Few Americans have ever seen or tasted a
gooseberry, let alone grown a gooseberry bush or tree. Rarely
offered in even gourmet fruit stores and almost never listed on the menus
of even the poshest Continental restaurants in the United States, the
delicious fruit deserves far more popularity than it has among Americans.
The luscious berries themselves are sometimes as big as eggs, and grow on
handsome ornamental shrubs that bear heavily a short time after planting,
take up little room, are easy to train as hedges or fence rows, require
little care, and, if lack of sun is a problem in your garden, are the most
shade tolerant of all fruits.
Unlike their American counterparts, British gardeners do not neglect the
gooseberry; in fact, they have a taste fore the fruit that borders on the
fanatical—over the centuries they have probably developed close to two
thousand varieties of gooseberries with varying flavors and green, pink,
red, white, and yellow skins. Gooseberries have been cultivated in England
since the early sixteenth century. They had been raised elsewhere in
Europe, Asia, and Africa some two thousand years before that and no one
knows if the fruit was indigenous to Britain or if it was introduced at an
early period and became naturalized, but the British certainly have done
far more to improve the species than gardeners anywhere else.
How the gooseberry got its name is a puzzle to historians and
etymologists. One theory claims that “gooseberry” is a mispronunciation of
“gorge berry,” an early name for the fruit; a nice theory, except that
“gooseberry” was used before “gorge berry,” according to what records
there are. For similar reasons, most word detectives do not believe that
the “gooseberry” is a corruption of groseille, the French name for the
fruit, or the Dutch kruishes, which means “cross berry.” Perhaps a better
explanation is that “gooseberry” is a corruption of the German Jansbeeren
(John’s berry, so named because it ripens during the feast of St. John),
which corrupted into the German Gansbeeren and was translated into English
as “gooseberry” because gans means, “goose” in German. That, in fact, is
about the only thing linking geese with the berry or plant—the goose
doesn’t like gooseberries, isn’t even averse to them, just ignores them
entirely. Neither were gooseberries customarily served with roast goose,
as is often stated. The consensus is that “gooseberry” does come from some
unknown association with the goose, plant names associated with animals
commonly being inexplicable. There is even a theory, which holds, put
simply, that the goose gave its name to a fool or simpleton (as in “a
silly goose”) and that the green of the berry (suggesting a “greenhorn” or
fool) became known as a goose (or “fool”) berry.
No matter how its name evolved, the British have celebrated the gooseberry
in song and story as well as in actual fact. Gooseberries were so common
in Elizabethan England that Shakespeare used the expression “not worth a
gooseberry.” There were in early times “gooseberry shoes,” “gooseberry
fairs,” and “gooseberry feasts,” and the fruit was used in cores of
dishes. It was an old Norman practice to east green gooseberry sauce with
mackerel, and for this reason gooseberries were called groseille a
maquereau in French to distinguish them from currants, both of the fruits
being groseilles. Pigeons and other fowl were stuffed with gooseberries,
which were and still are prized for eating fresh out of hand when dead
ripe, as well as in gooseberry pies, tarts, pastries, puddings, jellies,
jams, and even a wine called “gooseberry” celebrated in poems by both
Oliver Goldsmith and Charles Lamb.
Probably the most famous dish made form gooseberries is “gooseberry fool,”
a dessert made of the fruit stewed or scalded, crushed, and mixed with
milk, cream, or custard. Some say the “fool” in the dish is a corruption
of the French verb fouler, to crush, but this derivation seems to be
inconsistent with the use of the word. More probably the dish is simply
named after other, older fruit trifles, the use of “fool” in its name is
the sense of “foolish or silly” being suggested by “trifle”. In any case,
gooseberry fool has been an English favorite since at least 1700 and Mrs.
Glasse gives a recipe for it in her famous The Art of Cooking (1747). So
widely known is the dish that an other plant is named after it, the
English calling the willow herb Epilobrium hirsutum “gooseberry fool”
because its leaves smell like the dessert!
