Help with gooseberry varieties?

[southlondongardener]

Thanks a lot.

[Fruit_fanatic]

I am gathering information about gooseberries especially in connection with the Gooseberry Societies which used to (and still do) compete for the heaviest berry.
Dan's Mistake is an old variety that they no longer grow in the societies. Do you ahve the reference for the stry you quote? And do you have the variety in your collection?

[Fruit_fanatic]

Gooseberry plants grow very well from rooted cuttings and then you can make these into any shape you like. We propagate all ours from cuttings and make them into cordons for easier picking.

[swaine]

yes i do have dans mistake in my collection as well as about 50 other gooseberry verieties,
i will try to hunt out that perticular story,
have since found a reference to dans mistake,a unappeling seedling being stolen/aquired/collected from a gooseberry breeders compost heap, built up and was used to win a gooseberry show and was then named sarcastically dans mistake,
dan presumebly the original breeder?,
regards stew

[Speed Gardener]

I want to try growing some of the large exhibition varieties. I know London is a big one, and Brougham Hall's list also has one called Woodpecker as being a very large variety. Does anyone have any experience of Woodpecker?
I've looked around for tips on growing large gooseberries but there doesn't seem to be much info around. Is it just a case of thinning out the smaller ones, and if so at what stage in the fruiting?

[swaine]

woodpecker is quite large, but as youve mentioned it helps greatly if you do thin them out a bit to get really big goooseberries, i spoke to someone who does the goosberry competitions and they said soem of the gooseberries they use are named verieties, london, etc, but soem are home raised seedlings theyve worked on for 30/40 years plus, stew

ps you wont go wrong using rougham hall, there very good allround

[Tam]

I have just seen this thread. Careless has been mentioned, but this is really a culinary variety. The green and hairy immediately suggests "early green hairy" which is a small variety, but is not tart, but one of the sweetest varieties there is. "London", which held the record for the largest gooseberry for many years (I don't know if it still does) is well worth growing as it has a delicious flavour and is smooth skinned.