Gooseberry
| Growing calendar | |
|---|---|
| Plant out/transplant | Oct - Feb |
| Harvest | Jun - Aug |
How to grow gooseberries
Plant pot grown or bare root gooseberry bushes with at least four evenly spaced stems. Space the bushes 100-150cm apart. Choose well drained soil in a sunny or part shaded, sheltered site.
Water, mulch and feed your gooseberry bushes. reduce the length of the main stems by half in the second year and thereafter shorten longer side shoots.
Gooseberry plants are self-fertile.
Harvesting and using gooseberries
Thin alternate fruits when 1cm long, leaving others to grow on. Pick when fully coloured leaving a short stalk (the skin can tear otherwise).
Tips on growing gooseberries
Gooseberries are suitable to train as fan-shaped or cordon.
| Growing notes | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | Moderate |
| Average time to harvest | From 18 months |
| When to prune | Winter or early spring |
| Equipment needed | Feed, mulch (eg compost) |
| Average plant size | 100cm tall and wide |
| Family group to grow with | Grossulariaceae: whitecurrant |
| Seed saving notes | Specialist |
| Key nutritional content | Vitamin C |