[bayleaf]

I'm thinking of growing some gooseberry bushes. I have a bed 15ft by 4ft. I would appreciate any advice from anyone who has grown them, particularly regarding variety to grow, how many bushes, are cordons worth doing, cultural problems, should they have a frame to protect them from birds etc. Thanks in advance for your advice.

[savbo]

I don't know a lot about goosegogs but we inherited 2 big bushes with the plot and I can say you need about 4' square for each one, I think ours might be Lancashire Lad and they are lovely, and DEFINITELY net/mesh them because the woodpigeons stripped almost every ripe fruit. Also good to put weed fabric under them cos weeding around those thorns is a b*****r 

[SocksOn]

We've got a few small ones and our problem was aphids and the birds, but other than that they were very easy to grow, not sure about space sorry I think ours are too close together.

[paintedlady]

space wise my 3 are probably too close too - about 4 feet apart, the bed is about 2.5 feet wide.

Initially I had serious sawfly problem but after resorting to selected chemical warfare (before and after flowering) in 2009, the bushes recovered and last year I had a great harvest.  I was particularly impressed with Red Dessert (sorry, that's what it said on the label from the garden centre so no idea what it is)   The other 2 are green - I bought Invicta, the other inherited with the plot.

[suziet88]

Sorry to steal your post but you have just reminded me that we had sawfly on our goosegogs but didn't treat it.  Should I do anything now or wait and check to see the damage once the new growing season starts?

[Totty]

We have two bushes in the garden, one is the green Invicta, the other the red Hinnokomi Red, The later crops heavily and the fruit is absolutely lovely, probably my fave among the raspberries, strawberrys and currents we grew last year. The Invicta on the other hand, although i had read that it was a heavy cropper, we found it was far from it. May be our area or soil condition, but would certainly recommend the red!

Totty

[bayleaf]

Thanks for the help - Lancashire lad it is - had to be in this part of the world, and i'll put a fruit frame round them.

[MoreWhisky]

The Yellow leveller gooseberrys are the best by far! eat them straight form the bush , i cant wait