Content
- 1 Do I need to feed gooseberries?
- 2 What fertilizers does gooseberry like?
- 3 How to properly fertilize gooseberries
- 4 Feeding gooseberries when planting
- 5 How to fertilize gooseberries in spring
- 6 How to feed gooseberries in summer
- 7 How to fertilize gooseberries in the fall
- 8 Caring for gooseberries after feeding
- 9 Conclusion
Feeding berry bushes, which include gooseberries. - an important part of caring for them. Abundant fruiting greatly depletes the soil, and its fertility can only be increased by applying the necessary fertilizers. In a word, if you do not feed gooseberries in the fall, then the berry harvest next year may be significantly lower than expected.
Do I need to feed gooseberries?
The clear answer to this question is yes. Gooseberries need to be fed in spring, summer, and autumn.This shrub has a fairly extensive root system, so it absorbs nutrients very intensively. On poor soils, the harvest without fertilization can be very poor. Even when grown on fertile soil, the supply of nutrients in it is quickly depleted, so periodic fertilizing is necessary. They not only replenish the deficiency of certain nutrients in the soil, but also contribute to the normal growth and development of young shoots.
Timely application of fertilizing significantly strengthens the immunity of the shrub, has a beneficial effect on the plant’s resistance to adverse weather conditions, improves the taste of the berries and increases the overall yield. However, you need to fertilize the soil moderately. Do not forget that an excess of fresh organic matter, as well as an excessive amount of, for example, nitrogen fertilizers, is a risk factor for the appearance of a disease such as powdery mildew on the bushes. Bushes of this plant overfed with fertilizers are more often attacked by insect pests, their immunity is reduced, and they tolerate winter worse.
What fertilizers does gooseberry like?
When planting young gooseberry bushes, a fairly large amount of nutrients is added to the soil of the planting hole, so fertilizing is not required for the first few years. In this case, they begin to apply fertilizers only from the 3rd, and sometimes from the 4th year. The following types of fertilizers are usually used for fertilizing.
- Organic (compost, rotted manure, humus).
- Mineral (one-component). They contain one of the main nutrients, nitrogen, potassium or phosphorus.
- Complex (mineral, multicomponent).This includes all other mineral fertilizers, which contain two or more nutrients in digestible form.
Folk remedies are often used to feed gooseberries. As a rule, these are various infusions that enrich the soil with microelements. All fertilizing can be applied both by root and foliar methods.
How to properly fertilize gooseberries
The timing and procedure for applying fertilizers for gooseberries depend on the type of soil on which the bushes grow. For dense clay soils, it is more advisable to apply fertilizers in the fall. If the soil is light and loose, then you can get by only with spring fertilizing. However, it is more correct to apply all fertilizing according to the calendar or a specific schedule. This is how the plants will receive the most balanced nutrition.
To apply fertilizers, you need to choose cloudy, warm days. When applying fertilizer by the root method, the soil must be moistened in advance. All work must be carried out either early in the morning or in the evening. All fertilizers must be applied strictly in the specified dosages; exceeding the concentration can lead to burns of the roots and will cause harm to the gooseberry rather than help in development, and with a strong excess concentration the bush may simply die.
Feeding gooseberries when planting
Before planting, the soil in the gooseberry plot must be dug up and fertilizers must be applied at the same time. When digging in the fall, usually add 1-2 buckets of rotted manure or compost, 4 tbsp. l. phosphorus fertilizers and 2 tbsp. l. potassium per 1 sq. m. Additionally, it is recommended to add 0.5 kg or a little more (but not more than 1 kg) of wood ash to the same area.
When planting in spring, organic matter is not added before digging.At this time, only complex phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are used at the rate of 0.1 kg per 1 sq. m. They are embedded in the ground immediately before planting gooseberries.
Many gardeners prefer not to dig up the soil before planting, but to prepare planting holes in advance, preparing special nutrient soil for filling them after planting the gooseberries. It consists of humus, river sand and turf soil in equal proportions. Additionally, a glass of wood ash, 2 tbsp. l. superphosphate and 1 tbsp. l. potassium sulfate.
How to fertilize gooseberries in spring
Feeding gooseberries in the spring is very important for obtaining a good harvest, as well as for the fastest possible recovery after the winter period. It is usually carried out in several stages. Here is an approximate scheme for annual feeding of gooseberries in the spring.
How to feed gooseberries in the spring before flowering
The first spring feeding of gooseberries is carried out before the beginning of the growing season, while the buds have not yet blossomed on the bushes. At this time, nitrogen is important for this berry bush; it contributes to the rapid restoration of the bush, the growth of green mass and the growth of shoots. For feeding at this time, rotted manure is used, spreading it in a layer along the projection of the crown. Additionally, urea, simple or double superphosphate, and potassium salt are used. This fertilizer is simply scattered evenly under the bushes.
Then the soil is loosened, adding fertilizing substances to a shallow depth, after which the root zone of the bushes is abundantly watered with water and mulched with peat.
How to feed gooseberries during flowering
Fertilizing during flowering increases the number of ovaries, helping to increase productivity. As a fertilizer for gooseberries during this period of spring, rotted manure is used at the rate of 5 kg per 1 bush, as well as any nitrogen fertilizer (nitrophoska, azofoska) in accordance with the recommended doses.
How to fertilize gooseberries in spring for a better harvest
It is best to feed gooseberries in the spring, during budding, with ammonium sulfate or carbamide (urea). This measure has a beneficial effect on the quantity and quality of flower buds. And this has a direct impact on productivity. This type of fertilizing is done by foliar feeding, by spraying the bush with a fertilizer solution in a small concentration.
Feeding gooseberries in spring can also be done using folk remedies. Most often, potato peelings are used for this purpose. To prepare the infusion, brew 1 kg of purification in 10 liters of boiling water. After 3 days, the infusion can be used for feeding. In addition to the nutritional value, the infusion of potato peelings remarkably enriches the soil with microelements. A more exotic feeding option is an infusion of banana skins. Usually, add the peels of 5 bananas to 10 liters of water, and then infuse for several days. This infusion is an excellent source of potassium.
How to feed gooseberries in summer
Each adult fruiting gooseberry bush can ripen up to 10 kg of berries per season.Simultaneously with the setting and ripening of berries in the summer, intensive growth of the root system occurs, and the number of suction roots increases significantly. At the same time, plants intensively absorb nutrients from the soil. To replenish them, in the summer the bushes are fed with both organic and mineral fertilizers.
Feeding gooseberries in summer during fruit formation
During the period of intensive fruit ripening, it is very important to provide gooseberries with all the necessary elements for normal nutrition. You can compensate for the lack of nutrients during this period using the following fertilizers.
- Slurry. To prepare the concentrate, add 2 buckets of fresh manure and half a bucket of compost to a 200 liter barrel and fill it with water. The mixture should sit for several days. After about 1.5-2 weeks, the concentrate is diluted with clean water in a ratio of 1:10 and the gooseberries are fed. To do this, a shallow groove is made around the bush in the immediate projection of the crown, into which the solution is carefully poured. Then the furrow is covered with earth and mulched with peat. This procedure can be done twice during the summer while the berries are ripening. After the final harvest, this fertilizer cannot be used.
- Mineral supplements. In summer I feed the bushes only with potash and phosphorus fertilizers. To do this, it is best to use superphosphate and potassium sulfate, adding them to the soil in accordance with the recommended doses.
How to feed gooseberries after picking berries
Fruiting, especially abundant, quite depletes the berry bush. To help it quickly regain strength, as well as to lay fruit buds, which will become the basis of next year’s harvest, the bushes are fed with the following fertilizers.
- Superphosphate 50 g.
- Ammonium sulfate 25 g.
- Potassium sulfate 25 g.
If the bushes bear fruit abundantly, then the rates of fertilizer application for feeding gooseberries after harvest can be doubled. Additionally, to improve the nutritional value of the soil, rotted manure is used at the rate of 2-3 kg for each adult berry bush. All fertilizers are embedded into the soil to a shallow depth, while simultaneously loosening the root zone.
How to fertilize gooseberries in the fall
The main purpose of fertilizing gooseberries in the fall is to prepare the bush for winter. At this time, it is necessary to completely eliminate the use of nitrogen fertilizers, as well as fresh manure and chicken droppings, which contain this nutrient in large quantities. Otherwise, this will continue to stimulate the growth of young shoots, which will not have time to become woody by winter and are guaranteed to freeze out.
The main fertilizers used for autumn feeding of gooseberries include elements such as phosphorus and potassium. The standard dose of fertilizer per bush is 20 g of superphosphate and 30 g of potassium sulfate. An additional feeding for gooseberries in the fall is humus mulch, which covers the root zone of the bush for the winter. If humus is not included in the mulch, then it is added separately to the soil, embedded in the rows when digging up the ground.
Caring for gooseberries after feeding
The root feeding method involves incorporating fertilizers into the soil, therefore, immediately after application, the root zone is loosened, after which the soil is watered abundantly, and then mulched with humus or peat. Watering is very important for gooseberries; if there is a lack of moisture, the fertilizer in the ground will decompose for a very long time, and its absorption by the gooseberry roots will greatly slow down.
Foliar feeding is more effective, but it must be done very carefully. In no case should the specified dosage of the active substance be exceeded, as this may cause burns to the plants. All foliar feeding should be carried out only in the evening, in dry, cool weather, so that the nutrient solution remains on the leaves as long as possible and does not dry out. There is no need to water the bushes by sprinkling at this time.
A video about feeding gooseberries can be viewed at the link below.
Conclusion
To feed gooseberries in autumn, spring and summer you do not need large financial expenses. The amount of fertilizers applied to this shrub is very small, but without them you should not expect a good harvest. Timely fertilizing is not only the key to abundant fruiting, but also to the long life of gooseberries, and in combination with other agrotechnical measures they give remarkable results.
