what do you think of these butes everyone on the plot says there are the bigest they have seen

the small one in the middle i took from my mates plot to show the difference the rest are mine

Wow HT, they're beautiful

They look fab HT

WOW, HT! Lovely!!!

I popped to Firry Bottom to have a gander, loads of rasps and blackcurrants etc but not one gooseberry... off 5 bushes... where did they go?

Smashing HT !! Bonzer size

Love 'em too ... must go pick mine ... have made Ice Cream already with some from last year !! Thought I'd put a few into wine ... recipe please someone !!

Then there are pies to cook, crumble to make, jam to spread ....

ooo yes has anyone got a recipee for goosegog Curd ... or goosegog fruit butter ?? Or do I have to convert one of my own !!

I've inherited 2 gooseberry bushes on my new plot. They are both absolutely
laden with fruit. I haven't bothered picking them coz I remember my dad growing them when we were kids .... and they were bitter!

Also inherited raspberries, blackcurrants & redcurrants. I got loads of fruit
off these. Made some nice fruit muffins & rest
of the fruit is now in the freezer

GV guzgogs have moved on a bit since you were a lad and most of them are sweet these days - when they're ripe that is - so give em a try. You might be pleasantly surprised

Good uns them HT

Wren we were looking at fruit bushes on a bloke's lotty yesterday and some of his blackcurrant bushes had come up blank while others had cropped well. All side by side in the same soil so it;'s a bit of a mystery

weird

Found out where mine went...... ma picked them...

guzgogs are nasty til ripe. Trouble is folks pick em when they're not ready

The red dessert types are big sweet and juicy. Not at all bitter so don't prejudge em . Have a taste

On one of the bushes, they are sort of slight red .... I'll take pics next time I'm there coz I don't have a clue about them. Maybe those will be nicer.

Ok, here are a couple of pics of the gooseberries on my plot. I haven't picked any and the birds don't seem to be going for them either .....

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Ooh they're lovely GV... The red ones taste really nice, I'm glad i tried one or two before the birds got them
I'm going to net mine next year

I might pick them tomorrow coz I just saw a recipe for gooseberry cheesecake, by flowerlady. Sounds gorgeous!

And tonight I bottled 5 jars goosegog chutney and 7 jars goosegog jelly ... the taste is scrummy and the colour is gorgeous.

Oh and have frozen about 12lbs for cheesecake, fool, ice-cream, one-crust pie bla bla ...

Love the look of the red ones GV, they look huge when you have picked the fruit ... can I scrounge a cutting !!!! Flo

If you want a red goosegog Flo, I can do better than a cutting, as I have two bushes that are going to bite the dust. Would have done this spring, if I hadn't been ill (and banned from digging). Gooseberries in the centre of an orchard are not a good idea... so if you want to come round this autumn when they've dropped their leaves, give them a severe prune then dig 'em up, you're welcome!

moonbells

Ooo lovely it's a date ... by then my scars should have healed from picking my own !!

I'd better warn you though, they are *large* upright bushes, and only fruit on wood that's at least a couple of years old. By large I mean 5-6' though I guess on the positive side, if they've enough room, you don't have to bend to pick them!

This was one of them after last year's prune. I lopped it back to about 2.5' and it's already back to fruiting height (and the main reason I can't get into the orchard area easily - gooseberry branches hidden by white bindweed is a lethal combination!)



moonbells

Well I like a good challenge

... I've got a couple of bottle of goosegog wine on the go too It's a very pretty pale green !!

wine... now that might be worth picking them for

Have you made it before? Is it nice?

Goosegog wine can be a bit harsh IMO. I suppose it depends on how ripe they are though. I think I would let them go over a bit.

wear lots of protective clothing