Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Steve.P on November 15, 2008, 22:50
-
Hi all,
Just had my seeds delivered for next year. When ordering i spotted these in the brochure, and thought they looked interesting. Has anyone had any experience of these?
-
Not yet - I'll be trying some this year. I've got 20 seeds and will only be using a few so if you're interested, drop me a PM with your address and I'll post some on.
-
Thanks JulesJ
Got a packet when ordering, sorry forgot to say so in post. Is it right they come back year after year the same as normal gooseberrys?
-
one thing about them, we found they spread like crazy! Like completely mad!
I had to actually resort to spraying them with 'killer' round the edges to keep them at bay. Fruit are gorgeous though.
-
Lovely fruit - start them off early and transplant under cloches into warm ground (put cloches out a couple of weeks earlier). Plant out into the sunniest space you've got. Give them lots of space. Will withstand a mild frost but it's always a bit touch and go in the first year from seed.
Overwinter the plants in a well insulated coldframe, if they successfully over-winter, plant out again, and they'll do much better in year two.
Enjoy - they make grat jam (if you've got enough), but try a cape gooseberry pavlova for something a bit special. A gooseberry and apple sauce for pork works great too.
SS
-
They sound yummy! Might try these! Where did you get the seed?
-
Thanks for the tips - how tall do the plants grow? Sounds like I should do them in pots and work out how to protect them during winter. Would sticking them in an unheated plastic greenhouse do? I haven't got a coldframe yet, although I may be able to wangle some unwanted/removed windows from a house up the road and construct my own.
-
I got mine from Ebay a few weeks ago - 20 seeds for about £1.60 including p&p.
-
Hi Wildeone,
Got all my seeds from Alan Romans on line site this year, Total cost for everything i needed this year was £10.40 including p&p. Thats half the cost of last years seed :shock: Only thing they didnt have was broad beans and spring onions, but i can get them local so no probs. Cant wait to try the Golden Berry now. Roll on next year! :D
-
I grew some in a greenhouse this year, didn't ripen very well though but am told they are better season two. unfortunately I'd already pulled them up by then and the GH has gone to a freecycler!! (got one at home and would rather have a shed there). They were low growing but did srpead out a bit, I think they were around 6-8" tall and around 2 foot spread.
-
Great replies guys and gals thanks very much :D
-
Wildeone,
I got my seed from South Africa when visiting the in-laws, but I'd use Alan Romans to replace (as proviously mentioned).
Oh, and this is my full recipe for the sauce:
Apple & Gooseberry Sauce
1 Dessert Apple
12 Cape Gooseberries
5-10ml Raspberry Vinegar
Peel, core and slice the apple and cook down in a saucepan with a little water. Work quickly and the apple won’t brown significantly. Keep adding water as necessary to stop the apple drying out . Add the Cape gooseberries and vinegar once the apple has reduced to a lumpy pulp. Heat until the gooseberries just begin to break down. Serve warm. The Raspberry vinegar is optional , but it does add to the fruity sweet and sourness. I get mine from ‘Oil and Vinegar’. The vinegar will stop the apples mushing down so it is imperative that it is not added before they have reached the desired texture.
-
Tryed them last year in the greenhouse they took over the place spread
like wildfire about 1meter high after they had collapsed . Did not ripen and they self seeded better than any weeds will not be trying again.