Went to pick the gooseberries this afternoon and only have small crop this year. We also have a smaller blackcurrant crop this year as well.
They are in the fruit cage, so it is not the birds and as the blackcurrants are still ripening I don't think it is the two legged variety of thief! The redcurrants have the usual good crop.
I presume that the small crop has been caused by the unusual weather this year but would be interested to find out whether anyone else has noticed a similar pattern.
We had between 8-9 last year. Today OH picked 8lbs & there's about the same amount left on for Thursday when we next go. That's from 3 bushes, 1 unknown & Ben Sarek.
Our gooseberry bush is a baby so produced enough fruit for one dessert for OH to which he was welcome as I can't thole 'em.
Our blackcurrants have had another bumper year too and have ripened early so lots are dropping for the birds and i've got Possum on picking which she doesn't like but I'm busy with other jobs befroe we go on hols. I have 2 kilos on the go making spiced jely and no doubt another 8 or 10 kilos to pick.
Bumper crop on the blueberries too but very little foliage so I don't know what's going to happen with those. Will they ripen?
Last Saturday I picked 1500g of huge juicy gooseberries from my one bush. The same amount as last year but two weeks earlier. The bush had been copiously watered during the very dry weather - and was covered in fleece for several weeks to keep the birds off. The morello cherry tree is also covered and I'll get a good harvest in a few week's time.
Tricia
Very good crop of red/white/blackcurrants and gooseberries. Plum tree heavily laden - looks far more than last year.
Gooseberries - red - had about 3 kilos from my 3 bushes. Fruit was smaller than usual which is guess is normal for drought conditions, but they are very ripe and very sweet! I could actually eat them raw this time! Now all in the freezer as I haven't decided what to do with them!
My blackcurrants and gooseberries have gone mad this year and I have picked loads. Likewise loganberry and summer raspberries and redcurrants, all at once. East Sussex.
We planted our two blackcurrant bushes in 2008/9, so had a modest crop last year and this year is their first year of proper production. Just over a kilo per bush, which we thought was pretty good.
The gooseberries have gone mad. The two Invictas and one Careless have produced at least 3 kilos each (we've lost count), and still another picking to come. The red Hinnomaki has been much more modest, with perhaps a kilo in total.
white currants good crop, netted. Red currants the usual good crop netted. Gooseberries down by about a third, I've picked some, but the two legged gooseberry thief visit the site last night and visited half the plots. black currants maybe a third of the normal crop and these this year have attacked by Jackdaws. netted rather late.
We've had tons* of blackcurrants of our three year-old ben conan. Luckily we don't need to net, I presume that's the plus side of having 6 cats living next door... :)
* no proper measurements available! ;D
Sorry, this is cherries: watched a blackbird today. It had speared one of my cherries with its beak and didn't seem able to work out how to eat it. Flew about with this great Red Nose, perched on telegraph pole and bashed it about a bit (the cherry), got attacked by another bird, and flew away out of sight.
I have picked most of my gooseberries and all of my blackcurrants, but the remaining gooseberries are definitely disappearing. Redcurrants picked; whitecurrants nearly ready, must get at them soon. I haven't netted anything this year and have been quite worried about the birds (died over the winter?) so perversely relieved to see them back in action.