One British writer though that when fully ripe gooseberries tasted nearest
to grapes of any other fruit, but that description leaves much to be
desired. The truth is that gooseberries have a unique flavor of their own
beyond compare. They have been paid compliments by many discerning
writers, but the words of little Marjorie Fleming, “Pet Marjorie,” the
youthful prodigy of Sir Walter Scott, are most memorable. Wrote Marjorie
in her quaint and charming diary shortly before her death at age seven: “I
am going to turn over a new life and am going to be a very good girl and
be obedient…here there is plenty if gooseberries which makes my teeth
English gooseberries were brought to America by early colonists and
cultivated varieties were featured as minor offering in our earliest
garden catalogs, but the English fruit never caught on in America. Neither
did our smaller-fruited native species. There were several reasons for
this: thorny bushes; the need of the tastier English varieties for a
milder climate with less extremes of cold and heat; small and inferior
fruit on the native types; and the fact that gooseberry bushes host a
serious disease of white pine tree. But certainly the reason the fruit
didn’t succeed wasn’t that Americans dislike the taste of gooseberries.
Green gooseberry pie, gooseberry relish, spiced gooseberries, and plump,
juicy gooseberry eaten fresh off the bush were early American favorites
that deserve a revival. With the new, improved varieties offered today,
all gardeners, even those in hot climates, can grow the delicious fruit,
so there is no reason not to try them.
Before beginning a discussion of varieties and cultural
methods, the gardener should know that gooseberry bushes serve as hosts to
a stage of white pine blister rust (“Pine Forest Disease”), a fungus
accidentally imported into America at the turn of the century that kills
valuable white pine trees. This fungus, which lives on gooseberry bushes
and currants for part of its life cycle, at one time caused at least
twenty-four states to forbid the planting of gooseberries or require a
permit before anyone could grow the fruit. Today only Idaho, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, Vermont, and Washington forbid the shipping of
gooseberries into their jurisdictions without a permit, and dealer cannot
sell you gooseberry bushes if you live in one of these states. Unless you
decide to transplant gooseberries from the wild, nurseries will solve this
problem for you, since they can’t ship gooseberries to areas in states are
restricted, and gooseberries not infected by blister rust fungus are
allowed to be planted elsewhere. In any event, restrictions or no, don’t
plant gooseberries within 1,000 feet of white pine trees (pines with five
needles in a bundle) or within 1,500 feet of any area where whit pine
seedlings are being grown. You’re only asking for almost inevitable
trouble if you do.
THE BEST AMERICAN GOOSEBERRIES TO GROW
All gooseberries are prolific, long-lived plants that bear when they are 2
to 3 years old and live up to 20 years-some plants growing under ideal
conditions have lived over 40 years, and two famous English specimens
growing against a garden wall reached to age of 60 years, each measuring
over 50 feet from one extremity of the branches to the other. Three bushes
should provide plenty of fruit for a family of four, each plant producing
3 to 4 quarts of berries at maturity. All varietyis are self-fruitful;
that is, one gooseberry bush doesn't require ther gooseberry bushes
planted nearby to ensure pollination and fruit. There are two quite
distinct species that can be classified as American and English, and while
the English are certainly by far the superior in taste and size, many
American varieties have been developed that are well worth growing.
RIBES HIRTELLUM, as the American gooseberry is called, includes numerous
named varieties, some produced by hybridizing the wild American specie
with English varieties and others simply hybrids of our native wild
gooseberry. Following are some of the better ones, listed in the order
that most experts rank them. Generally, the reds are considered to be the
PIXWELL. Prolific, pinkish red upon ripening, and the large fruit are "underslung"
on the branches, hanging away form the thorns and making for easy picking.
Developed as a hybrid of the American wild gooseberry R. missouriense by
the North Dakota Experiment Station, Pixwell is a compact bush that will
thrive anywhere gooseberries can be grown.
WELCOME. This University of Minnesota hybrid has very few thorns. Light
pink when fully ripe, it is often picked when green for use in pies and
JOSSELYN (see Red Jacket, below).
POORMAN. A productive plant with large-fruited, pear-shaped bright
wine-red berries that are very sweet when dead ripe, though the skin is
rather tough. The upright to spreading bushes are larger than most
varieties and noted for their freedom from diseases. Many experts say this
is the best-flavored American variety of any color.
