Culture guide for growing gooseberry

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1. GENERAL
Gooseberries, compared to e.g. other berries, are more shade tolerant. This characteristic can be used to lengthen the harvesting period of the same variety of gooseberry. Do note that planting gooseberries in shaded positions, might influence the infection rate of mildew (tolerant varieties) Also the taste of the gooseberry may be more tart when planted in deep shade. However, most varieties can also in planted in sunny places, although very intense sun can give sunburn to the berries of several varities (checklist). Gooseberries can very well be planted under other fruit trees as seperate bush, but also mixed into flower gardens, trained as hedges or as mini-tree at the entrance of the garden, as mini-stemmed bushes in flower beds, as focus points,… For gooseberry culture they are trained as cordons.
Gooseberries flower early, so the flowers can be damaged by (night) frost starting from - 3°C. So it's best to place them in a sheltered position, or to choose late flowering varieties. The bushes can tolerate temperatures of - 18°C. Some gooseberry varieties have an interesting autumn colouring of the leaves…

2. SOIL AND FEEDING
Gooseberries can grow on most soils. They prefer a soil with a lot of humus (woodland plants). It is best to dig the soil up to 40 cm deep and add a lot of compost or well rotted manure in August/September. The bushes can then be planted end October up to March - when weather conditions allow it.
In ecologic agriculture, plants are fertilized with slow acting organic fertilizer. For berries this has some advantages as they preferantiate organic matter. This preference adds to the known advantages of organic fertilizers: they do not just bring the necessary feeding stuf in the ground, they also improve the soil structure and moisture retention of the soil. It is also known that they release their feeding matter over a longer period of time.
Compost
As basic fertilizer we use best good old compost. Before planting you can also use well rotted manure, which has to be dug un. Also compost put on the soil before planting has to be forked in.
After planting it is advised to add extra compost around the stem of the young bushes.
When the following volumes of compost are added, all nutritional demands will be met exept for potassium, starting from a good garden soil.
Sandy soil : 400 kg compost/100 m²/=1.28 Kg potassium
Sandy loam : 250 kg compost/100 m²/=0.8 Kg potassium
Loamy soil : 200 kg compost/100 m²/=0.64 Kg potassium
Clay : 350 kg compost/100 m²/=1.12 Kg potassium
When we calculate 3 m² per bush, you can calculate the volume of compost you will need. It is best to place this volume of compost in a circular space of 80 cm around the plant.
The best time to place the compost in early spring. Some people prefer to give the compost in two gifts, one in the early spring and the other half after the fruits start forming. The compost gift also suppresses weeds and keeps the soil covered.
Berries need about 1.4 kg kalium pro 100 m², what is a very high demand. By adding 100 kg of regular compost you make 0,32 Kg of kalium available for the plants.
So it will be necessary to add extra potassium, or by increasing the compost volume (inly advised on poor or very heavy soils) or by giving extra potassium of an ecological source (as wood ash).
Woodash contains about 33% calcium, 10 % potassium and 5% manganese.
With this information you can calculate the extra gifts you will have to give to your berries. Do note that wood ash contains a high volume of calcium. This volume you do have to deduct this from the calcium fertilizer.
Of course if your soil pH is to high you cannot use woodash and will have to use other products (patentkali,...)
To give the soil an optimal pH you first need to measure this and then correct it or maintaine it.
restoring pH by adding extra calcium, when pH is too low. Depending on the type of soil you will have to add extra volume of calcium. The heavier the soil the more calcium you will have to add. When volumes of calcium are important; it is advised to spread the gifts over a few years.
When pH is to high, you will have to add acid materials (pine needle compost,...) to reduce the value.
When pH is OK, you will have to adde regularly a small gift of calcium. The needed volume differs from the type of soil:

calcium gift

soil type:	kg calcium to increase pH with 1	maximal quantity of calcium pro year (kg/100m²)
sand	30-50	10
sandy loam	40-60	20
loam	40-60	20
clay	60-80	40

The calcium for restoring the pH should be given before planting in autumn, preferrably on a dry soil.
Standard calcium gift should be given at the end of the winter.

Once bushes are planted, it is best to keep the soil covered (mulch), to suppress weeds.

