[Redgoat]

I ummed and ahhed and I finally decided my fruit bush would be a gooseberry.

Any tips?

[fatcat1955]

what is your main reason, cooking or eating raw?

[shokkyy]

I ummed and ahhed and I finally decided my fruit bush would be a gooseberry.

Any tips?

Good choice It's  my favourite fruit bush too. I'd go for an eater because eaters will freeze well and cook well and taste nice fresh, whereas cookers will freeze well and cook well but won't taste nice fresh. Really, a good dessert variety has everything you need. You can get red gooseberries, yellow gooseberries, green gooseberries - loads of choice. If you can get one that's pruned with a leg rather than having lots of stems coming up from the ground, that will make it a lot easier to weed around it.

[tedsdad]

Everf seen a standard rose? well you can train a gooseberry to grrow just the same. Less bending less space,more fun!

[Redgoat]

I went for a green one. Ideal for Gooseberry fool, Gooseberry pie, Gooseberry ice cream 

[mollydog]

My tip is go for a thornless variety. I'm still nursing the wounds from my picking and pruning this year. 

[MoreWhisky]

Try the leveller lovely big yellow desert gooseberries.

[Lee1978]

I would agree with MoreWhiskey, Leveller is a must given its superb taste. We love our gooseberry bushes as we make lots of jams with them

[Pip Judgeford]

About that shaping - as standards etc - there seems to be a rule of thumb when pruning that if the gosseberry grows downwards, prune to upward buds; and if it grows very upright prune to downwards shaping buds.  Not all gooseb will naturally grow to a pickable/weedable shape. 

I also learned the hard way that pruning in winter reduces fruiting (they fruit on last years wood and if you prune it off you get nothing!) but if you want to prune/shape then mid-summer after fruiting is the best time. the bush still makes growth in the rest of the growing season, and you get a good shaped bush with loads of fruit the next season.

=Pip