Gooseberry Honey

Gooseberry is one of the most favorite berry crops of all gardeners. Among the huge number of varieties, Honey stands out - a mid-early variety, very sweet and high-yielding. With its amber color, aroma and, of course, taste, it reminds of honey. And beekeepers appreciate this variety as a good spring honey plant.

This culture was bred quite a long time ago, back in the days of the USSR. The work was carried out by the breeders of the VNIIS them. Michurin. A new gooseberry based on American Purmen was obtained by pollination with pollen from European crops such as Date, Industry, Green bottle, Careless. Despite the fact that the variety has become very popular among gardeners, the culture does not appear in the lists of the State Register.

A synonym for the name is Grossularia (Ribes uva-cripsa) Medoviy.

The honey gooseberry bushes are medium-sized, no more than one and a half meters, but powerful and spreading. The crown is more than a meter in diameter. The main disadvantage of shrubs is the presence of a large number of sharp thorns, and they are located along the entire length of the branches. The bark of the shoots is gray. Little root growth. Three-lobed leaves of small size, traditional green color, they have a slight sheen, as well as slight wrinkling.

The main distinguishing feature of the Honey Gooseberry is its bright yellow, almost orange berries. A sunburn forms on the sunny side of the fruit.

They are appreciated for their large size, as well as for their appetizing appearance and excellent taste. The average weight of berries is from 4.6 to 6 g, but there are also 9-gram giants. They are pear-shaped in shape, but they are also round. The skin is very thin, transparent, so much so that it will be possible to see the seeds through it, by the way, there are not many of them.

Honey gooseberry is very tasty, has a delicate and sweet flesh, when eaten, you can feel dessert honey floral notes. The composition of sugars is quite large - from 15 to 17%. The gastronomic qualities were rated at a very high score during the tasting - from 4.9 to 5.

The culture is mid-season. Honey begins to bear fruit in the last days of July or in the first days of August. In general, the plant will be able to bear the first fruits for 3-5 years after planting. Bears fruit for a long time - within 25-30 years.

Every year, gardeners get an average of 4 kilograms of sweet amber berries from a varietal gooseberry plant.

The described culture is zoned for the regions of Siberia and the Urals.

The shrub takes root equally successfully when planting both in spring and in autumn. After winter, it is necessary to have time to plant the crop immediately after the snow melts and the soil thaws, but before the buds awaken. If you did not have time, and the growing season has begun, the event should be postponed until the autumn period. Otherwise, the planted plant will take too long to take root, and may even get sick. In the autumn months, it is necessary to plant gooseberries one and a half months before the cold weather. In this case, the plant will have time to adapt before the onset of the winter period.

Honey gooseberry has a high sugar content, but this is possible only when the plants are illuminated by the sun for most of the day. The passage of groundwater should be no higher than 1.5 m from the surface. Honey gooseberries are quite picky about the acidity of the soil and its composition.The crop will be good enough on sandy and sandy loam light soil, it should be slightly acidic or neutral. If you have loamy or even clayey soil, it will be necessary to carry out frequent loosening.

Gooseberry bushes are watered infrequently, but plentifully. The main thing is that there is no lack of moisture at the stages of flowering, as well as the setting of berries. And on the eve of winter, the so-called water-charging irrigation is needed. Moreover, for each bush, an average of 30 to 50 liters of water is consumed.

It is better to moisturize the shrub at the root. The culture responds especially well to drip irrigation. After irrigation, as well as after rain, the soil should be loosened around the trunk of the shrub to prevent the formation of a hard crust that blocks the flow of water and air to the root system. We mustn't forget about weeding. And in order to reduce the number of watering, as well as loosening, weeding, it is necessary to mulch the near-stem zone by 7-10 cm.

Experienced summer residents install supports around the gooseberry bushes that support the branches, reducing their contact with the ground. This reduces the risk of contracting fungal diseases.

Like many varieties bred for a long time, Medovy does not have strong immunity. So, a plant can be affected by many diseases. The culture also weakly resists attacks by insect pests. That is why prophylaxis in the form of spraying with special agents and treatment against insects is so necessary for the variety.

The culture is distinguished by high frost resistance - it tolerates frosts up to 25-30 degrees. At the same time, the drought resistance of Medovoy is at an altitude.