Gooseberries

[davholla]

I have not looked after my gooseberries very well.
They are overgrown with weed and I have not fed them.
In return I have got a very poor harvest.
How can I improve it for next year?

[davholla]

[antipodes]

Usually they are not too fussy! But in the autumn, give them a little trim, they like air circulation, cut off branches too close to the ground and those in the very centre of the bush.
Weed them, obviously, but you can then thickly mulch them, as they are hell to weed because of all the thorns. Personally I manure them over the winter and mulch them at the end of winter to stop the weeds. They will like a good dressing of compost too, if you have your own.
Are you sure birds haven't eaten any? They will as they ripen.

[davholla]

Usually they are not too fussy! But in the autumn, give them a little trim, they like air circulation, cut off branches too close to the ground and those in the very centre of the bush.
Weed them, obviously, but you can then thickly mulch them, as they are hell to weed because of all the thorns. Personally I manure them over the winter and mulch them at the end of winter to stop the weeds. They will like a good dressing of compost too, if you have your own.
Are you sure birds haven't eaten any? They will as they ripen.

Some of them did not even have any flowers.

[antipodes]

Ah but they could have flowered and the flowers could have been damaged by several things.

[davholla]

Ah but they could have flowered and the flowers could have been damaged by several things.

Such as what? 

[ed dibbles]

You probably just need to look after them a little better by reducing weed competition combined with winter pruning.

If you want bumper goosberry crops, in quantity as opposed to size, prune them to main branches with spurs as you do apples.

Keeping each plant as an open goblet shape will help with picking.

[antipodes]

Ah but they could have flowered and the flowers could have been damaged by several things.

Such as what? 

Hard rain, late frost? although they are pretty hardy.
I am with Ed on the pruning. Spurce them up for next year (but remember that they fruit on old wood so don't cut off too much!

[davholla]

Ah but they could have flowered and the flowers could have been damaged by several things.

Such as what? 

Hard rain, late frost? although they are pretty hardy.
I am with Ed on the pruning. Spurce them up for next year (but remember that they fruit on old wood so don't cut off too much!

I should have said we live in South London - we haven't had any late frosts and we barely had any rain in March.  I didn't check the flowers in Spring though.