English gooseberries – rare and underrated!
Top tips:
- incorporate organic material into the soil
- water deeply twice weekly in summer
- prune to a single stem or develop a vase shape
- prune every winter.
Have you ever considered growing English gooseberries (Riba uva-crispa)? These delicious berries come in green, red, white, purple and yellow, and are easy to grow in the ground or in tubs. Once primarily used with fatty meats or fish, they are nowadays mainly used in jams or desserts.
Climate
Gooseberries prefer temperate climates and as Melbourne is in a temperate zone, they grow well here, but are rarely seen these days. They are native to temperate areas of Eurasia and North Africa and have been grown in Britain since the 1300s. The cold winters that occur in temperate zones initiate fruit production. Frost is particularly good in this regard and the more frost they get the better.
Position
Gooseberries prefer full sun but also need protection from strong wind and hot afternoon sun. This means selecting a site carefully and avoiding a westerly aspect.
Soil preparation
Gooseberries thrive in rich, deep, well drained soil. Prepare the soil by thoroughly weeding it and keeping it well weeded. Spread the bed with a layer of organic material 3-4cm deep and dig this through the top layer of soil almost to a spade’s depth.This will loosen the soil and allow good water penetration as well as providing young roots with nutrition where they need it. Soil pH should be between 6-7: between slightly acidic and neutral.
Planting in the ground
Plant in spring or autumn if bare-rooted. If potted there’s more leeway but avoid hot weather. Dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball and the same depth. Plant bushes 1.5m apart. They will grow to a height of 1m. Do not let them dry out. If in doubt about the moisture content of your soil, dig down with a trowel close to the bush (avoiding the roots) and check whether the soil is dry or moist. For best results water deeply twice a week in summer. Gooseberries can be espaliered and as they are self-fertile, you could grow just one against a wall. They can also be pruned to grow as standards.
Planting in pots
Gooseberries grow well in large pots of at least 50cm diameter. Fill the pot with half soil, half compost, well mixed, and mulch after planting. Water well regularly.
Characteristics and habit
Gooseberries have loads of thorns. If left unpruned, they will spread and any drooping foliage that touches the ground will root. For this reason gooseberries are often trained to a single trunk by removing all branches below 20cm. This also makes weeding, pruning out of suckers and harvesting easier.
Pruning
The most common shape for a gooseberry is a vase shape with 5 or 6 main structural branches. Other possibilities as already mentioned are to espalier or grow as a standard. Prune just above an upward and outward pointing bud on an angle parallel to the bud. Bushes should be pruned in winter to remove dead canes, tangled or diseased wood, and suckers at ground level. Cut back drooping foliage by half and keep the centre open just as you would with a vase-shaped fruit tree. This allows for good air circulation which prevents fungal diseases. It also lets the light in. This allows the fruit to ripen.
Fruiting
Fruit appears on 3-year-old bushes. It will generally ripen in December in Melbourne or if it has been mild, in January. All fruit will ripen on the first hot day. Bushes will usually produce 4kg of fruit per season and may need to be netted to prevent bird strike and attack by Queensland Fruit Fly. Fruit develops on the previous season’s wood and spurs form on older wood. Spurs can be encouraged by pruning laterals back to 3 buds.
Propagation
Either by cuttings (with 5 buds) or by allowing branches to droop and root.
Diseases
Fungal diseases have wrought havoc in Europe and America and resulted in the cultivation of crossed European and American varieties which are more resistant to fungal infection. This has not been such a problem in Australia because of our insularity. However if you do see signs of fungal infection (which I have never seen), Louis Glowinski in his excellent book ‘The Complete Book of Fruit Growing in Australia’ recommends an organic spray treatment (as well as some inorganic treatments) of a mix of 1kg of washing soda (Cedel Lectric Soda Bath Crystals) with 1/4kg of soap (such as velvet soap flakes) mixed in 45L of soft water. Melbourne water is ‘soft’ so you can use tap water. Spray this at flowering and whenever any fungal infection is evident.
References:
Louis Glowinski, The Complete Book of Fruit Growing in Australia, Reprinted 2005, Lothian.
Royal Horticultual Society (UK) – includes a pruning video.
Written by Robin Gale-Baker