A gooseberry propogation tip

[pigletwillie]

I always used to take cuttings from the prunings when sorting out my gooseberries in the autumn. They were put several to a pot and then potted on individually in the spring when they started to shoot.

Now however I have way that gives you instant 1 year old bushes. In the spring, peg down into the soil a couple of low lying branches. They will fruit as normal but come the autumn if you remove the peg you will find that the branch has rooted and just needs lifting gently, cutting off, and potting on in John Innes no3 for your well established extra plant.

[bramble]

Nice one PW, will be doing that with my bushes. Did'nt know you could propogate goosberries. Keep on coming with those money saving tips.

[Hazel at the Hill]

How long do gooseberrie bushes last? The ones on the next door plot look old and a bit scabby, really, and I wondered if you should take cuttings and replace the bushes every few years?

[veg4681]

How long do gooseberrie bushes last? The ones on the next door plot look old and a bit scabby, really, and I wondered if you should take cuttings and replace the bushes every few years?

I don't think that they ever die! Mine are well over 10 years (lost count) and I've never been able to work out how to kill them. I've pruned them right down to the bottom but they keep coming every year. I'm not keen on digging them out because I don't want to disturb the black mulching sheet covered with wood bark chipping around them.

I don't get a substantial crop because I neglect them (nobody here likes the taste) so from my experience they're pretty resilient. Then again mine aren't unhealthy looking, so maybe worthwhile to take a cutting just in case.

[Seahorse]

Very handy tip! Thankyou PW!

Claire

[bazzaboy]

I agree with you veg, I think they're pretty indestructible... and probably by cutting yours back severely you're signalling to the plant "Oh he likes me, here we go again, youthfulness reborn!" and strong fresh growth emerges at speed! I mistreat mine every year (not quite as severely as you!) - and they must be 10 years old now - and they never fail to give more fruit than I can pick (because picking IS a fairly painful exercise...). If you really want to destroy it without digging it up, cut the main stems low and parallel to the ground, drill/dig a hole in the stems to make a little hollow/cup and put in some creosote or similar (and the poor bush will think "Oh he doesn't like me after all!" and give up.) But before you do that I want to sing the praises of the 'umble gooseberry. I don't know what type of gooseberry you have but if it's the hard green sort try doing things with 'em BEFORE they fully ripen (i.e. when still hard and frankly very tart/sour and quite inedible until processed in some way...) There's loads of recipes on the Net - I don't aspire to much beyond the 'umble crumble myself - but they're delicious. And what's even better they're EARLY... one of the first fruits (e.g. before red/white/blackcurrants). Those of a gourmet nature can make inspiring relishes to accompany fish or whatever. And wine of course, chutneys, jams etc etc. I always think the automatic association with "gooseberry fool" has done the gooseberry a mis-service, it's a dependable servant (but get it early!)

Incidentally Piglet's ace layering technique can be used on other "soft" fruit bushes and vines; it even works with fig trees (don't know about one in a pot but a more substantial figtree will usually have branches brushing the ground...). Raspberries of course effectively do it for themselves (and come up in the most unhelpful of places ).

bb

[Flummery]

My gooseberry bush has a gravel path next to it and seeds prolifically into it. I just hoik 'em up but I have wondered whether they would come true. Odd question being as I inherited the bush and don't know it's name - true to what? What I mean is, I have a brilliant gooseberry bush and will I have the same, or a random decendent, if I pot up a sprog. Anyone know?

[Farmer_Gyles]

i've taken cuttings and potted them, hopefully they'll grow - still have lots of longer branches so will peg a few down to see if they root - would be nice to have a few more gooseberries!

[pigletwillie]

A very under rated fruit the umble goozegog. The desert varieties when ripe are delicious.

"God gave us gooseberries for where grapes won't grow"

[Madasafish]

Our gooseberry bushes were old - when we moved here 25 years ago.

I have taken cuttings - last year - and they are growing nicely. I don't bother with layering cos it takes up too much space.
Autumn cutting grow with total neglect.
I leave the berries until almost falling off - they are then nicely soft and over-ripe and sweet.(I treat damsons the same).

[scared55]

A very under rated fruit the umble goozegog. The desert varieties when ripe are delicious.

"God gave us gooseberries for where grapes won't grow"

or

You never find hairs on an elephant
but you always find hairs on an ape
and it's only the hairs on a gooseberry
that stop ir ftom being a grape

boom boom

KK

[scared55]

Our gooseberry bushes were old - when we moved here 25 years ago.

We put two new ones in this year - one of them we called "a gooseberry bush" because it prodiced a gooseberry - which was eaten by something before we thought it was ready to harvest and fight over!

We have high hopes for all sorts of things next year, hoping against hope that the lack of productivity on the new fruit trees this year was related the the weather.

The area we planted them all, which we laughingly call our orchard, has not grown anything beyond grass and weeds for at least five years - maybe a great deal longer. I think the land was used for animals for a long, long time, with a small vegetable plot at the top . That part was stupendous in its fertility!

KK

[veg4681]

I agree with you veg, I think they're pretty indestructible.

they never fail to give more fruit than I can pick (because picking IS a fairly painful exercise...

There's loads of recipes on the Net - I don't aspire to much beyond the 'umble crumble myself - but they're delicious. And what's even better they're EARLY... one of the first fruits (e.g. before red/white/blackcurrants). Those of a gourmet nature can make inspiring relishes to accompany fish or whatever. And wine of course, chutneys, jams etc etc. I always think the automatic association with "gooseberry fool" has done the gooseberry a mis-service, it's a dependable servant (but get it early!)
bb

LOL yes picking is fairly painful task with them thorns, part of the reason why I couldn't be bothered with gooseberries. However since clearing my back garden, access is much better now. I'm sure I'll never bring myself to kill the loyal, humble bushes as they provide berries for the birds. I think one of my bushes is a red variety called Rolanda, sweet enough to eat outright when they're very ripe.

I've tried the gooseberry fool, gooseberry pie, maybe I'll give gooseberry & apricot stuffing for chicken and gooseberry sauce for mackeral a try from my recipe collection. Think you can also make gooseberry ice-cream. I don't I think fancy chutney or jam as there are better fruits for this (for me personally). Okay for next year, I'll try to extract a harvest with a bit of TLC.

[veg4681]

"God gave us gooseberries for where grapes won't grow"

Quite right too! Maybe why I could never kill it so I must have a conscience about the under rated gooze

[SueA]

Thanks Piglet, I didn't know you could layer gooseberries & might try it next spring if I can find any flexible enough branches. At the moment my gooseberry bush looks very sad as it was stripped twice of it's leaves by sawfly, to be honest it looks dead but I'm hoping it has enough strength to carry on!