If you enjoy a fresh gooseberry pie then you most likely will have to grow your own gooseberries. I like to eat fresh ripe gooseberries. I said ripe because the green ones are bitter to me but the ripe ones are delicious. Most gooseberries are harvested green and used in pies or jams. Some chiefs prefer ripe berries for a different taste.
Gooseberries prefer to grow in full sun but will tolerate some shade. Like most fruit they require a well drained soil site. The gooseberry plant is thorny and will grow to around 3 feet tall. The flowers are self-fertile and are pollinated by wind or insects.
Gooseberries need to be pruned for healthy growth in the fall. The plant center should be thinned to allow air movement through the plant. When doing any type of pruning you should remove dead or diseased wood. The plant can also be shaped and encouraged to yield more fruit by cutting back one-half of the new growth. Remember gooseberries bear larger fruit on 2 or 3 year old wood.
Gooseberry plants can survive many years in a good location. So if you are planting gooseberry plants be sure to prepare the soil by adding compost. New plants should be planted five feet apart and pruned back to 2 buds at planting. For gooseberry fertilization one should apply ΒΌ to
⅓ cup of 6-24-24 around established plants annually. Gooseberries do not need large amounts of nitrogen to survive.
Gooseberries are an old crop not known by many, but for those who enjoy them they are a rewarding crop.
Oh, I should say you can propagate some plants by taking a cutting in the fall. Cuttings should be about 1 foot in length and leave all the buds until spring. Cuttings can be dipped into rooting hormone or just planted into a site. In the spring remove bottom shoots and lower buds so the plant can develop.
Now is the time to add a gooseberry plant to your landscape so you can enjoy some unusual fruit.
Source: Ed Billingsley, County Extension Director, Williamson County and Interim County Extension Director, Jackson County, edb@uiuc.ed
