gooseberry thread

ok now I do need some more knowledge on this subject as they are new to me

I had planted gooseberries but they died..when I was in the woods today we ran across a small patch of wild gooseberries. They were ripe, the pink ones..and they were in a place where they would get mowed down by the county if left on a property we have been told we can pick on as we want, so we pulled them up and I have them in water waiting to plant tomorrow.

I'm sure they'll grow well here but i'm a real novice with gooseberries. I didn't know they had thorns on the berries..so wierd..what's up with that??

tasted one and it was really good and sweet, but  I'm not really sure how to proceed with them, there aren't enough ripe ones on these bushes to really do anything with this year and the berries got knocked off mostly when we pulled up the bushes..anyway.

tell me about gooseberries folks..what do you do with them? where do you plant them? these were growing in the margin along a 2 track road..where they will be mowed in a few weeks when the county  mows..so I felt i was recuing them..although they probably would grow back from the stubs if they were mowed.

should i cut them back before planting them ?? can I take cuttings off where i cut them back and root them???

i plant them in the shade, they do best at the base of a huge pine tree, they make the most amazing pie ( yes paul, pie). the deer dont eat them, gophers dont eat them, drought tolerant, easy to propagate from suckers. if the county mowed them down, next year they would grow right back just as big. they actually like being cut back every few years. take cuttings in later winter. and do NOT let them dry even a little.

What Hubert said. Where you found them is their natural habitat: they're like raspberries and prefer 'forest margin' conditions.
They are super tough plants. I think they fruit on 2-year old wood, so be aware when pruning.
We now have American gooseberry mildew over here, but I wouldn't be surprised if your local plants were resistant.
Watch out for the thorns!
Since gooseberries are usually stewed, it doesn't matter if the fruit's burst. I'd freeze fruit as I picked it, untill there's enough to use for pie, breakfast, jelly...

raccoons and possums (the usual suspects) will eat the fruit

thanks, I did google gooseberry and find that I have "american gooseberry" which evidently is a native here, they turn red to dark purple when ripe..mine were just getting ripe.

I'll do some cuttings and cut back the tops when I plant them, then maybe i'll get some that make it..i hope.

i did find the "hairs" which I called thorns above, a little offputting, when sticking them in my mouth..wierd..but i guess a lot of berries are hairy..some raspberries are..

I'll get used to them, they are all new to me

the googling presented to me that they are most often cooked..as in pies and desserts, but also done in other ways..please tell me how YOU use them..thanks

I've got Glendale, Hinomaki Red, Hinomaki Yellow and Black Velvet growing well in hugel-beds which get full to half-day sun.

Just planted this year and they've put on on a foot or more of new growth.  No sign of mildew as of yet.  Hopefully, we'll get some fruit next year.

I will try and root a good number of cuttings of each during the coming cool season. 

The jostaberry (black currant x gooseberry) plants are even more vigorous are doing well in the hugel beds with half-day sun.  The fruit remind me a bit of a small grape.

i read that they grow well under apple trees, but am a bit afraid that i might not be able to harvest the apples if i grow them under apple trees..

I have a 3 hugel beds with apple trees growing in the center and I sure could plant them there..one of the trees is a dwarf, one a semi dwarf and one a super dwarf..maybe the semi dwarf would be a good choice to grow them under?

really scared to plant something so thorney where they might make things harder for me in the future??

i have another bed that has just 2 Honeyberry bushes (babies) growing this year..i might be able to plant them in that bed..I'm not sure if they would crowd out the honeyberries or not..

the research said that they really prefer "some" shade in the north..

Brenda,

Those thorns on the berries never really bothered me, but I may have a different variety than you do AND I've never had enough production here to warrant doing anything with them except eating them fresh.  However, I've heard that to deal with the thorns all you have to do is freeze them on a cookie sheet and, once they're frozen, roll them around in a towel and those thorns snap right off.  I haven't tried that myself, though....

--Leslie

I think there is a thornless variety.

yes there are thornless varieties but it is against the law to buy them in Michigan.

the ones i have I rescued from a roadside area..and they have the thorney HAIRS..and you are right they aren't that big a deal, but the idea of freezing them and rolling the hairs off sounds great..thanks.

I planted the ones i dug up and had soaking in water, and they look like they are going to make it..I'm very excited ..