do not crumble, but if they are overripe, they quickly lose their taste. Winter hardiness and productivity of this variety is above average. It is resistant to powdery mildew.

In vigorous bushes of weakly thorny varieties Senator (Consul) and Vladil (Commander) the thorns are single, weak, located perpendicular to the shoot or slightly downward. Both are of medium ripening period, but the second variety ripens a little earlier. Varieties of selection of the South Ural Research Institute of Control and Development. They have berries (the first weighing 2.6-6.3 g, the second 2.5-4.5), round, dark red with thin skin and an excellent sweet and sour taste. Their tasting score is 4.7 and 4.9 points, respectively, while the second grade berries have a delicate grape aroma. Both varieties are quite winter-hardy, high-yielding, self-fertile (45-48%), relatively resistant to powdery mildew, and the Vladil variety is also slightly affected by anthracnose and moth. Their positive properties are also the resistance of flowers to spring frosts.

With the same early maturity and selection, the thornless variety Harlequin forms a bush of medium height and density of shoots. Solitary, weak, short, thin, straight spines found at the nodes are directed downward in relation to the shoot. Dark cherry (almost black) berries (weighing 2.7-5.4 g) are one-dimensional, round-oval in shape. The taste qualities of sweet and sour berries are quite high (4.8 points). The variety is winter-hardy, high-yielding, resistant to powdery mildew, but average self-fertility (38.9%).

In a medium-sized bush of the Beryl variety of an average ripening period (South Ural NIIPiK), thorns, as a rule, are located in the lower part of the shoots, they are weak, single, directed downward, sometimes perpendicularly and even upward along the shoot, and on zero shoots are completely absent. It has large (3.9-9.2 g) one-dimensional light green berries of a round shape with a thin skin, without pubescence. Sweet and sour taste (tasting score 5 points). The variety is winter-hardy and high-yielding. He also has quite serious drawbacks: it is affected by septoria, i.e. white spot above average and powdery mildew. Taste makes the gardener either accept the loss of some of the berries, or fight these mycoses.

The mid-early variety Pink 2 (VSTISP) forms dense bushes of medium height with a slight spine of the shoots. The berries are large enough (5-6 g), round-oval, pink-red. They have a wonderful sweet and sour taste (5 points). The variety is winter-hardy, productive (up to 5 kg per bush), with good self-fertility, field resistance to fungal diseases (powdery mildew, anthracnose, septoria). For a stable high annual yield, the variety requires careful maintenance - regular watering and the introduction of complex fertilizers.

The weak-thorn variety Kooperator of medium ripening (Yuzhno-Uralskiy NIIPiK) has slightly spreading, dense bushes of medium height. Spines solitary, light green, of medium length and thickness, directed slightly downward, weak. Berries (weighing 3.6-8 g) are pear-shaped, dark cherry with thin skin; the taste is sweet and sour, pleasant (5 points). The variety is winter-hardy, high-yielding (within 3.7-6.9 kg per bush). Positive qualities of the variety: self-fertile (42.4%), resistant to powdery mildew, slightly affected by anthracnose, sawflies.

A medium-sized, slightly spreading bush of a medium-late thornless variety Grushenka is characterized by medium-sized berries (weighing up to 6.5 g), round-pear-shaped. In early ripeness they are red, when ripe they are dark plum in color. The taste of berries is sweet and sour with a pleasant aroma, the skin is thick. The variety begins to bear fruit early, it is highly winter-resistant, relatively resistant to powdery mildew, septoria blight. Its flowers are rarely damaged by spring frosts. The yield of the bush is 5-6 kg.

The early-fruiting thornless variety African has a medium-sized, medium- spreading bush with a height of 1-1.2 m. The early-growing variety: a year after planting a one-year-old sapling, you can try the first berries on it, they taste sweet and sour, with a faint taste of black currant. The color of its berries corresponds to the name - their color is deep black. The variety is very winter-resistant, relatively resistant to powdery mildew, moderately susceptible to anthracnose.

The early thornless variety Eaglet has a medium spreading, medium-sized bush. Its black berries, large to medium in size, have a pleasant sweet and sour taste, although some experts consider it relatively mediocre. The variety is high-yielding, moderately hardy, resistant to powdery mildew, but, according to experts, it is prone to spotting, which is why it often loses foliage during ripening, and then berries.

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If we talk about my attitude to gooseberry fruits, then I will be sincere, because really "they don't argue about tastes." I want to admit that with the current huge range of fruit and berry crops, I do not share the great love of Chekhov's heroes for jam from his berries. I think, as well as a significant part of gardeners. But I do not refuse it at all.

I keep more than half a dozen bushes (4-5 varieties) on my site. At the same time, I give preference, first of all, to the taste of berries. I mainly use their harvest for winemaking.

I make an exception only for the fruits of the medium-ripening variety Black Negus (All-Russian Research Institute of Horticulture named after I. V. Michurin), which I like more than, for example, the fruits of the popular varieties Hinnonmaen Punainen, Kolobok and Krasnoslavyansky.

For example, the Kolobok variety has quite decent sweet berries, but it reacts negatively to the alternation of thaws and frosts, and freezes in severe winters, although it recovers later.

Black Negus is a variety of I. V. Michurin. It is recommended for inclusion in the standard assortment in the Leningrad and Pskov regions. This variety has a fairly high winter hardiness. An adult 7-8 year old bush reaches a height of 1.5 m or more, it is quite spreading (2-2.5 m in diameter). Its spines are very strong, long, curved downward. Single or paired berries of a rounded-oblong shape, smooth (without pubescence), black (with a bluish bloom), characterized by a very delicate skin and medium to large size (3-5 g) and dark red pulp.

It should be noted that with irregular or weak pruning, as well as with shading of the bush, the berries become smaller. They have a dessert (sweet and sour) taste with a specific aroma - they resemble sweet muscat grapes. The people sometimes call this variety "wine". Because of his taste, he is very loved by children. The berries stay on the bush for a long time, but with a delay in picking, they gradually wither, wrinkle and dry out. But until October they can hang without cracking.

With good care, the yield of one bush is 3-4 kg. In the specialized literature, its high resistance to powdery mildew is noted. I noticed that with strong shading by trees and with very high thickening of its branches, as well as when planting bushes in low-lying places where constant moisture is noted, powdery mildew may appear on the plants. But it was worth a good pruning of the bush, by the way, sitting in a very humid place, as the symptoms of this mycosis (by the way, without chemical treatments) no longer manifested. And the berries after such a pruning of the bush became larger.

I believe that those gardeners who want to arrange a living "edible" hedge on their site will not be mistaken if they choose the Black Negus variety for this plant. I heard that Black Negus gooseberry wine has an exceptional taste. But I myself have never tasted it, since the berries of my bushes, as a rule, I either use fresh myself, or I treat my friends, or I make jam from them.

I cook it in compliance with the proportion of berries-granulated sugar, like 1: 1.2-1.3 kg. You have to take so much sugar for the reason that the berries give a lot of juice. So you have to start cooking in a dry (without a drop of water) saucepan - only berries and sugar. And all the same, the jam turns out to be quite liquid. Sometimes, because of this, the cooked jam has to be partially "divided": boiled syrup goes into some containers, and berries into others.

I usually use syrup to make a delicious drink for drinking in summer, and jam for tea. By the way, according to scientists, the fruits of the Black Negus variety contain an antineoplastic substance - serotonin.

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Gooseberry agricultural technology

I will briefly touch on planting and growing gooseberries as a crop. It must be remembered that this plant loves to be planted in the most illuminated, well-ventilated place.

It is planted in early autumn or spring (before bud break, since the development of growing roots occurs at a minimum positive soil temperature). But it is better to do it in the fall.

For autumn planting, holes under the gooseberries are dug 2-3 weeks before planting, so that the soil has time to settle. Pits are dug 50 cm deep and 50 cm wide. The upper fertile layer is placed in one direction, the lower, infertile layer in the other. Then 8-10 kg of humus or well-rotted manure, 50 g of double superphosphate, 40 g of potassium sulfate are added to the fertile soil. All components are well mixed. These fertilizers are then enough for plants for three years.

If the soil is clay, then add 1 bucket of coarse river sand to the pit.

In a backyard garden, a distance of 0.9-1x1-1.5 m is left between the bushes. Shading of the bushes by adult trees is unacceptable: the laying of fruit buds and the preparation of wood for fruiting occurs only with good lighting.

Gooseberries can be successfully grown both in the form of a separate spreading bush (if desired, it can be formed on a trunk, like a tree), and plants can be placed on trellises. The trellis option is most preferable, especially if there are sufficient areas for plant cultivation, and the gardener is a big fan of various varieties. Trellis offer a lot of convenience in quickly collecting significant harvests of berries for sale.

I emphasize that with such an arrangement of the bushes, this culture benefits in many ways: it makes it easier to care for them (timely weeding, fertilization, loosening, begins to bear fruit earlier (early maturity). They are durable, annually delight with stable successful harvests of high-quality and, as a result, well-stored berries, since the plants are better blown by the wind and less, due to non-thickening, they are affected by diseases and pests, but it is well known that thickening of the gooseberry bush creates many problems, including unevenness and non-simultaneous ripening of berries. lesions with powdery mildew, especially during the rainy season or when the bush is placed in a low place.

Alexander Lazarev, Candidate of Biological Sciences, Senior Researcher, All-Russian Research Institute of Plant Protection, Pushkin

Photo by the author and Olga Rubtsova