Berry bushes need to be properly prepared for winter to ensure a good harvest next year. Gardeners prepare the soil promptly, apply beneficial fertilizers, and prune the bushes. Preparing gooseberries for winter includes treating them against fungal diseases and harmful insects. With regular agricultural practices, gooseberries will survive the cold weather and produce a bountiful harvest in the summer.
The need for autumn care measures
There's a common misconception among gardeners. They believe that if they pick all the berries from a bush on time, they can leave it alone until spring. This isn't true. Autumn gooseberry care is essential, otherwise the berries will become small and sparse over time. Without proper care, fruiting may cease altogether. Agricultural management procedures are carried out in the following sequence:
- remove weeds and fallen leaves;
- carry out sanitary pruning branches;
- treat the bush with fungicides and insecticides;
- dig up the soil;
- add useful fertilizers to the soil;
- mulching is carried out;
- In cold regions, the bush is covered for the winter.
Root zone treatment
Gooseberry care in the fall begins with clearing debris from the root zone. If there are too many leaves, they should be removed and burned, as they can contain dangerous fungal spores and insect larvae. Gooseberries are considered an easy-to-grow shrub, but weeds hinder their full growth. Forming near the roots, weeds cause high humidity. Fungal spores actively reproduce in a humid environment and damage the plants.
Remove weeds and woodlice around the roots. Work carefully and slowly. Pulling weeds too quickly can damage the shrub's root system. Dig them out carefully, being careful not to damage the roots.
Pruning shrubs
Pruning is an important part of gooseberry care in the fall. Without it, proper preparation for winter is impossible. Broken, dry, and diseased shoots must be removed. Branches that trail along the ground are also pruned. This prevents the berries from coming into contact with the soil and causing them to rot.
Pruning is carried out annually, beginning with removing thin and weak shoots. Three to four main fruit-bearing shoots are left. The best time for pruning is mid-autumn. You will need:
- sharp pruning shears;
- gloves made of thick fabric;
- alcohol solution;
- garden varnish or paint.
Gooseberries are very thorny, so wear heavy gardening gloves. Pruning shears should be sharp. If they don't cut the branches properly, it can cause significant discomfort to the bush.
When inspecting a shrub, a gardener identifies shoots that are hindering its growth. Their disordered growth immediately stands out from the overall pattern. After removing excess branches, broken ones and those lying on the ground are trimmed. After this, the gardener begins thinning. Abundant shoots, which often form inside shrubs, should not thicken the crown. If the shrub is too dense, air circulation is impaired. Impaired air circulation promotes the development of fungal diseases.
The next pruning step is rejuvenating the shrub. To rejuvenate and promote lateral growth, several five-year-old stems are removed, leaving strong, young, and healthy ones. For six- to seven-year-old bushes, five to six stems are left, which are harmoniously arranged throughout the crown.
Disease prevention
Autumn is a time when dangerous diseases can become active. It's important to catch their onset and take prompt action. All bushes are carefully inspected for fungal spores and insect infestations. If there are no signs of disease, preventative treatment with fungicides should be carried out. If a diseased bush is discovered in a planting, the gardener assesses the extent of its fungal infestation.
Sometimes the fungus completely infects one or more bushes. They cannot be saved. They are dug up and burned to prevent them from infecting other plants. If small outbreaks appear, the gooseberry bushes can be treated with a fungicide, after pruning off the affected branches.
One of the best fungicides is Bordeaux mixture. The solution concentration is 3%. Copper sulfate is also used at a ratio of 25 to 30 g per large bucket of water (10 liters). The antifungal agent Topaz is available in ampoules. Before use, one ampoule of Topaz is dissolved in 10 liters of water.
Fitosporin is used even if the shrub appears healthy. Fitosporin promotes the development of beneficial microflora and kills harmful bacteria.
Treating gooseberries with insecticides in the fall is also important. Dissolve 80 or 85 grams of malathion in a large bucket of water. Actellic can also be used. The solution concentration is 15 ml per 10 liters. To treat bitoxybacillin, dissolve 100 grams of the substance in 10 liters of water.
When treating, do not forget to water the soil around the gooseberries with the solution to destroy harmful microorganisms, larvae and spores of pathogenic fungi.
Rules for digging up shrubs
Digging up gooseberries In the fall, this is a challenging task due to the specific nature of its growth and development. If the shoots consist of several bushes, they may be located close together. This makes digging difficult, but it should not be abandoned. Larvae and fungal spores remain in the soil and affect the root system unnoticed.
The soil around the tree's trunk is dug up to a depth of one spade depth. If there are many shoots trailing along the ground, they are partially trimmed. The remaining branches are tied with rope. After digging, the rope is removed.
Fertilizing gooseberries in autumn
When caring for gooseberries, it's important to fertilize them regularly. Fertilizers are applied in spring, summer, and fall. The harvest and size of the fruit in the coming summer depend on fall fertilization. Nutrients help the bush recover from the summer season. Fall fertilization strengthens the root system and stimulates bud growth.
If you postpone fertilizing until September, the soil will cool down, and the roots will stop absorbing the necessary components.
For autumn fertilizing of shrubs use:
- phosphates - strengthen roots and contain useful carbohydrates;
- Potassium - removes excess liquid from shoots and increases their resistance to cold;
- organic matter - to increase crop yields (all types of manure, plant compost);
- wood ash - it contains minerals.
Mulching technique
The best mulch is compost or peat moss. It will prevent weeds from growing wild and will retain valuable moisture in the soil. Mulching protects the root system from the cold. You can make a mixture of fine sawdust and pine bark and spread it around the gooseberry trunks. The mulch layer should be 10-12 cm thick.
Watering
If autumn is rainy, there's no need to water the bushes. Gooseberries are watered only in warm, dry weather. The recommended watering rate for one bush is 30 liters. Water is applied to a trench dug around the gooseberry bush. Once the water has been absorbed, the hole is filled in.
Winter shelter techniques
To protect against frost, branches are carefully bent to the ground and secured with stakes. In southern regions, mulch is sufficient for protection. If the winter is snowy and frosty, gooseberries are earthed up with the first snow. In severe frost, dry grass is thrown over the shoots and they are covered with cardboard or plywood shields.
A gardener's task in the fall is to prepare gooseberries for winter. With proper preparation, the bush will always look well-groomed and healthy, delighting you with a harvest of sweet, ripe berries.
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