Gooseberries – so easy to grow, and so good berries! Let me share some of my learnings growing Gooseberries. I like to think that I use most of them for marmalade, but I think I have to admit that i Just eat most of the berries as i pick them.
Gooseberries grow on bushes, but if you have a small garden you can also train them against a wall. If you are about to plant Gooseberries, there are some decisions to make – do you want green or red goosberries, and if you want the stems to be spine free?
I’m a lucky person to have old Gooseberry bushes in my garden. They’re easy to propagate in spring or august. Just bend a long stem to the ground and place a rock on the middle of it, cover the middle part of the stem with soil and make sure that at least 5 cm of the top is above ground level. The stem will root, and is ready to be cut of from the mother plant during next autumn.
Find a permanendt growing spot. I heard that you can grow them in containers, but I’ve never tried that. If you propagate plants, move them in the autumn (august or september works for me). If you buy plants, you can plant them in spring or autumn.
After a few tries, my best tips for a permanent growing spot would be: Pick a fairly warm spot. I like to place my plants in spots that has a light breeze (seems to be enough to keep the blight away). It doesn’t have to be all sunny though, you can grow them in semi shade (mine are under a large tree, and they thrive!).
Here are some Gooseberry Marmalade prepping pics for inspiration:
