Instructions for pruning gooseberries in the fall for beginner gardeners

Tools

Before you start forming a gooseberry bush, you should prepare tools, as well as protective elements, because gooseberries are famous for their ubiquitous thorns, which you can get hurt. You will need thick gloves with wide cuffs or regular gardening gloves, as well as a jacket or jacket made of thick fabric to protect your hands from scratches and cuts. You need to cut the bushes with an ordinary garden pruner. However, a garden saw or long-handled scissors, which are used for pruning branches, will do. And you also need lime or paint to mark the branches and their length for pruning.

Step-by-step instructions for pruning

Gooseberry pruning is done twice a year, depending on the convenience of the grower. Spring pruning of the bush is carried out after the snow melts, but before buds appear on the branches. That is why pruning is carried out less frequently in the spring. It is more convenient to care for gooseberries in the fall, after harvesting. Having figured out the time and features of pruning in spring and autumn, you can proceed to the instructions on how to prune gooseberries.

First of all, it should be noted that there is more than one pruning scheme, since gooseberries can be grown in different ways. There are such types of it:

• on the trunk, that is, in the form of a small tree, the strongest shoot is left, which will be the trunk, and all side shoots are removed;
• on a trellis - this method is suitable for varieties that are characterized by lodging of bushes;
• classic - does not imply additional devices and manipulations.

Schematic illustration of gooseberry pruning

The least time-consuming and effortless is the classic gooseberry pruning. In the first year, the branches of the bush are shortened by a third, of all the formed shoots, 3 of the strongest and most promising are left. In the second year, it is again necessary to shorten the lashes by a third, but leave more basal shoots - about 6-7. In the third year, fresh shoots are shortened and also thinned out. Pruning the bush annually has a positive effect on the quality and quantity of the crop, and in some cases helps to speed up the harvest time. This pruning is done in the spring.

In the fall, care for the bush begins after harvesting and leaf fall. You need to carefully examine the bush, noting those branches that are old or withered. This can be determined by the condition of the bark and its color - the old branches are almost completely black. Also note competing branches and those growing too close to the ground.

The first step is to cut off the branches and shoots located at the bottom of the bush in order to improve the visibility of the rest of the working area. Then you need to select 3 large branches, since you cannot cut more at a time, so as not to harm the gooseberries. But the basal shoots must be removed completely, since they only draw off nutrient resources. After working with a pruner, the cuts must be properly processed - usually a garden pitch is used for this.

Correctly carried out care allows you to notice an improvement in gooseberry growth next spring, and later in the fall, when the time for harvesting comes.

Actions after trimming

Once you're done pruning the bushes, the gooseberries will need some maintenance. After all, whatever one may say, you inflicted significant damage on him by removing some of the branches and shoots. Care consists in the correct feeding, soil cultivation and watering.

After fruiting, the gooseberry bushes are extremely weakened, so good feeding is important for them to survive the winter. It is recommended to add at least 15 kilograms of humus, compost or rotted manure under each bush. However, it will not be superfluous to add mineral elements. Add 200 grams of superphosphate and 40 grams of potassium to the organic fertilizer. This will be enough so that the bushes do not suffer when the first frosts come.

Tillage in autumn is one of the most important preventive measures. As you know, most fungal microorganisms tolerate low temperatures in the upper soil layers and plant residues well. Insect pests are no less winter-hardy. Therefore, it is important, when plant residues are removed from the beds, to carefully dig up the ground. This should be done carefully and correctly, trying not to turn leaving into torture. The row spacings are dug onto the bayonet of the shovel, the gaps between the plants - to a depth of no more than 10 centimeters, and in the near-stem circle around the gooseberry - no deeper than 5 centimeters. The dug land must be treated with fungicides and insecticides of complex action, and then mulched with peat.

Watering is another important element that completes autumn gooseberry care. It will be correct to pour water into the trunk circle so that it has time to be absorbed.

Under each bush, you need to add 15-20 liters of water - this is quite enough to prepare the plant for winter.

Video "Autumn pruning of a gooseberry bush"

From this video you will learn why autumn pruning is needed, how it is done correctly.