I’ve been picking gooseberries at the allotment this afternoon and I’d forgotten how much I love this red gooseberry.
I like the way it looks and the way it tastes, it is the sweetest gooseberry you can grow. It is also that most useful type of fruit that can be eaten freshly picked or cooked. I have 2 plants in my little fruit cage, each one produced 1kg of fruit this year.
They’re easy to grow, needing little attention or special growing conditions, but if they are given some love in the form of pruning, a nice mulch of well-rotted compost and water as they’re making fruit, the harvest will be much more rewarding.
They were bred in Finland, hence the interesting name, for hardiness and disease resistance, which is very handy for us organic gardeners.
Can I suggest you make room for one, even if you don’t have an allotment, they’ll only take up a 1 x 1m space, and it’s always nice to grow fruit that you can’t buy.
Happy gardening, Jill
photo: Jill Anderson
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