Growing Gooseberry Bushes
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Harvesting Your Gooseberries
Most varieties of Gooseberry bush produce both cooking and eating gooseberries - those for cooking being harvested earlier than those for eating. 

In order to encourage the best berries, pick about 10% of the fruit in mid-May time when they are pea-sized, these can be used for cooking. This will encourage the remaining fruits to become larger.

When the gooseberries look ready for harvest in July time, first pick those fruits which are shaded at the bottom and in the middle of the bush - these will be the first to stop improving. Leave the fruits on the outer edges of the bush to be picked a week or so later.

Pests and Diseases
Gooseberry bushes grown in the UK are remarkably free from pests and diseases. They are on occasions attacked by Gooseberry Sawfly caterpillars which are capable of stripping the plant of all foliage. A soon as foliage damage is noticed. examine the plant for caterpillars and pick them off by hand. If the numbers of caterpillars are large, spray with derris (available at almost all garden centres). 

Click here for more details on identifying and treating Gooseberry Sawfly caterpillars.

The biggest pest is birds, sparrows in particular. Coloured cotton wound round the plant at strategic places will go some way to prevent the birds getting at the fruit. Most garden centres have bird-repellant sprays - ask at your garden centre which is best for your area.

Which Variety

INVICTA
Click on the picture for a larger version. A very compact plant which is ideally suited to growing as a standard in or out of a container - see the next page (or click here) for details on how to grow gooseberry bushes in containers. Produces masses of fruits in July to August which are extremely tasty. Definitely one for the small garden. A GardenAction top recommendation.

HINNOMAKI RED

This is our most recommended variety of gooseberry. It produces shed loads of fruit (click the picture to see more clearly) and has great disease resistance. If you never can quite remember when to harvest your gooseberries then buy this one. When the fruits turn red they are ready to pick, it's that simple. They retain the red colour during cooking - they taste and look superb.

WHINHAM'S INDUSTRY
Click on the picture for a larger version. A red-fruited variety which is also suited to the small garden and container growing. Does well in partial shade and will even fruit well when planted under a tree. Good for a north facing-wall.

LEVELLER
Click on the picture for a larger version. This variety is rightly popular, producing some of the tastiest fruits of all gooseberries. The fruits are produced around July, and can be used for for cooking or immediate eating - traditional oval gooseberry shape, with yellow and green colouring. If you choose this one, get the soil preparation correct and it will do very well.