Grow Your Own Magazine

We have!!! Mr D spotted them on the gooseberry bushes (the ones he moved them from the back of the plot to the side in the winter) on plot 1! It'll be our first harvest of gooseberries, as last years were lost to mildew (hence the move as they were in a very sheltered and dark area of the plot!)

Anyone know when they'll be ready to harvest? They already are about 1" top to bottom in size!

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Blessings
Suzanne (aka Mrs Dobby)

'Garden naked - get some colour in your cheeks'!

The Dobby's Pumpkin Patch - a blogspot work in progress!
Last updated 12th September 2008 - updated balance sheet!

Yep, we've got several tiny ones on our 2 bushes (one purple, one green) that are in their second year. We had just the one gooseberry last year and didn't get to it before the birds...

I've got little ones about the size of my little fingernail. You can pick them green at about an inch and a half long for cooking, or leave them on the bush to ripen, when they will change colour (usually to red or a yellowish colour depending on variety) and soften when you can eat them fresh.

I have, but not one inch yet. Rescued plant that hadn't fruited for years apparently; so giving it TLC and amazed that I have any fruit at all.

My aunt used to make gooseberry jelly, I used to love it. i won't start looking for a recipe just yet, but will be doing so in the years to come.

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Andrea :wavehello

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...logs/zazen999/

moon trials completed:
tomatoes
[46% increase in crop per seed sown and 10% increase in crop per plant]

currently underway:
calabrese
garlic

Coooo you lucky b*ggers... I jut have healthy leaf growth here

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Shortie

"There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children; one of these is roots, the other wings" - Hodding Carter

me toooo,only tiny yet,

All the fruits are starting to form nicely, red/white and blackcurrants are developing well as are the gooseberries but still small.

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TonyF, Dordogne 24220

Mine are tiny,but lots of them - I have given them some extra tlc this year - mulched and de weeded and a tiny trim. Seems to be doing the trick. Im determined that the birds dont get them this year, so will net them also - is now too early to do it?
WEnt out looking for sawfly couple of days ago ,after seeing scary post on thevine but all is well.

I love gooseberry fool, our first year we made gooseberry ice cream which was delicious.

francesbean

I have lots about the size of a small marble.

I've had a problem this week with caterpillars, but they don't resemble the sawfly caterpillar as they are bright lime green (same colour as the leaf) with a black head! Any idea what type of caterpiller they are, they don't have the black spots described as the sawfly.

I'm going to net the gooseberries this weekend to stop the greedy pigeons, then hopefully by June they will be big and fat! The gooseberries not the pigeons

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Lumpyjumper

http://lumpyjumpers.blogspot.com

updated 28 Feb 08 - preparation for the growing season

Gosh Mrs D- you have certainly got green fingers!!!

Bit more of this sun and warmth and they should start to go paler and then soft-...then 'Bob's your Uncle' !!! ...get the custard ready!!

Watch out for jays/pigeons- they'll nick them as soon as they are nearly ready to pick!

Yep, here in Essex our Gooseberries are thriving, as are the jostaberries. I bottle the fruit and this week will see the last jar from 2007 go. I bottle apple, blackberry and apple, jostaberry and gooseberries if we leave enough. I froze one lot of fruit from a jar this week together with a couple of pots of joghurt - all pulped together and when it was very hot it made a lovely dessert (or smoothie mixed with a banana). Great stuff!

Mine are beginning to swell up. I don't usually harvest till well on in July. They are green gooseberries but turn slightly translucent if you know what I mean - then they are ready. You could alwyas try one! I like to take the big ones first and give the smaller ones another few weeks.

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Earth laughs in flowers. Ralph Waldo Emerson

www.vegheaven.blogspot.com

Updated September 29th - Bean drying.

yep mine are small but looks like a good crop

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Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful..William Morris

spotted mine yesterday after it spiked me..cant wait for them only had them once and there nice

Heres a pic for you to see.....

Attached Thumbnails

 

Nah Nicos, no green fingers, perhaps black muddy ones tho!! Actually, its Mr D thats sorted the goosegogs, they were hiden away at the back of the plot and got mildew last year, so he decided to move them to a more open position at the end of the fedge in a bed, and they've basically been left to it (with a bit of gentle prunning of course!)

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Blessings
Suzanne (aka Mrs Dobby)

'Garden naked - get some colour in your cheeks'!

The Dobby's Pumpkin Patch - a blogspot work in progress!
Last updated 12th September 2008 - updated balance sheet!

i got me some on my red himmokie goose bush there huge looking at them there nearly full size and about 35 of them this is my tallest bush as well, the green himmokie has got any on yet but the smallest bush, the green invicta has about 8 forming and the red pax has just two forming this week, the pax and invicta were planted a bit later, i dont know if the green him is just slow or a younger bush but the red is doing fantastic there all about 2-3 years old, i never wet the leaves when watering, and use liquid growmore and potash if the reds anything to go by there happy plants.

i've got little tiny ones and tiny currents of an as yet indeterminate type. Its very exciting.

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We plant the seed, nature grows the seed, we eat the seed - Neil, The Young Ones

http://countersthorpeallotment.blogspot.com/
Updated 8 June 2008

No gooseberries here yet but I've managed to save most of the leaves so far from the sawfly larvae, not noticed any flowers either though but the plant is in a pot & I only got it as a tiny baby last year!

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Into every life a little rain must fall.

I have teeny ones on a bushy standard plant. Last year the wasps had em.

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I wish i could make a yo-yo work.
http://www.guerrillagardening.org/

My Gooseberry bush was a rescued one from Wilko,the last living one in the shop by the look of the others,knocked down to £1(bargain!!)it's only got one sprig of leaves on it, just put it in the ground,so no goosegogs for me this year :-(

Lots of littlies; reckon they'll be ready in a couple of weeks. Keeping a good eye out for the blasted saw fly this year - he attacks every year but we always have good crops.

I have and had them since the end of April.
I had some mildew but killed it with washing soda and pruning.

How do you bottle the fruit ?

[quote=southlondongardener;230005]I have and had them since the end of April.
I had some mildew but killed it with washing soda and pruning.QUOTE]

Mine have got mildew How do you do the Soda thing?

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Always aim for the best result possible not the best possible result