Advice sought please: When I took on my plot this spring pretty much the only useful plants on it were about 8 gooseberry bushes at the western end where they are ratehr shaded by trees at that end of the site (it's the site boundary with a stream) I need to move them as they block access to the dingy leaking hovel that I laughingly think of as my shed (inherited on the plot so I can't moan). Also this year, just as it looked like I was going to get a massive crop of gooseberries mildew pretty much had the lot. I'd like to avoid that. I've been abel to remove a couple of the trees as they were on my plot but I'm thinking ov moving the bushes around a bit (to space them out more and have a clear path to the shed) and I guess I ought to prune them as they are a bit straggly.
They foliage is in the process of dying down now (it did produce some more post mildew) so what's the concensus?... Knock a couple of feet off the top growth and plant somewhere with less shade with a bit of manure and bonemeal, top-dress with compost and sometime in November or something more precise/exotic?
I'm thinking of putting in some blackthorn at the bottom and some blackcurants too, what sort of time of year is best to do that "cheaply" ie with barerooted plants and can anyone recommend a supplier of same.... I only want about 3/4 blackcurrants any advice on variety?... Disease resistance more important than monster crop weights. Also how tolerant of shade is blackthorn?.... will it take being planted on an eastern facing aspect with trees behind it or does it want full sun? (I could plant at the front of my site as a hedge on the front boundary for instance.....
chrisc
Put the gooseberries where the eair can circulate. Some varieties are more susceptible than others. Some people swear by milk as a preventative.
For blackthorn try http://www.buckingham-nurseries.co.uk/acatalog/Index_Hedging__Trees__Shrubs___Conifers_1.html
Blackthorn tolerates reasonable shade, but it is viscious, and it suckers too, and doesn't make a neat hedge. February's a reasonable time to plant it.
I just moved my Gooseberry and Black Currant bushes yesterday.
This info might assist you;
http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Gooseberry/Gooseberry.htm (http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Gooseberry/Gooseberry.htm)
http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Currants/Black%20currant.htm (http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Currants/Black%20currant.htm)
I had a look around the WWW for replacement Raspberries and in the end I plumped for Marshalls they seemed reasonably priced relative to some suppliers and more expensive than others (Parkers)
http://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/the-fruit-garden-tcid288.html (http://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/the-fruit-garden-tcid288.html)
I would be inclined to start from scratch.
Now is the time to take cuttings, they are easy to grow and you can train the resultant bushes as you would like and crop fruit the year after next.
Ideally you should get a new variety and I am going to get a plant of Captivator which is thornless.
http://www.thompson-morgan.com/fruit1/product/cww3549/1.html
You need to consider your growing method and I recommend growing as a cordon or standard.
Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I won't be moving them until the squash have gone over so a month or so yet...
chrisc