Gooseberry Olavi

The article presents the Olavi gooseberry: description of the variety, characteristics, selection, planting, care, protection, reviews.

Gooseberry Olavi "(" Hinnonomainen Punainen ") - a variety from Finland, has a high yield. The berries have a bright taste, the variety has a strong immunity to pests, the crop is easily cultivated. Olavi gooseberries are not afraid of frost, therefore they feel good in the cold north and in the northwestern Russian part. Before you buy this famous variety, you need to find out its description, advantages and disadvantages, how to properly plant and care in order to achieve a high yield of gooseberries.

Gooseberry Olavi: variety description and characteristics

Gooseberry Olavi: photo of the variety

Olavi gooseberry is included in the State. Register in 1999. It is allowed to land it in Vologda, Tver, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Kaliningrad, Pskov, Novgorod, St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk, Murmansk and their regions. You can also plant a variety throughout the Non-Black Earth Region. This type of gooseberry is versatile, medium late.

Variety traits

Olavi gooseberry bush of slightly spreading form, grows to a medium degree. The thickness of the shoots is average. Shoots grow straight, they are not pubescent, they are green in color. When lignified, they can turn gray. There are a lot of thorns on the branches. They are two- and one-split, sharp, medium, shortened, located along the entire branch in the direction perpendicular to it. The kidneys are sharp, oblong, small, not strongly deviated. The leaf is medium in size, does not have a feather, slightly shiny, bright green, three or five-lobed, with large denticles along the edges. Attachment to the shoot is oblique, on a short handle. Flowers in the form of wide bells, medium in size. Olavi gooseberry berries are of medium size, their weight is about 3.7 g, or within 2-4.4 g, the color is bright cherry, they do not have a cannon, in the form of an oval or circle, the surface of the fruit is covered with wax. Gooseberry variety Olavi is self-fertile, to a high degree, it does not require pollinators. The berries of the variety are similar in taste to white grapes.

Resistant to dry periods and frost

The Olavi gooseberry variety has been specially bred to be cultivated in harsh regions with long winters and fleeting summers. The variety is good up to temperature conditions of -30 degrees.
If the shoots are still affected by cold temperature conditions, then during the period the plant can recover and will also continue to bear fruit.
The Olavi gooseberry shrub tolerates dry periods to a moderate extent. If there is no water in the soil for a long time, it will harm the fruits, they will be small, wilted, sour. The leaves will begin to turn yellow and slow down in growth.
If there is a lack of water, the Olavi gooseberry variety needs additional watering.

Gooseberry Olavi: a description of the pros and cons of the variety

Gooseberry Olavi: photo of the variety

Dignity

• Easily tolerates frost
• Bears fruit regularly - up to 20 years
• Has good resistance to common diseases
• Berries are universal, taste great
• Resistance to harmful insects
• Fruits are stored for a long time without losing their mass
• The seedlings adapt well and quickly to the new location.

Minuses

• Shoots have many thorns
• Berries can crack when it rains.

Gooseberry Olavi: variety breeding

• To a greater extent, the propagation of the gooseberry variety Olavi occurs by layering.
  To get layering, in the first days of May, the shoot, aged 2 years, must be laid in a damp furrow for planting and sprinkled with soil. At times, the soil needs watering and hilling. By the autumn season, 3-4 shoots are formed, which are ready for transplantation. Using this method, you can root the top of the plant; you need to pin the folds with a metal bracket.
• Reproduction cuttings promotes a lower percentage for the plants to take root. But this method is used when it is necessary to get a lot of material for planting soon. Green shoots in the first days of June are cut into 15-cm cuttings, then they are planted under a film. In order for root growth to be active, the soil must be watered from time to time. The bush is propagated by the generative method when it is necessary to create new varieties, or this is done in the nursery.

How to plant and how to care for the Olavi gooseberry variety

The Olavi gooseberry planting site should be sunny, well-lit, protected from wind and drafts. The best option is an elevated place that protects from the winds; a fence, walls of buildings can serve as protection.
The soil should be saturated with nutrients, type - sandy loam, clay. An important rule is that the soil should not be swampy, our variety has poor tolerance to the close flow of groundwater.
The soil is deoxidized in this way: wood ash, dolomite flour, lime are added.