DOWNING. The best green-fruited variety, with sweet flesh, tough skin, and
medium size. A vigorous, prolific, upright plant, Downing is one of the
few gooseberries still offered in America that was grown here before 1900.
RED JACKET. Earlier than most American gooseberries, but smaller in size
than most, too, this sweet, red fruited variety is sometimes offered as
Other American named varieties worth a try are Oregon, Como, Pearl,
Houghton (another very old type), and Glendale (another hybrid of the
native wild gooseberry).
American gooseberries are offered by many nurseries, including Burgess,
Farmer, Field, Foster, Gurney, Miller, New York Co-op, Shumway, and
THE BEST FOREIGN VARIETIES
English goosberries (Ribes grossularia) are more difficult to grow in
America than the native hybrid types, but since they are perfection in
gooseberries, many advanced gardeners will want to try them. They
generally do not thrive except in the cool, dry regions of the Pacific
coast, though gardeners on the East Coast and in other areas have raised
them successfully with a little care. Though they aren't the gooseberries
to begin gooseberry gardening with, a little time growing the fruit and
studying its habits, combined with the hints given here, should enable
most Americans to raise the fruit successfully.
The latest statistics I can find indicate that the English devote some
13,000 acres to gooseberry growing while Americans only plant 900 acres in
the fruit. English gooseberry fairs over the past three centuries
encouraged the development of thousands of varieties there. These fairs,
offering prizes for the best fruits, led to the introduction of
gooseberries with red, pink, yellow, green, and even white skins. Some
were developed for flavor, others for size; some for eating out of hand,
others for cooking. Generally speaking, the yellow-skinned types are most
highly valued for flavor when eaten out of hand.
The incredible number of English gooseberry varieties makes a complete
listing here impractical. Chautaugua (yellowish-green), Fredonia (red),
Industry (red), and Columbus (red) are the English varieties most
frequently grown in America. Varieties that the British prize are the
large Careless, a white-skinned dessert type; Keepsake and May Duke, early
types; and the dessert types Leveller, Shiner, Lord Derby, Gunner, Leader,
White Lion, and Conson’s Seedling. Other famous English varieties are
Achilles, a very large, late-ripening type; Catherina, a large, sweet,
egg-shaped, golden-orange berry; Early Sulphur, said to have “a fine
apricot-like aftertaste”; the early large Whinham’s Industry, which
reportedly “does well under trees”; Whitesmith, one of the best greens;
and the Worcesterberry, a large, blackish berry that may be cross between
the gooseberry and black currant. English gardeners have grown
gooseberries up to a record weight of over tow ounces and the size of a
small apple—about 6 ½ inches in circumference.
In addition, the Canadian Experiment Station has originated some thornless
types of English plants, including the relatively thornless Captivator—all
reds and delicious. Excellent, hardy, Finnish varieties include the very
large, sweet Hinnomaki Yellow, which survives the severest of Finland
winters and the big-bushed Lepaa Red, which is resistant to mildew.
A tree form of English gooseberry has been produced in America by grafting
Ribes grossularia on vigourous understock of the mountain currant, Ribes
aureum. The best source for English, Canadian, and Finnish gooseberries in
the United States is the Southmeadow Fruit Gardens, which offers a full 16
varieties. Another source would be English nurseries like Thompson and
Morgan, which may be able to put you in touch with English growers who
specialize in gooseberries. These specialists might also be able to supply
you with bushes of the following highly recommended types, which I’ve
found in old English gardening books but can locate nowhere. The
asterisked varieties have been recommended by writers for their large
size, while all others have been praised for their flavor.
Conquering Hero, *Crown Bob*, Dan’s Mistake, *Dr. Hogg,
Henson’s Seedling, Ironmonger, Keen’s Seedling, Lion’s Provider, London,
*Miss Bold, Monarch, Plough Boy, Raspberry, Red Champagne, Red Turkey, Red
Warrington, Rifleman, Rough Red, Wilmout’s Early Red, Wonderful.*.
