Topic: Check out these beuties

[tuinman]

my gooseberry's are real big for this time of year, how are they with you folks?

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n31/valleydaz/DSC00895.jpg

[Sparkly]

Not quite as big as yours but mine are looking good too! I have not had gooseberries since I was a kid so I am looking forward to trying our crop this year!

[tuinman]

I'm looking forward to making gooseberry fool, easy and nice as dessert.

[antipodes]

I only planted my goosberries this year, They are quite bushy and about thigh high - do you think I will get any berries? Or will this be a dormant year??
I haven't looked too closely to see if there are buds or anything... When do they start to fruit? (OK obviously yours are already, but when CAN they start?? :D

[tuinman]

you might get a couple, i planted one the same size two monthes ago and there are now about 5 small berrys on it. They grow fast so next year should be good.

[sweet-pea]

I planted mine a month ago (ish) and it's a small bush only about a foot high, but I noticed at the weekend that there were a few berries developing on it already. I was really surprised as I had thought I might have to wait until next year.   My little redcurrant bush also has a few berries developing :-)

[antipodes]

hmmm maybe I should investigate this more closely! I planted them...March sometime. 3, a red, a yellow (actually think you are meant to say white?) and a green.
I already have strawberries so I am highly impressed by the fruit. The rasp are flourishing too, never grown any fruit before, it is a nice thing to grow!

[jennym]

A lot depends on how old the bush is when you plant it, as to whether you get any fruit in the first year. Like most living things, the plant will have to grow old enough to be able to reproduce itself - this can take 2 to 3 years, but if the bush is 2 years old when you bought it, then this is why you are getting a little fruit this year.
I reckon there should be a law that says you must grow some sort of fruit  ;D

Tuinman - your gooseberries look great!

[tuinman]

Thanks Jenny.
here is all three of my bushes the closest is the new one, if you can zoom in you'll see some Berry's.

[tuinman]

oops forgot link;-

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n31/valleydaz/DSC00845.jpg

[jennym]

Nice picture!

However, can't see the image too clearly, but can I see red blotches on the leaves of one of the bushes? Could be the signs of blister mite - these are tiny, and you can't really see the mite, but you can see it's effect, red blistering on the leaf. If so, pick off the affected leaves and destroy them.

[lin]

My gooseberries are really good too this year... in fact I am surprised there are so many, I have 5 bushes and the bottom branches are hanging with them!

I froze a lot and am still eating last years! So looks like I will have loads this year. Fortunately I have quite a few friends who love crumble and they always ask for any excess, I shall be feeding the five thousand this year!!

Just checked where you are from Tuinman... wow Holland, bit different from Manchester but sounds like we are on a par as far as crops are concerned...Lin

[tuinman]

Thanks for the tip jenny, I'll go down tomorrow to fix that problem.

Hi Lin, yes i live in Holland but am from Scotland been here 6 years, less rain and more sun so can't complain. Think I'll make crumble today i also have some in the freezer :)

[tuinman]

I have looked at these leaves and they look healthy enough. I've made a couple of photo's of them, see what you think;

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n31/valleydaz/DSC00908.jpg
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n31/valleydaz/DSC00909.jpg

[Palustris]

A lot easier than following a link.

[tuinman]

Thank you Palustris for your efforts, but are they healthy or not?

[jennym]

That colouration looks different to the type of damage that I've seen before caused by either mites or aphids. However, looking at the picture of the particular bush itself, the colour is in defined patches on it. I would think this would indicate attack by some sort of insect.
Overall the bushes look very healthy. You could wait and see if the symptoms spread. If it was my bush, I'd hand pick off the leaves with the redness on them and destroy them, that way no real harm is done to the bush and if it is mite or aphid attack, it will lessen the damage.

[Trixiebelle]

Do gooseberries have dormant years then?

I had zilch last year but millions this year. Also, do they need a feed and if so, what? Not very good with fruit as you can probably tell  ::)