Gooseberry bush?

mrbadexample

:hello: Green-fingered gang!

This is my first visit to this particular forum, so be gentle with me! I know as much about gardening as I did about cooking before the Old-Stylers worked their magic, so bear with me.

I like gooseberries. :drool: I never see them for sale, and haven't had any for years, so I thought it might be best to grow some.

I have no idea when gooseberries are in season. I have no idea about varieties etc, if there are any.

I am lazy and impatient, which is why I am not a gardener. :rolleyes: I really just want to dig a hole in the lawn, whack a bush in it and get gooseberries. How fast can I make it happen? Where do I get a gooseberry bush from? Are they zero-maintenance? (They need to be - I remember my Dad had one, but I don't remember him ever having to do anything to it. I do remember the dog nicking the gooseberries from it though. :rotfl: )

So, any advice would be appreciated. Preferably really simple advice.

point3

Hellooo Mr BE

Gooseberries are yummy, but take a while to fruit from planting (about 2 years from planting of cuttings to bearing fruit). They're also thorny plants (so fiddly to prune) and fairly susceptible to mildew.

If you're of the impatient sort, how about some nice strawberries instead?

mrbadexample

point3 wrote: »

Hellooo Mr BE

Gooseberries are yummy, but take a while to fruit from planting (about 2 years from planting of cuttings to bearing fruit). They're also thorny plants (so fiddly to prune) and fairly susceptible to mildew.

If you're of the impatient sort, how about some nice strawberries instead?

I can buy strawberries. I want gooseberries!

Cuttings? :mad: Can't I buy a whole bush that's nearly ready to go? I don't mind waiting a few months, but two years? :eek: I might not even be living here then! :rolleyes:

I don't mind them being thorny. I have gloves.

Edit: I might be prepared to compromise and grow rhubarb. How fast is rhubarb?

angie_loves_veg

I was bought a garden centre plant for my birthday last year in march. I planted it in the garden, and in the late summer harvested 1lb of very tasty fruit. Having given it a textbook (simple) prune during it's dormancy (winter) I should expect (hope) that I will get a larger crop this year.

I see no reason why you shouldn't go to your local garden centre, choose a nice looking plant, plant it and be eating the fruit later this year. you could always use your prunings as cuttings to start new plant in the future......

nodwah

MR BE, I've heard about you!

My DH loves gooseberries too and you're right you just don't see them in the shops. Having said that you'll get gooseberry plants in Asda etc just now that may well fruit this year for you, but more next year. The key is soil preparation: dig a big hole, much bigger than the plant pot and fill up with a mixture of good quality compost and blood fish and bonemeal, all mixed up with the soil, put your plant in and firm the soil really well around it and then water well and keep watering every couple of days thru the summer.
The main problem we have is the gooseberry sawfly which lays eggs and the caterpillars munch all the leaves off, we just try to pick em off. Oddly the plants still produce fruit even if they don't have any leaves on them. The worst problem I had last year was workmen at my house who ate all the gooseberries! And they admitted it as well - quite pleased with themselves!
Once you've got your supermarket gooseberry plants in have a look at Ken Muir's website and buy some Jostaberries and Worcesterberries too. A bit different from the furry green ones.

nodwah

BTW rhubarb is dead easy to grow, it just likes rich compost/soil and loads of water. I'm not aware of any major problems with it

point3

mrbadexample wrote: »

I want gooseberries!

Can't I buy a whole bush that's nearly ready to go?

Ok, then gooseberries it shall be!

Supermarket bought plants are unlikely to fruit this year, so instead choose a 2-3 year old plant from a garden centre or online/mail order nursery. Most large suppliers, including Thompson & Morgan and Dobies, have sold out for this year. Gardening Express, however, have an "Invicta" gooseberry plant for £7.95 plus P&P:

http://www.gardeningexpress.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductID=12622

This variety gets an Award of Gardening Merit (AGM) from the RHS, is a good variety for both dessert and culinary purposes :drool: , is a vigorous grower and shows good mildew resistance.

What you'll need to do...

1. Buy plant
2. Choose a site to plant it - an open sunny position where passersby won't brush against its thorns will be good (an allotment is ideal ).
3. Dig a hole (or alternatively try it in a large pot); enrich with humus, blood and bone and plant the bush...
4. Water occasionally until it gets established.
5. Wait a few months and you may have berries by this summer
6. Prune when in dormancy (autumn) - you could try planting some of your cuttings then too.
7. Feed again next spring, water in dry weather and you should be rewarded with a better crop next year


Rhubarb is fast...you'll have to be quick though to get a couple of good rhubarb crowns ready for planting right now.

Lord_Gardener

Re Sawfly, smear a large amount of petroleum jelly around each of the main stems at the base of the bush. NB The first sign of damage will be noticed at the base of the bushes. This is where the eggs are laid and where the caterpillars hatch and first look for food. The pet jelly stops them dead in their tracks - try it and see! Picking them off/washing with soapy water are the only other safe alternatives!

5670262

I have three gooseberry bushes at the bottom of my garden that i inherited when we bought the house.. last year i didnt touch them and the amount of fruit i had was amazing! hundreds of gooseberries. but because i didnt prune them etc they have some mildew now...

Which i dont mind too much about because i intend to dig them up and hopefully move them but after drastically pruning them first!

tenzing

There are gooseberry plants on ebay. I've bought various plants (not gooseberries though) on ebay and all have been extremely successful.

Rikki

I have a gooseberry bush.:p

My rhubarb sadly died.