June is a busy month:
1° All varieties are developing fruits. The early varieties will be ripe in the
second half of June and should be picked in time for cooking purposes. For desert
use you can pick them fresh from the bush, or a week before ripening for selling
purpose.
2° Prepare the netting of cages (if you did not do this earlier). They will be
needed by mid June!
3° Keep controlling binding materials of cordons to prevent bushes get untied
from the supports and become damaged by the wind. When this happens at this stage
it can give a serious loss of berries, or even result in stems/branches that break
because of the weight of the thickening berries.
4°. Be aware of pests and take the necessary actions to keep them under control.
See Pests.
Aphids, moulds but also some (pseudo) caterpillars can do a lot of damage in a
very short time. When you choose to apply non biological products, be aware of
the safety period after applying the product.
5° Keep weeds under control by applying a ground cover.
6° When growing gooseberries at a cordon, continue to reduce the new growth by
cutting the new growth back at the right length. See Culture
Guide.
7° People willing to experiment can use halfwoody cuttings (see 6°) to root under
glass.
8° When intending to plant new bushes/varieties this autumn, it is recommended
to visit some berry farms-nurseries to evaluate / choose the right varieties.
As you can now judge very well the qualities of the berries and -in most cases-
the resistance to diseases. Be aware that plants on a farm are mostly very well
kept and that in some cases you cannot spot diseases because of the stringent
spraying program... so a biological evaluation centre might give a better view
on the suitability of the varieties for home AND commercial growing...
9° Do not forget to enjoy the taste of the berries during the different stages
of ripening