Planting Olavi gooseberries is required depending on the climate. In the north, the planting of the variety is carried out in the spring season, after warming up the soil, before the buds open. In warm regions, plants are planted in the autumn season, mainly in October.

Before planting an Olavi gooseberry seedling, its root system is soaked for 24 hours. This requires a solution of sodium guamate or "Barrier". Soaking will help the bush quickly take root in the new area.

Planting stages

• Dig a planting hole. Depth - 0.5 m, diameter - 0.5 m.
• Fill the hole with loose soil. Mix soil with 1 bucket of humus, 4 tbsp. l. nitrophosphate, 1 tbsp. l. wood ash.
• Place the plant in the hole at a 90 degree angle.
• Straighten the roots, make the soil dense.
• Water the bushes well.
• Trim excess shoots, leave 6 buds.
• Mulch the soil with peat.
• The distance from the root collar to the surface should be 5-7 cm.

Agrotechnical techniques

Although the Olavi gooseberry variety is easy to cultivate, it still needs care, at least minimal.
In times of drought, the shrub must be stably, 1 time / 10 days, watered with settled warm water. It is necessary to irrigate the bushes when they bloom and berries are formed. After watering, the crust must be loosened, weeds must be removed. Carry out mulching of the trunk circle.
When harvesting, it is recommended not to water as the berries may become watery and not as sweet as you would like.

Before the Olavi gooseberry bush is 3 years old, a formative circumcision is performed. Skeletal shoots up to 0.5 in length are pruned, almost all shoots are pruned.

The mature shrub is pruned in order to make the canopy less dense and to facilitate fruit picking. After the winter season is over, weak or damaged branches are cut from the bush, you need to leave about 16 different-age sprouts.

In order to rejuvenate the Olavi gooseberry, after 7 years it must be cut to the level of the soil.
The variety has a positive reaction to feeding. During the period, the plants are fed 3 times. Before the leaves appear - 2 tbsp. l. urea / 1 bucket of water. When the bushes are blooming, potassium sulfate (1 tbsp. L.) Is dissolved in 10 liters of water. When the gooseberry begins to bear fruit, nitroammofoska (2 tablespoons) or potassium sulfate dissolves in 10 liters of water.

For the first three years of life, the shrub has enough nutrients that were introduced when the plant was planted.

Prevention of harmful insects - 2 times / year between the rows you need to dig the soil 15 cm deep, loosen the trunk circles deeper than usual - by 8 cm.When preparing the plants for winter, for preventive purposes, the bushes need to be treated with a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture.

Olavi gooseberries do not need shelter for wintering. To preserve the root system of an adult bush, the soil around it must be earthed up, and the near-stem circle must be covered with sawdust or peat. Shelter is made for young shrubs using non-woven fabric.

Diseases and harmful insects

The incidence is infrequent. Fungi can infect the variety when the air humidity is high and there are days with low temperature conditions. The berries become covered with a dense gray film. For treatment, drugs "Topaz", "Oksikh" are used.

A harmful insect that attacks the variety is aphid. They fight it like this: it is sprayed with a solution of laundry soap and water, and anthills are removed from the place of residence of the shrubs.

Gooseberry Olavi: reviews of gardeners about the variety

• Marina Nikolaevna, Samara region: “Due to poor health, regular Olavi gooseberry care is difficult to follow. But even with a minimum of costs, I get the maximum result - a generous delivery. Mulching saves, after watering I spend it around the bush. So water is retained in the soil, and there is less weed. And harmful insects, by the way, run away. Before the winter period, I remove the old mulch with larvae and make a new layer. "
• Alexander Petrovich, Chelyabinsk region: “Olavi's gooseberry made me very happy. Begins to bear fruit on the 15th August days. When the rest of the berries have already finished bearing fruit, the Olavi gooseberry variety continues to bear fruit right up to the very frost. Berries do not fall off, ripening occurs evenly. Olavi gooseberry yield from one bush is 10 kg. I eat fresh berries, prepare compotes, preserves, or make freezes. By the way, I prepared wine - it turned out pretty well. One drawback of Olavi gooseberries - thorns on the bushes, prickly. From time to time I cut them off, but I harvest with gloves. "

Gooseberry Olavi: video about the variety