Broom Girl, Criterion, Drill,* Fanny, Garibaldi,* Gipsy Queen,
High Sheriff, Lord Rancliffe, Moreton Hero, Mount Pleasant,* Peru,*
Rumbullion, Smiling Beauty, Yellow Bill, Yellow Champagne.
Glenton Green, Green Gascoigne, Green London,* Green Overall, Green River,
Green Walnut, Gregory’s Perfection, Heart of Oak, Hebburn Perfection,
Jolly Anglers, Keepsake, Laurel, Lord Eldon, Pitmaston Greenage, Random
Green, Roseberry, Stockwell, Telegraph,* Thumper,* Thunder.
Abraham Newland, Adam’s Snowball, Antagonist,* Bright Venus, Careless,*
Cheshire Lass, Crystal, Early White, Hero of the Nile,* King of Trumps,
Lady Leicester, Mayor of Oldham, Princess Royal, Queen of Trumps,* Royal
White, Snowdrop, White Champagne, White Fig, Woodward’s Whitesmith.
GOOSEBERRIES TO GATHER
The name “gooseberry” has been applied to many fruits growing
in the wild. A number of these, like the Indian gooseberry (Vaccinium
Frondosum), are not true gooseberries despite their resemblance to the
plant and have not place here. But others deserve mention as possible
garden curiosities, or for those who wish to gather their gooseberries in
the wild. I know of no nurseries offering these, so only gardeners willing
to search the woods can sample them or bring back cuttings to plant:
RIBES HIRTELLUM. The American wild gooseberry or currant gooseberry.
Small, purpulisy-black fruits less than half an inch diameter on a very
RIBES OXYCANTHOIDES. The wild mountain gooseberry. Has reddish-purple
berries half and inch in diameter.
RIBES ROTUNDIFOLIUM. Good-flavored, glabrous, purple fruit on a plant
armed with small, inconspicuous solitary thorns.
RIBES CYNOSBATI. The prickly gooseberry. Dark-brown, eatable berries on a
thorny plant found in the Catskills and North Carolina.
RIBES DIVARICATUM. Small, purplish-black, glabrous berries one third of an
inch in diameter on a large shrub that grows up to 10 feet tall and is
armed with large thorns nearly an inch long.
RIBES VALDIVIANUM. Very similar to the above except that the shrub grows
to only about 6 feet tall and is more branching in habit.
RIBES LACUSTRE. The swamp gooseberry. Thoreau mentions this native plant
in his Maine Woods, recalling how he “saw the swamp gooseberry with green
WHEN, WHERE, AND HOW TO PLANT
Autumn or early spring is the best time to transplant gooseberries, the
earlier the better in spring, as the buds open with the first seasonal
warmth. Gooseberries tolerate cold well and prefer a moist, partially
shaded spot in the garden. Shade is particularly important in hot
climates, where the plant finds it tough going. Remember that gooseberries
can find it tough going. Remember that gooseberries can stand more shade
than any other cultivated fruit; about half day’s sun is all they need.
The English varieties especially dislike hot American summers and usually
refuse to grow well except close to the Great Lakes and along the northern
Atlantic and Pacific coasts. You might have good luck with them elsewhere,
however, by planting bushes on the north or east sides of buildings,
fences, hedges, or arbors, or even by planting them elsewhere, however, by
planting bushes on the north or east sides of buildings, fences, hedges,
or arbors, or even by planting them in the shade of trees.
Gooseberries flourish in many soils, but rich, moist, well-drained clay
loams yield the best fruits. The plants generally do poorly in light loams
or in sandy soils, and in dry soils they often suffer from premature
falling of fruit. Though gooseberries will survive in the average good
garden soil that grows flowers and vegetables, try to select a rich, moist
soil. If this isn’t possible, remember the old gardening maxim that it is
better to plants a ten-cent plant in a dollar hole than in a ten-cent
hole. Work plenty of well-rotted manure and compost into the planting area
and keep it well watered and mulched all summer long.
One gooseberry bush for every person in the family is recommended, since a
self-fruitful gooseberry bush yields 3 to 4 quarts of berries. Order
healthy one-year-old bushes for planting and set them into the ground 4 to
6 feet apart, in rows 5 to 8 feet apart if more than one row is planted.
