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How To Grow Gooseberries

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If you’re wondering how to grow gooseberries you’ll be happy to learn that gooseberry bushes are one of the easiest fruits you can grow even if you are a new gardener.

I can still remember the first time I discovered gooseberries. I was a teen visiting my aunt and she was picking these funny little berries she called gooseberries.

Next to her home, she had 4 or 5 tall bushes that were covered in fruit. After helping her pick I brought home a few tubs of berries and had my first try at making gooseberry jam and apple gooseberry jam.

I was hooked! The sweet-tart flavor was amazing.

Compared to blueberries, cherries and other popular fruit gooseberries have much fewer pest and disease problems.

They don’t take much room in your garden and reward you with lots of fruit. Gooseberries are a firm berry that lasts much longer after being picked than soft fruit like strawberries or raspberries.

You can grow them in the ground, in containers, or train the branches to grow up along a wall or fence to save even more room.

Gooseberries growing on a bush. Text overlay says How To Grow Gooseberries For Years Of Easy Fruit.

What Are Gooseberries?

Gooseberries are fruit-producing bushes in the same Ribes plant family as currants. They grow 3-5 feet (0.91-1.52 m) tall and wide depending on how you prune the bushes.

Compared to currants that grow tiny berries in clusters, gooseberries have much larger fruit that grows individually along the plant stems.

Another difference between the plants is that gooseberry stems are covered in thorns so you need to take care when picking. A good pair of thorn-proof gloves can be helpful.

Depending on the variety you are growing they can taste from tart to sweet when ripe.

Gooseberries come in two types European (Ribes uva-crispa) and American (Ribes hirtellum). The European types are native to Eastern Europe and Western Asia while the American variety is found throughout southern Canada and the northern United States.

Some people believe the European types have larger fruit and a better flavor while the American types are hardier and more productive.

Most cultivars available in North American are now crosses of these two types of gooseberries to improve disease resistance while improving the taste.

Their fruit grows to be 1/2 to 1 inch (1.27 to 2.54 cm) in size and can come in red, pink, purple, yellow, white, and green colors.

How To Grow Gooseberries

Gooseberry bush in the garden.

Gooseberry bushes grow in zones 3-8 but prefer cooler moist climates.

If you are wondering where do gooseberries grow best in most cases you’ll want to look for a full sun area of your yard with well-draining soil.

If your yard is shady don’t worry you can still grow gooseberries but plants that get 6 hours or more of sunlight seem to produce more and larger berries.

The exception to this is if you live in an area that has very hot and dry summers. Then the plants will appreciate some shade in the afternoon heat.

Planting

Green gooseberries on the plant.

Starting your fruit patch by transplanting young shrubs in the spring is the easiest way to get started.

Gooseberry plants are very frost-hardy so go ahead and plant them as soon as you can work the soil in the spring.

These fruit bushes like to grow in moist conditions and will do best if your soil is high in organic matter. If you have very sandy soil it will dry out quickly and gooseberries will struggle to grow.

Adding lots of good compost to your garden or growing in containers will help if you have sandy or heavy clay soil.

Dig a large hole that is 1 inch (2.54 cm) deeper and twice the width of the container your plant came in.

Then remove the plant from the container and check it for any dead or damaged roots. Prune these off before planting.

Then place the shrub into the prepared hole and backfill it with soil and compost, pressing it down firmly to remove any air pockets in the soil.

Water the plant well and keep the soil moist.

Plant each gooseberry bush 3 to 4 feet (.91to 1.21 m) apart and the rows 8 feet (2.4 m) apart so the plants have enough room to grow and spread without becoming crowded.

Watering

Gooseberry flowers starting to form fruit.

Gooseberry plants are fairly shallow-rooted shrubs that need consistent watering. Plants should have 1 inch (2.54 cm) of water each week. If you don’t get enough rainfall to provide that then make sure to supplement it by watering.

Mulching

Gooseberry bushes love to grow in moist soil if you live in a dry area mulching your plants will really help to lower your watering.

Wood chips, straw, and dried grass clippings make great organic mulches for fruit bushes. Place up to 4 inches (10.16 cm) of mulch around your plants to help suppress weeds and hold in moisture.

Fertilizing

After growing gooseberry bushes for years, we’ve found their fertilizer requirements to be fairly low if you have good soil.

Each fall spread 1-2 inches (2.54-5.08 cm) of good quality compost around the base of the plants. Adding a small handful of wood ashes around the base of the plants can help provide potassium to help with flowering and fruit production.

If you don’t have easy access to compost or wood ashes then using a tomato fertilizer or a mix of blood and bone meal can also work.

How To Grow Gooseberries In Containers

Gooseberry bushes grow very well in containers and are a great choice for growing a lot of fruit in a small space.

Your container should be 18 inches (45.72 cm) wide and deep to give the plant enough room to grow.

Fill the container with good quality potting mix and plant the shrub an inch deeper than when it was in its container.

Containers will dry out faster so will need more watering than plants in the ground, but otherwise, the care is the same.

Pruning

Gooseberry bush with green fruit.

Gooseberry plants produce the most fruit on branches that are 2-3 years old. So with just a little pruning, you can help maximize your fruit production.

Before starting to prune gooseberries you’ll need to protect yourself from their thorns. A thick jacket and a good pair of thorn-proof gloves will come in handy for helping to protect your hands and arms from scratches.

The time to prune is in early spring or late winter while the plants are still dormant.

Using a sharp pair of pruners remove any branches that are broken or crossing each other. Look for branches that may be diseased or growing close to the ground and remove those.

For older bushes also remove any canes that are 4 years old or older.

Aim to have 12 to 15 canes on each plant at a time with half being 2-3-year-old canes for fruit production and the rest younger new shoots.

Harvesting

Bowl of freshly picked gooseberries.

Gooseberries are normally ready to harvest in late June to early July in most areas. But because many varieties stay green even when ripe it’s not always easy to tell by just looking at the plant when the berries are ready to pick.

So how do you tell if a gooseberry is ripe? The easiest way is to gently squeeze a berry between your fingers. If they are very firm they aren’t ripe yet, if the berry “gives” a little then it’s ripe.

Another way to test for ripeness is to taste the berries. Desert-type varieties will be a little tart but also have some sweetness to it when it’s ripe.

If you are growing a variety that changes color when it’s ripe that also makes it very easy to tell.

When to harvest your gooseberries also depends on what you plan to do with the berries. If you want to make jam or jelly then the best berries for that are smaller, slightly under-ripe berries that are still very tart.

While for making pies and other treats full-sized but still green berries will hold their shape better in cooking. For fresh eating wait until the berries have fully ripened for that perfect tart/sweet flavor.

When the berries are at the sage you like, just pull them individually off the plant and place them into a shallow container.

Another fast way to harvest gooseberries is to place a plastic tarp or sheet under the plants and shake the bushes. The ripe fruit will fall off and land on the tarp. This makes it easy to carefully pour the berries from the tarp into a container.

Once picked gooseberries can last up to 2 weeks in the fridge or be frozen for long-term use.

Is It Illegal To Grow Gooseberries?

Gooseberries haven’t always been popular to grow in the United States partly because they were banned in the early 1900s by the federal government.

Why? Because gooseberries and some types of currants can carry white pine blister rust that causes damage to white pine trees important to the lumber industry.

While the restrictions changed from a federal to the state level in the 1960s, some states still ban the growing of gooseberries and currants.

Before planting make sure to check with your local agricultural extension office to make sure that they are permitted to grow in your state.

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