Gooseberry Date

The popularity of gooseberries is growing again, and now every gardener is trying to plant a bush of an old berry on his site, which has received a modern "upgrade". Breeders, in an effort to get an improved look, offer all new varieties, replenishing an already extensive collection. The variety in question has long and deservedly enjoyed popular love. Unusually beautiful bushes and berries with high marketability and transportability, universal use - fresh consumption, preservation for the winter, making excellent wine. If it is not in the garden, then you should think about its benefits.

The authors of the variety are breeders from distant Holland. Nevertheless, Date is successfully mastering the gardens of the whole world, he took root in our country.

Vigorous (up to 200 cm) sprawling dense bushes consist of thick shoots of an arcuate curved type, whose thorniness is considered average. Rare short spines, almost always single, sometimes found in double and triple "execution", directed downward in relation to the shoots. All thorns are formed in the lower part, almost never occur at the top. Shoots are covered with large green leaves of a leathery type with a deep groove at the base. The advantages of the variety:

• unpretentiousness;

• winter hardiness and productivity;

• self-fertility and large-fruited;

• versatility and good taste;

• attractive appearance and presentation, shelf life.

Disadvantages of the variety:

• the presence of thorns;

• waterlogging intolerance:

• demanding lighting and heat;

• with a lack of heat and light, the berries become smaller;

• poor resistance to diseases and pests;

• dropping the ovary during drought during the budding period.

The gooseberry blooms with greenish-white flowers, collected in one or two-flowered inflorescence. The variety has a low shoot recovery rate.

Large, wide-oval or rounded-oval, sometimes irregularly shaped berries weighing 5-6 grams are painted in intense but uneven dark red shades, reaching black tones in the bright sun. The dense skin allows transporting and storing the crop for a long time, which made the variety attractive for growing on an industrial scale.

Juicy greenish pulp has a sweet and sour taste without a specific aroma. The variety has a high tasting score - 4.5 points, a high content of micro- and macroelements, a balanced vitamin-acid balance, anthocyanins, pectins, carotene. Berries are good for health, they can be consumed by people with diabetes mellitus.

The date belongs to the late-ripening category - the harvest is harvested in August, the fruiting is extended.

The variety gives high yields, on average 4-4.5 kilograms are removed from one bush.

The time of planting seedlings is traditional - spring, autumn, but many prefer the autumn season. Plants planted in September-October have time to take root and get stronger before the onset of cold weather, and in spring they enter the growing season on time, as nature should. The site is chosen with good lighting and protection from northern winds and drafts. The variety does not tolerate close proximity to groundwater and swampy areas. In this case, you need to know - the Date has a powerful root system with a depth of immersion of up to two meters.

The optimal distance between bushes is 1.5 m, in row spacings 2 meters. The size of the landing pits is from 40x40 centimeters or more. The removed soil is enriched with organic matter (compost or humus), wood ash, river sand, peat, superphosphate, potassium salt are added. When planting, the root collar is deepened by 5-10 cm. The soil around the seedling is compacted and well watered with warm water. After a day, the wet soil must be loosened to avoid crusting and subsequent cracking of the surface. Loosening is an excellent substitute for mulching with a thick layer of peat or cut grass. Such a technique prevents moisture evaporation, weed growth, and drying of the top layer of the earth.

Further care consists in watering, feeding, sanitary and shaping pruning, rejuvenating adult bushes, preventive treatments against pests and diseases. The variety has a high self-fertility and self-pollinates well. Adult shrubs do not need watering with sufficient rainfall; during the dry period, their powerful and deep root system remains capable of extracting moisture, so 10 liters of water are enough for irrigation.

In the first two years, the plant does not need feeding, then they are carried out 2-3 times per season. In the spring, urea is introduced to build up green mass, during the ripening period of the crop, the bushes are fed with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers, in the fall, humus or compost is introduced under the bush.

Sanitary pruning removes diseased, damaged, dry, or growing inward shoots from gooseberries. Thus, gardeners take care of airing the bush, provide free access to the sun's rays to all inflorescences and berries. Formative pruning involves the removal of shoots older than 4 years, while leaving 10-15 branches of different ages.

In autumn, the space under the bush and the surrounding area are cleared of leaf litter, after pruning, the root zone is covered with organic mulch at least three buckets. For the winter, dates are sheltered only in those areas where winters are characterized by a small amount of snow. Gooseberry propagation takes place in the traditional way:

• seeds;

• layering;

• cuttings;

• division of the bush.

Reproduction by layering is the most effective method that does not require investment of funds. Shoots grown on pinned branches are distinguished by good vitality, high adaptation and a developed root system.

Gooseberry Date is characterized by moderate resistance to American powdery mildew and spheroteca, and can be attacked by pests. Preventive treatments with insecticides and fungicides can help avoid problems.

The variety has high winter hardiness and drought resistance, since it is designed for the harsh conditions of Siberia.