The gooseberry is a compact bush that usually doesn’t need the greater
distances between plants except for very vigorous varieties, which are
generally the midseason types. Five feet apart each way is a good average
distance, if your supplier doesn’t specify otherwise. All varieties should
be pruned of damaged roots and set in their planting holes with their
lower branches a little below the soil to encourage them to grow into a
bush form. Once they are planted, water deeply and mulch the bushes to a
height of 3 inches with sawdust, hay, straw, well-rotted manure, corncobs,
or grass clippings to preserve moisture and keep the roots cool. (See
Appendix II for other mulches.)
Gooseberries do well in partial shade, and there’s usually shady space to
spare in most gardens. Since the bushes grow only about 3 feet high and
take up very little space, a single gooseberry, with its attractive
foliage, can be set in among foundations or border plantings. Or a bush
can be planted in a fence row, or between young fruit trees and
Another space-saving alternative is to prune gooseberry plants to a singe
teen stem and grow them as standards, which do not yield as well but give
bigger berries and can be planted much closer together in the garden row.
The bushes can also be trained as espaliers: against a wall with a
northern aspect where summers are very hot, or on a southern wall where
there isn’t much sunshine.
Gooseberries bear fruit buds at the base of one-year-old wood
and form spurs on older wood. The bushes will yield for a long time
without pruning, but will bear more fruit and larger berries if pruned
every year. Pruning should be done when the plants are dormant-after the
berries fall in autumn and before growth begins in spring. The first year,
after the fruit is picked, cut out all weak shoots at the base, leaving
about six strong branches. In subsequent years remove all branches older
than three years and limit each plant to about fifteen strong branches
very close to the ground. Since the best fruit is borne on two-tear-old
canes and shoots from three-year-old canes, this pruning practice will
ensure good quality. After the third year, a well-pruned bush should
ideally have five three-year old canes, five two-year old canes, and five
one-year-old canes of the previous summer’s growth.
Pruning is sometimes necessary to prevent powdery mildew on gooseberries.
European varieties are especially susceptible to this disease, which can
often be discouraged by keeping an open head on the bushes; that is, by
cutting out twigs to develop open-spreading tops that aren’t too dense.
For the same reason, cut out all branches that lie too close to the
ground. On the other hand, gooseberries grown in the South should not be
pruned too thin, as a dense-headed bush will provide shade for the fruit.
When gooseberries are trained as espaliers against a wall, the fan system
of training may adopted, part of the old wood being pruned annually. Or
young plants can be planted 3 feet apart along the wall and pruned so that
three shoots from each run perpendicularly along the wall at equal
Where gooseberries are not thinned by pruning-and some British gardeners
prefer to do no pruning at all-branches heavily laden with freight on
pendulous varieties can be prevented from touching the ground by propping
them with forked sticks.
CARE OF GOOSEBERRIES
Though gooseberries are heavy feeders, they will need no additional
fertilizing the first year if plenty of decayed manure is worked into the
soil at planting time. Every autumn thereafter work manure, bone mean, or
cottonseed meal into the soil near the outer branch line of each plant,
being careful not to disturb the shallow roots, and replenish the mulch
around them. Other choices are to fertilize with 8 ounces of nitrate per
plant, or a couple of handfuls of 5-10—5 fertilizer per bush. Where soils
are very light, an application of sulfate of potash at about 4 ounces per
plant every other year will prove helpful.
A good way to promote deep root growth in gooseberries is to fertilize
down to a depth of about 8 inches by forcing a spading fork into the
ground in a circle around the outer edge of a plant and filling the holes
with fertilizer. Remember to use only one of the above fertilizing methods
every year. Overfertilizing gooseberries often results in lost of foliage
and no fruit. Should this prove a problem, try not fertilizing for two
years and see if the bushes begin to bear.
Watering and Weeding
Use a deep mulch and practically all watering and weeding of gooseberries
is eliminated. Manure, sawdust, or hay make the best mulches for the
plants (see also Appendix II). Be certain, however, that the mulch is
restored from year to year, as it breaks down, and water occasionally so
that the ground never dries out around the bushes. If you choose not to
mulch plants, water frequently and weed the plants carefully, never
disturbing the roots by cultivating too deeply.
