Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Neezie on June 15, 2021, 15:24
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We have been growing gooseberries for the past 3 years and the plants have been getting bigger as has the crop. This year though we have been invaded by the sawfly larvae! Didn’t realise what was happening until it was pretty much too late….made up a spray of washing up liquid and sprayed the plants. Took great delight in them falling off. Loads of invicta gooseberries which I am carefully picking to make jam and to freeze. As the majority of leaves have been eaten this year does this mean I won’t have any fruit next year? Do I need to dig the plants up, chop the branches off or what? Would appreciate your advice. Thank you 😊
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Welcome to the forums :)
I'm going to move your post across to the Grow Your Own board for people to have a look at :D
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We have been growing gooseberries for the past 3 years and the plants have been getting bigger as has the crop. This year though we have been invaded by the sawfly larvae! Didn’t realise what was happening until it was pretty much too late….made up a spray of washing up liquid and sprayed the plants. Took great delight in them falling off. Loads of invicta gooseberries which I am carefully picking to make jam and to freeze. As the majority of leaves have been eaten this year does this mean I won’t have any fruit next year? Do I need to dig the plants up, chop the branches off or what? Would appreciate your advice. Thank you 😊
Garlic is said to keep sawfly away. I planted bulbs around my gooseberries a few years ago and leave them in place year to year, thinning a bit as the garlic spreads. Can't say for certain if it works but I've not had any sawfly since.
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They burrow into the soil, I moved my gooseberries removing as much soil and planted them elsewhere. no probs
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Garlic is said to keep sawfly away. I planted bulbs around my gooseberries a few years ago and leave them in place year to year, thinning a bit as the garlic spreads. Can't say for certain if it works but I've not had any sawfly since.
I have done the same for a couple of years. The sawfly detect the plants by smell and then lay their eggs. The smell of the garlic prevents them detecting the plants.
Edited to fix quote.
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Instead of keeping garlic in the ground all year as it can cause white onion rot, you could grow chives or water gooseberry plant with garlic infused water
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Never had it on my gooseberries that I've grown for decades.
But know others that had an attack and soap and water is a good easy fix.
Important for gooseberries is to prune them correctly, not only for better fruit production but stops the sawfly.
You need to prune to have both upright and lateral fruit buds.
Plenty of online videos that show how to do this.
Remove the very low buds on the main stem at the bottom, that would be touching the mulch around the plant as they start to fruit.
Create an open centre, known as a goblet shaped bush, so cutting down to one bud within the centre.
This will stop the Sawfly early in the early season getting a hold on the plant, as they start from the centre and work across the plant.