Gooseberries - one of the most popular plants in Russia, the fruits of which are liked by many. Therefore, it can often be found in gardens. According to gardeners, the leader among the varieties is the Lefora Seedling.

Description of early gooseberry variety Seedling Lefora

Gooseberries of this variety grow in many places: from the lower to the upper zone. The bush grows to 1 m in height. Berries belong to a variety of red. The plant is unpretentious to the environment, will give birth to a large number of crops with proper care.

Grade history

V. Spirin began to create a variety by sowing. The basis for the selection was the seeds of E. Lefora variety, they were used to obtain seedlings. As a result, in 1959, the Seedling of Lefora was brought out in the Vologda Oblast.

Learn more about what you can plant next to gooseberries.

Appearance, characteristics of berries, ripening time, yield

The bush is tall and densely packed with green, medium-shiny leaves. The branches grow obliquely upward, and the shoots are slightly prickly. Berries begin to grow a little further from the base and along the entire length of the branch. They are round or oval in shape, with thin skin, small in size, pink-violet in color and tasty (tasters score 4.5 points).

If you are late with the collection, then there is nothing critical, because the taste qualities of gooseberries will become even better. Since the seedling of Lephora will give birth twice a season, the harvest falls the first time in June and the second in August. The fertility of the bush deserves special attention: an average of 2 to 5 kg, with a berry weight of 4-6 g.

Berries are sung closer to summer; according to the ripening dates, the variety is classified as medium early.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

I would like to immediately note that the advantages of this type of gooseberry are more than the minuses.

• Good qualities of this plant:
• winter hardiness;
• excellent yield;
• resistance to powdery mildew;
• slight prickly shoots;
• exposure to extreme temperatures;
• practically not damaged by a firegun.

• Like another plant, gooseberry cultivar Seedling Lephora has the disadvantages of:
• small berries;
• poor resistance to Septoria;
• strong development of bushes.

Growing Features

There are only a few indicators that will determine the yield of gooseberries and their condition: a good selection of places and soil for the bush, regular watering, treatment with antiviral and antiparasitic agents.

Did you know? Gooseberry helps to eliminate toxins and salts of heavy metals from the body.

Seat selection

This variety is not picky about environmental conditions. You can use the basic rules for planting gooseberries:

• the plant is sun-loving, so you need to choose a place that will be lit at least half a day;
• Despite the fact that many gooseberries can survive in arid conditions, it is better to ensure regular watering in order to avoid deterioration in yield;
• gooseberry prefers black soil, but grows well in loam;
• September is the most suitable time for landing. If you want to plant young seedlings after winter, then it would be more appropriate to do this in early spring.

Planting and care, pollination

When you have already decided on the future site for planting, made sure that there are no root residues and pests in the soil, you can safely proceed to the action itself. You need to plant the bush at an angle, leave 2 buds in the ground, and about 4-5 on the surface (remove the rest with secateurs). After you need to water the plant so that it takes root well.

Important! Gooseberries do not tolerate chlorine, even in small quantities.

For those who want to increase the volume of the crop, increase its resistance to various diseases, it is possible to feed. It consists of three stages:

1. To avoid spring nitrogen deficiency, it is better to feed gooseberries with nitrate (ammonia or urea). One bush requires 45-60 g of substance.
2. The second procedure should be carried out in May, because it is then that the lower leaves begin to crumble due to lack of nutrients. You can use a solution of water with chicken droppings (diluted in a ratio of 1: 4, that is, 4 liters of water - 1 liter of droppings).
3. Then, throughout the summer, gooseberries are fed a mixture of humus, wood sol and water (4 kg of manure and 200 g of ash are added to 10 liters of water). Contribute about 8 liters per plant. Such top dressing contributes to the fetus filling and the rapid growth of the root system.

The undeniable advantage of gooseberries is that in most cases they have cross-pollination. He can take care of himself when there are no good conditions on the street for the flight of bees or other insects that can dust the plant.