Insect Pests and Diseases
You may never be bothered with insect’s pests or diseases on young
gooseberry bushes, but the plants are not immune to predators. Here are
the most troublesome ones and ways to combat them.
POWDERY MILDEW. Furry white to light brown patches on the leaves, canes,
fruit is usually evidence of this fungus disease, which occurs in wet
areas, generally in spring and fall, and can cause defoliation and thus a
sparser crop the next year. As noted, pruning will discourage powdery
mildew-plants with at least a half-day of sun and adequate air circulation
aren’t severely affected by it. The disease can also be controlled by
spraying with either Bordeaux mixture; dormant spray of lime sulfur; the
fungicides Karathane or Miragard; or various all purpose fruit tree
sprays. Be sure to follow the manufacturers directions carefully when
using any of these sprays. And burn all branches infected with powdery
mildew that are pruned from gooseberry bushes.
LEAF SPOT DISEASE. Dark spots on older leaves, canes, and fruits,
beginning on lower leaves and resulting in the defoliation of plants
toward the end of summer if not treated. Often occurs in wet areas. Spray
the plants with Bordeaux mixture as soon as leaf spot disease appears. The
following year spray three times: after blossoms fall, after harvesting
fruit and three weeks after harvest. Help prevent the disease by
refraining from fertilizing too heavily with nitrogen.
ANTHRACNOSE. Use the same treatments as for Leaf Spot Disease, above.
Welcome is a particularly anthracnose-resistant variety.
CURRANT BORER. Yellowish white grubs or caterpillars that bore inside the
canes in spring, leaving dead, hollow canes with black centers and causing
the dwarfing of the plant. The only control here is to cut off the
infected canes at ground level and burn them immediately.
IMPORTD CURRANT WORM. Large (up to one inch long) green worms with black
spots that attack in early summer and can strip a bush of leaves in a few
days. Handpicking the worms is possible if you have only a few bushes, but
extensive plantings are best sprayed with Sevin or dusted with Garden
Guard, rotenone, or pyrethrum as soon as damaged is noticed.
CURRANT FRUITWORMS. Small (1/3 inch), tapering, whitish maggots of small
yellow flies. Adults are gray moths. The worms bore into fruit, causing
them to redden prematurely and drop off. Controls are the same as for the
Imported Currant Worm, above.
CURRANT APHID. Small, yellowish to dark green plant lice, which suck juice
from the underside of leaves, causing them to become crinkled and red and
curl downward. Probably the worst pest of gooseberries, aphids can
sometime be controlled by handpicking the curled leaves and destroying
them, or by spraying the leaves thoroughly (on both sides) with an organic
spray made of garlic, oil, and green soap. Ladybugs introduced into the
garden will also control them. Chemical controls includes include a
dormant lime sulfur spray used before the buds swell in spring to kill the
aphid eggs, and malathion 50 per cent spray used when the insects appear.
SCALE. Various types (brown, elongate, tapering, or round waxy scale)
under which the tiny insects live usually at the bases of canes. Spray
with superior type dormant oil emulsion before growth starts in spring,
and repeat, using low dosage, just before and after blooming. Ladybugs
introduced into the garden also help control scale, feasting on the
MITES. Use the same treatment as for Scale, above.
BIRDS. Birds sometimes damage gooseberry fruits but can be thwarted by
netting the fruits as they ripen. Birds do far more good than bad,
however, devouring currant worms and other pest.
PROPAGATING GOOSEBERRIES AND CREATING NEW
Gooseberries can be increased by seeds, hard- and softwood cuttings, or
layers. Propagating the fruit by seed is only done to originate new
varieties, as none of the existing varieties reproduce themselves true
from seed; often, in fact, the fruit of seed propagated gooseberry bushes
is a different color than that of the parent plant. If you want to create
new gooseberry varieties, just take seed form a ripe fruit, wash it
thoroughly, removing the pulp, and dry it on a piece of paper. Sow the
seed in the open ground in spring after all danger of frost, covering with
about an inch of light soil. The young seedlings will be big enough for
transplanting the following autumn and should fruit after about three
years of growth.
