No berries on gooseberry plant

[ecudc]

I’ve got very little fruit this year however my neighbour who hates goosberries and has a poor tortured bush that’s trying to grow in between her water butt and my chicken wire has loads. I think maybe birds or maybe they like utter neglect... I don’t mind so much as I get to pick them anyway.

[the big lebowski]

do you have a net over them ? i have one on this year and ive got alot of fruit on mine ,havent had one one other years and they have been eaten by birds by now

[Ocelot]

One of mine has lost all its leave now, and has a solitary gooseberry. I wish I knew how to grow them, as I've only had one berry in ten years.

[Jonny.D]

I've also had very little fruit this year, loads of healthy growth, got the sawfly and aphids sorted, no birds to worry about due to the cat.

Thinking of chopping it down and putting strawberries in it's place

[Baldy]

\one plant out of 4 doing nothing - its getting the chop tomorrow...

[veggiechicken]

Just checked mine and - same as Marb - no fruit remaining although I knew there were small berries.
I'm blaming weather/birds - because I have to blame something.
The spiky Worcesterberries (similar to gooseberries but smaller) are covered in fruit - why couldn't they fall off instead of the goosegogs.

Just to add that I've found another bush, hidden away amongst a load of other plants and its covered in gooseberries - so I'm sure its birds that have been the problem here. The ones that have been stripped are young bushes and quite low - such that a fat woodpigeon could waddle beneath and eat the lot.

[Jay-ell]

I have to remember to tie up the plants to supports next visit. The weight of all the fruit on mine is bending all of them down to the ground.


(ducks into corner and hides)

[Jay-ell]

Here's my hedge after I tied it up


Close up


Let's see how many I get to before the birds

[nickdub]

Looking very good - I'd have to net them if I wanted any though, what with all the birds arounfd in my garden.

[Jay-ell]

Unfortunately it's against a 8' high post and wire fence that's 32 foot long - that would be one LARGE net to cover them.

[veggiechicken]

I found another gooseberry bush today, which is also in the middle of other bushes and under a hazel. I've been bunging odd plants in along the wire fence and I had genuinely forgotten it was there.
The good news - there were plenty of berries so I'm convinced that hiding them from birds is the answer.

[nickdub]

Unfortunately it's against a 8' high post and wire fence that's 32 foot long - that would be one LARGE net to cover them.

You're telling me - I bought a 12 x 4 m net earlier this year to part cover my bodged together cage ( I use wire netting for the bottom 1 meter) - I would get no ripe fruit at all if I didn't protect it, being surrounded on two sides with woodland and the other two with fields.