Pest and Disease Control

Like any other plant, gooseberries can sometimes be susceptible to diseases and pest attacks, which can willingly harm the crop or the bush itself. You must know the signs of the disease in order to understand which fungicides to use.

Did you know? Currently, at least 1, 500 varieties of gooseberries are known that are cultivated in all countries of the temperate climate.

The most common seedlings for the Lefora Seedling are diseases such as rust, anthracnose, septoria and mosaic. It is fortunate that even with powdery mildew, this variety has practically developed immunity. .

You can carry out treatment with the following drugs: Topaz, 1% solution of Bordeaux fluid, copper sulfate

Pests include aphids, caterpillars, gall midges and glassware. The interest of these creatures in gooseberries is mainly in leaflets.

Often you can get rid of unwanted guests with a solution of laundry soap and water, or simply heated to +70 ... + 80 ° C water.

Trimming and shaping a bush

Why do we need gooseberry pruning at all? The answer to this question is extremely simple: in a few years the bush will become completely overgrown and the sun will not be able to penetrate all its parts, the berries will be smaller, and various pests will settle on the branches. Trimming the bush is necessary in the fall, because after the winter gooseberries actively begin to wake up after hibernation: on it the leaves bloom very quickly and the buds are poured, and spring pruning will not bring any benefit.

The formation of the bush must be carried out as follows:

1. In the first year, cut all the shoots by about a third of the growth. Delete all branches growing down.
2. A year later, fresh shoots again shortened by a third, and from the oldest to leave the most developed.
3. Repeat this procedure should be annually. By the 5th year of life, the bush will already consist of 20 branches of different age branches.

Trimming a branch is crucial above the inner bud to stimulate the growth of new shoots.

Wintering

Preparing gooseberries for wintering is very important if you want to stay with a healthy harvest, large, juicy and tasty berries, not overgrown with bushes. Again, there are some mandatory points for preparing for winter:

• remove leaves, branches near the base. If you think that the bush will be better with them, then you are deeply mistaken. All parasites, insects, infections will survive the cold in the garbage, and with the onset of spring they will cover the plant and no good consequences can be expected. As a heater, you can put a 10-centimeter ball of humus or peat;

• dig and loosen the ground so that the pests are outside and die;
• top dressing and watering will help to gain strength before winter. In addition, wet earth stores heat much more efficiently than dry. This will help the plant not freeze in the winter and not be depleted by the spring. You can fertilize the earth with preparations in which there is practically no nitrogen and a lot of potassium with phosphorus is present (for example, Autumn).

Important! You can not fill the bush with water, since excessive soil moisture can lead to rotting of the root collar and death.

Harvesting and transportation

Gooseberries ripen 1–1.5 months . Harvesting Seedling Lefora occurs two times: in July and August. The most effective method is hand picking, so the berries are not much damaged, while maintaining their presentation. In addition to the berries themselves, the bush is not injured, which is very important for subsequent years. In order to find out when the berry has ripened - you need to look at its color saturation (pink-purple), the presence and elasticity.

You should calculate the time for harvesting and compare with further goals: rolling, direct use after a few minutes or hours, sending to relatives, transportation to the factory. Ripe berries can be picked in 2.5-liter containers before eating or boiling jam.

To increase the shelf life to 3-4 months, it is necessary to freeze the fruits and place in plastic, vacuum bags.

If you want to save the fetus from 4 to 10 days, then it is better to tear it when it is not fully ripe (preferably immediately refrigerated). At temperatures from 0 to + 6 ° C, gooseberries can be stored for a month. In the above cases, the berries must be dried. For transportation, baskets made of chip tape with a capacity of 2 liters are best suited; if the transportation is carried out over long distances, the fruit can also be placed in hard dishes.

Read about gooseberry propagation methods as well.

Gooseberry cultivar Seedling Lefora is resistant to diseases and bad weather conditions, not whimsical to care for, will give birth to many small berries. This variety is suitable for both experienced gardeners and beginners.