Propagation by cuttings is the commonest method of increasing
gooseberries, though the cuttings do not always ‘take.’ Hardwood cuttings
are generally used, these taken in early autumn, but gooseberries will
also root from half ripe cuttings in summer. In the fall, strong, well
ripened, one-year shoots should be selected and cut off at their junction
with the older wood. Trim each cutting to about 10 to 12 inches long and
remove all eyes or buds from the lower half of the cutting. Insert the
cuttings about 6 inches apart in a 4 inch deep trench in open, moist
ground, and then fill in the trench. Another method is to store the
cuttings in sand, sawdust, or peat mossin a cool place over the winter and
then plant them in the spring. In either case, give them 1 to 2 years in a
protected location before transplanting to their permanent place in the
Layering is the easiest way to propagate gooseberries. One method is
simply to lay a large branch on the ground, peg it into the earth with a
clothespin (or wedge it down with a rock), and cover it with light soil,
taking care not to bury the tip. The new plant should be rooted and can be
moved to another location the same season. An alternate method is to mound
layer one old plant. In about mid July slit the stem bark on as many
branches as you want new plants from. Then mound soil over the base of the
entire plant, covering the wounded areas on each branch. When roots form
in the wounded places, usually by the following autumn, the newly formed
plants are severed from the mother plant and set out in their permanent
location. The major problem with all types of layering-something adherents
of the method seldom point out-is that plants from layers are not so
symmetrical as those raised from cuttings.
Except for the thornless varieties and ‘underslung’ types like Pixwell,
gooseberries are the most hazardous fruit to pick, since the canes and
shoots are adorned with abundant thorns. Each gooseberry bud produces 1 to
3 berries, not big clusters of berries like currants. The bushes berries,
not big clusters of berries like currants. The bushes bear at 2 to 3 years
old and are producing big crops by the time they’re 4 to 5. the best way
to harvest them is to don a pair of heavy work gloves, steadying a can
with one hand stripping the berries off with the other –the few leaves
that come off with the berries can be removed from the basket later. Some
gardeners combine pruning with picking, cutting off branches that must be
pruned and taking the severed branches to a table where they can sit down
and pick at ease. Both the stems on one end of the gooseberries and the
blossom collars on the other end should be removed when the berries are
prepared for eating or recipes.
Here are some traditional gooseberry recipes-many of them British
favorites for centuries-and a few mouthwatering innovations as well.
1 pound green 1-pint water
Gooseberries 1-cup heavy cream,
½ cup sugar whipped
Stew the gooseberries with sugar in one pint of water until they are very
soft. Puree` through a food mill, taste for sweetness, and chill before
serving with whipped cream.
Wash 4 cups of gooseberries and drain. Cook slowly with 1 ½ cups sugar and
¼ cup water until berries are tender, stirring constantly until sugar is
dissolved. Add 1 tablespoon solid shortening and 1 teaspoon grated lemon
rind. Pour into baked tart shells and garnish with whipped cream.
Boil 6 pounds of unripe green gooseberries in 6 pints of water until soft.
Pour them into a bowl and let stand covered with a cloth for 24 hours.
Then strain through a jelly bag, and to every 2 cups of juice add 1 pound
of sugar. Boil the jelly 1 hour, then skim it and boil for ½ hour longer.
Take 6 pounds of gooseberries that are nearly ripe and 3 pounds of sugar,
2 cups of vinegar, and boil all together until quite thick. Season to suit
your taste with ground cloves and cinnamon. This is eaten with meats and
keeps a long time.
Eight pound of ripe fruit, 2 cups of vinegar, 4 pounds of brown sugar, 2
ounces each fine cloves and cinnamon tied in a bag. Cook the berries,
vinegar, and sugar over medium heat for 3 to 4 hours, then add the spice,
boiling a little more. Put the catsup in a jar and cover it well.
Add 1 pint of vinegar and 3 pounds of sugar to 6 pounds of gooseberries.
Cook over medium heat 20 minutes. Add 3 more pounds of sugar and cook 20
minutes longer. Seal in glass jars.
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