Gooseberries, blackcurrants, blueberries in containers

I think it doesn't really matter whatever pot size you use in the beginning so long they're not smaller than the fruit bush itself but you'll know when you need to pot up and the final pot size could be the those specified in your book. Just be a bit careful with gooseberry, they're not normally recommended for container growing and remember they're thorny.

I pot my blueberry in the largest pot that they supposedly grow up to but I'm beginning to think it's not necessary. I say because I saw this picture of potted blueberry in the Net somewhere, the bush was 3-4 times the size of mine yet the pot was smaller than mine and the plant looked very happy & healthy, not compromised. However I heard that bigger pots tend not to dry out as fast as smaller pots.

I think someone people do grow gooseberries in containers.

I've not grown a gooseberry bush in a container- but I did keep one in it's pot for over a year, and it was very happy there.
Do be aware that different varieties grow to different sizes, so that should be considered when choosing pot size.
They don't like having their roots disturbed, so I would be tempted to put one in a pot much bigger than it needs for now, which might cut out at least one or two times for potting on.
You can buy thorn less gooseberries by the way!
Just a thought!

OK. Healthy Spanner in the Works from Wellie....
I ran out of space for fruit in my garden within the first year of growing (very careless of me. Note to self: make room for fruit in next garden in France, DOH!) so I grew Redcurrants, Whitecurrants, Blackcurrants, Goosegogs (green and red), Blueberries etc. all in tubs, and they all performed beautifully. I'm thinking that things in tubs get 'ignored' and not fed and watered proply maybe sometimes.
BUT my point is here, that with most of the fruit bushes, you CAN probably successfully pot them on into much larger containers than they need straight away, but I don't like to. I think 'little and often' (i.e. a slightly bigger pot each year is fine) because they seem to struggle drastically to get their roots into LOADS more compost rather than a little at a time? and then you run into danger of overwatering the compost around the new roots so that they're struggling into waterlogged compost devoid of available nutrients. I've found this particularly true of my Blueberry plants. I've been over-keen to pot them on, when in fact, they aren't in the remotest way ready to be....
.... and I got an excellent crop from all of them last year, I seem to remember!

And remember with blueberries (myrtilles) they prefer and ericaceous soil and, if you can find them, a couple of good handfuls of pine needles as a dressing or dug into the soil in the pot - blueberries originate in places where there were/are pine forests and despite their breeding out from their original habitats, they still like it.

I use pine needles from our pine trees on the raised beds with the blueberries and they do very well.

I grew all my soft fruit in tubs last year because I hadn't the land prepared for them. This year I've transferred all but one gooseberry bush into the allotment soil.
Only problem with growing them in pots, as with anything, is they need to be constantly watered. In the soil, especially if you've added loads of FYM you should never need to water.

I looked at the rhs fruit book and they said :-
"A pot must be at least big enough for a plants' root system but no more than 3 inches wider ?"

Why ??? Why 3 inches and not 2 or 4 or 5 ? After all if you were to put them in a very very big pot it would be the same as putting them in the ground ?

I think the difference is because in a pot, compost that hasn't got root activity in it can go 'sour'. In the ground the plant can spread it's roots and make full use of any available nutrients. Thats why it is sometimes opportune to scrape away compost from the top of the pot and replace with fresh topdressing.

Thanks for that but do you have any information about compost going sour ?