Feeding gooseberries and gooseberries in pots

[davholla]

I was very disappointed with my gooseberry harvest last year.
What can I feed them on?  Is tomato food any good?

[davholla]

[Chrispy]

I think any fruit grown in containers will benefit from regular potash feed once the fruit starts to form, so yes, tomato food is good.

[cestrian]

We got nothing off ours last year, but it was their first year. Mine are planted in a border, not pots, but would be interested to know if they need a feed. Should i top dress them with compost and if so when is the best time?

[chriscross1966]

Mine will be getting some Turbofruiter as soon as they show signs of growing and another shot a month or so later... did well for me last year on other fruits....

[GrannieAnnie]

Is there any advantage to growing them in pots? Do they produce earlier as some plants do being confined?

[davholla]

Is there any advantage to growing them in pots? Do they produce earlier as some plants do being confined?

Not all are in pots - they are only in pots because of lack of space.
So far I would say don't grow them in pots.

[davholla]

Mine will be getting some Turbofruiter as soon as they show signs of growing and another shot a month or so later... did well for me last year on other fruits....

Is this what you mean by Turbofruiter?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GARDEN-FERTILISER-SPECIFICALLY-FRUIT-20KG-BAG-/170662905154
It seems expensive, can you get it from all garden centers?

[Mrs Tweedy]

We have goosegogs in pots 'cos the fruit plot isn't quite ready to house them yet and I have given them a handful of sulphate of potash each.

I have also given a handful to the apple tree and all the clematis too.

[chriscross1966]

That's quite possibly turbofruiter, we get it in 1kg bags frmo the allotment soc shop for a quid or so... 2Kg across my soft fruit early in the season and again once the berries are forming... will probably have to go to 3 or even 4Kg once they're sorted out in the plot though, I'll have nearly 4 rods of soft fruit by the end of this season...

[Deb P]

It may seem a silly question, but are you sure the plants aren't fruiting? I grow mine in buckets, and I thought for the first couple of years there was very little fruit, and then I netted them after flowering and realised the birds had been stripping them overnight before!

[davholla]

It may seem a silly question, but are you sure the plants aren't fruiting? I grow mine in buckets, and I thought for the first couple of years there was very little fruit, and then I netted them after flowering and realised the birds had been stripping them overnight before!

Well some of them did not have flowers last year.
Also my neighbour very kindly has a cherry tree which seems to protect the raspberries by distracting the pigeons.
How big are your buckets?

Although saying that I will start putting cd's or something to distract them.
(I have family who will protest if I use nets).

[Deb P]

They are just ordinary sized buckets, they are old galvenised metal ones that had been left on my plot when I took it over, so they already had some holes! I only moved them in as a temporary measure to start with but now just top them up with fresh soil every year and give them a seaweed feed and a few chicken manure pellets in spring. I prune them every winter to keep them a managable size as well.