Gooseberries

Overview

Gooseberries - Ribes uva-crispa

Season of use – June- July -August

The gooseberry is the earliest of the soft fruits to be ready for harvesting. They flourish in cooler conditions and make long lived plants.  Normally they are grown on a single short leg as open centred bushes but where space is at a premium they can be trained as a fan shape or cordon.  Gooseberries are tolerant of a wide range of soil types provided that they are not waterlogged or too free draining.  The gooseberry flowers early in the spring so it is essential to provide them with a sheltered site that will protect the flowers against frost damage.  A sunny site is not essential it is possible to grow gooseberries trained against a north facing wall.

How to grow

Planting season – October to March whenever soil conditions permit. Do not plant into frozen or waterlogged ground.  Check along the stems of the plants for dormant buds or small white shoots. These must be rubbed out to prevent them from growing and producing suckers.

Planting depth- Plant with the roots just below the soil surface. Avoid planting too deeply because this will encourage root suckers to develop.

For bushes, espaliers or fans;

Distance between plants – 1.8metres/6ft

Distance between rows – 1.8metres/6ft

For single cordons;

Distance between plants – 45cm/18ins

Distance between rows – 1.8metres/6ft

For multiple cordons allow 45cm/18ins for extra each stem

Support each of the stems of the cordons with a 1.6metre/6ft bamboo cane to train them along.

Cultivation – Gooseberries are hungry feeders. Top dress around the bushes with a general fertiliser each March.

Avoid disturbing the soil to any depth around the root area, gooseberries will produce suckers from any damaged roots as well as their stems. The suckers must be pulled off and not cut to prevent them regrowing. June and July are best months to do this job because the suckers will still be soft at this time of the season.

The fruits will need thinning during May, the thinnings will be too sour to eat uncooked but they will make excellent pies and tarts. Thin out the fruits so that each individual berry has room to grow to its full size.

How to Harvest

Gooseberries start to ripen from early July - earlier in June the green, under-ripe fruits can be harvested for making jam, pies, tarts, and sauces , take alternate fruit, leaving the remainder to swell into ripe, sweet berries to gather in July. Protect against birds with fine gauge netting.

The fully ripened berries are soft and likely to burst so handle with care; excess fruit can be  frozen.

Issues

They are very sensitive to any potash deficiency in the soil, this is indicated by the leaves of the plants turning brown around their edges. If the lack of potash is not dealt with the bushes will eventually stop producing gooseberries. If any plants display the symptoms water around them with tomato fertiliser which is high in potassium to correct matters.