3. PLANTING
It may be interesting to know the growth habit of the variety, as some gooseberries are growing with stiff, upright branches, while others have weeping branches. So forming a bush with a weeping growth will be much more difficult than with a stiff upright growth. It may also be interesting for the home gardener to plant a bush alternated with a tree on a stem of 60-80 cm. In this case you can plant a double number of plants on the same surface and harvest fruit on two levels.
Bushes: are planted 1.5 m apart in the row with 2 m in between rows. They are always planted at the same depth as in the nursery (to prevent ground shoots). Make the hole big enough to put the root ball in with all the roots well outstretched. Fill the hole with the soil. Tighten the soil with your foot. Water well and add some mulch material. (In the event of dry periods occurring, keep the soil humid but not wet)

4. PRUNING
Once you have planted a young bush, the shoots are cut back to about 10 cm (just above a bud oriented towards the outside). The next growing season this will give several strong shoots of which we keep 5 - 6, divided over 30 cm and well placed (= strong shoots, growing upright under an angle), the other shoots are pruned away. Principally, shoots are always pruned at a bud pointing outwards. For "weeping" varieties, we choose a bud pointing upwards (to avoid branches touching the ground) The selected shoots are cut back to the same length (about half of the growth).
Regular pruning
Do note that: - Gooseberries flower mostly on one year old shoots (= formed the previous season), so pruning should result in sufficient new growth.
a. ground shoots are cut back.
b. Shoots growing into the heart of the bush are removed
c. Suckers (shoots growing vigorously upright, going straight through the bush) are removed
d. Weeping shoots are cut back to a side branch pointing upwards. This side shoot is pruned to half its length (bud pointing upwards)
e. To allow light and air in the bush, the bushes are thinned. We allow only new shoots separated about 10 cm apart.
These young shoots are not pruned, unless some of them unbalance the shrub. Mildew sensitive varieties sometimes are topped to take away the infested short ends (need to be burned!). This 'topping' is best performed when berries have been picked (= summer, late summer). f. Rejuvenating: to replace an old shoot with a lot of side shoots, this shoot can be cut back to a young powerful side shoot. This side shoot is then cut back to 1/3 - 1/2 of its length to a well-oriented bud. In the next two years this shoot will develop into a new fruiting shoot. When a shoot is rejuvenated every 2-3 years, gooseberry bushes can be kept very healthy and in excellent condition for up to 25 (and more) years…

Shrubs on a stem are treated the same way as an ordinary bush.

Cordon:
The big advantage - also for the home gardener - of a cordon are the better accessibility of the bushes (so picking the berries will be less cumbersome, and often less prickly). - Poles are planted and 5-6 wires are placed 25 m apart.

Long pruning
Bushes are planted 65 cm apart in the row. When people choose to keep 2 or 3 stems, distances become 90 and 120 cm respectively.     The top shoot is tied to the wires, till it reaches the maximal allowed height. Side shoots are also tied to the wires, so they always form a slight upright angle to the stem. Side shoots competing with the top shoot are cut back completely. In winter only side shoots growing out of the hedge are kept (not cut). The others are cut off. Weak growing new shoots (- 40 cm) are left unpruned. During the next years new young ones replace old side shoots. Do keep sufficient distance between the side shoots (picking, airflow, light,...)


Short pruning
Distance between the stems is 35-40 cm. In most cases only one stem/bush is advised.
    During summer the side shoots are pruned at a length of 20 cm. The top shoot is not pruned and has to be tied up regularly till the desired height is reached. From then on the top shoot is pruned in the same way as the side shoot. During winter, the side shoots are cut back to 3-5 buds. After a few years, side shoots will be pruned back to a few cm from the stem. For cordons pruned according to this method, distance between the rows can be reduced to 1.5 m.


Trees
A shrub on a stem is not often used. Sometimes a plant is grown on a short stem (8 - 15 cm) of the variety. In other cases, the variety is grafted onto a high stem of another Ribes species. The pruning is identical to that for the shrub.

Neglected plants
Neglected plants should be put into good shape over two seasons.

The first season all dead and infected wood is cut out. Branches that have grown too long and are laying on the ground (and maybe developed some roots) are pruned back. When this is done one should be able to move his hand up to the center of the bush. If this is not yet possible, some shoots should be cut back to let more air into the shrub. It is best to look for some 4 - 8 good placed branches. During summer the berries can be picked. Next autumn/winter some older wood is replaced by new shoots that developed during the summer. From now on, the shrub can be pruned as any regular shrub.

5. OTHER CARE
- Keep the soil the year round free from weeds - Add regularly a new cover of mulch - When you prefer not to use mulch, be careful using a hoe or a machine, as the roots are only just beneath the surface. - It will be clear that shrubs on a stem or grown as a cordon are much easier to keep weed free.

6. HARVEST
Gooseberries cannot only be eaten when ripe (from June onwards), they can also be harvested before ripening completely to be used in cooking, cakes... This early harvest has long been used to prepare pectin basis, to be used for making industrial jam. The variety White Smith has been grown for this purpose on a massive scale. Nowadays pectin is produced from apples and the use of gooseberry pectin on an industrial scale has been abandoned.

As soon as the berries feel a little bit soft, they can be picked for eating. When they are picked before this time, they are very tart. The berries do not ripen all at the same time, so several pickings will be necessary.

When the right choice of varieties are planted, fresh gooseberries can be picked from mid-June up to mid-September.

7. STORAGE
- Fresh gooseberries cannot be stored to last through winter. - Surpluses of berries can be made into jam or jellies, or can be pasteurised. - Fresh berries (unripe) can easily be stored frozen to be used as pie decoration - Unripe berries can be used to prepare your own pectin source to be included in other jams (see Uses)

8. VARIETIES
There are publications indicating over 4000 varieties. Probably a lot of these are synonyms. A lot of cultivars were developed in the U.K. so most names were English. Often names were translated or nurseries renamed varieties… We are trying to collect information and put this in a variety list (see Variety list).
The past decades several new cultivars have been introduced that are mildew tolerant. A lot of research has been done in Germany (Bauer), but also in the U.K., Czech Republic, Poland, Russia,... (see Tolerant gooseberry list)

9. BUYING PLANTS
Professional nurseries often grow a limited number of varieties that reflects what the wholesale market is asking for. In most cases this are red, large fruited varieties with a medium taste but a long (fresh) storage life.
Professional growers wanting to sell mildew tolerant gooseberries might have more difficulties to obtain sufficient plants from the nurseries, and are often confronted with the fact they will have to breed their own plants.
As professional nurseries are often not selling to private persons, the home grower might be confronted with even more barriers to find good cultivars.
Small nurseries and garden centres often sell unnamed cultivars. It is advisable for home gardeners to visit a gooseberry collection, taste the different varieties and then make a choice. With the personal advice given to you by the collection keeper, you will be certain to make a good start.
Mail order companies have the drawback you cannot judge the quality of the plant, so you will just have to hope they are reliable. (see BUYING)

Personally we would suggest to select only 'tolerant varieties' (see Tolerant gooseberry list)

10. MULTIPLYING
- Some varieties might prove to be difficult to multiply by cuttings. Do not be disappointed, there may be several reasons for this:
Variety
Experience has shown that American varieties are much easier to multiply by cuttings than most European varieties.
Cutting material
A regular cutting is made out of a shoot of at least 25 cm (5 - 6 buds) long and 5 mm thick (or more) . All buds, apart from the top 3-4 are removed to avoid suckers growing from the base.

A shield cutting is a similar cutting with a shield of old material at the base (the shoot is torn of the old stem, so a small piece of old wood comes of)
Timing
- generally the best period to take cuttings is at the end of August/early September (do remove all but the top leaves).
- Winter cuttings in October might also work.
- When cuttings are stored in a cold room, often callus will form on the basal end. When these are planted by the end of March, the growth rate will be nearly 100%.
Place
-A shaded place with a sufficiently humid soil is required (cf. cold frame)
- A sandy soil with a lot of humus will do best.
It is advisable to remove all the buds of the lowest 2/3 of the cutting. You then place the cutting for 2/3 in the soil.
Be aware of pests and diseases
(See pests and diseases)

At the end of the next growing season they should have developed roots and shoots. Then you can plant them out and prune them accordingly.


11.REFERENCES
(Literature list)


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