I have 8 gooseberry bushes right now on the property. Only four of those bushes are of bearing age. Gooseberries for us have been a great choice in berry bushes. Super easy to grow and pretty well disease resistant so far. The other plus for us is that they will grow in some shade. Since our property has lots of shade trees this fruit bush will grow under the canopy of those large hickories and oaks on the property. Four we have planted on the east side of two small sheds. There they get morning sun and are somewhat shaded from the late evening intense sunlight. Those grow the best. My one suggestion is to give them plenty of room. My oldest bushes are close to 5 feet tall and wide. If you plant them too close they are prone to mildew. Thus far we have had no problems with that. Two of my smaller bushes are planted right at the east edge of the canopy of a large hickory again where they get the morning sun and are shaded from the harsh evening sun. Again they love the location and are growing great. The last two bushes I just planted this year. They are supposedly thornless and one is pink and the other is red. They are planted in an open location with little shade. I am watching them closely and if necessary will move them to a shadier location if the sun becomes a problem.
Our first picking was yesterday and as you can see they are just starting to get a little rosy tint to them. If you leave them on the bush they will turn darker but we do not because the robins will get them all. So as soon as we see a little flush we pick them. We also like them at that stage because they have just a little tartness left to them at that stage which is the flavor we prefer. Once picked you can take your fingernails or a small knife and remove the tips and tails. See the stem on one end (tail) and a small tip where the bloom was on the other (tips) . Then I wash them and let them drain and place them on a baking sheet and freeze.
Once frozen they are then transferred to quart cups and left in the freezer. I will add to the cups till the end of the season then make some into a jam and leave some whole and put in vacuum bags for pies. I need to post my gooseberry pie recipe. It came from my late mother-in-law and is award winning. She used to enter them in the goose festival bake off in the town she lived in and won most years.
You find lots of english recipes for gooseberries as it is a fruit that they really like and grow lots of.
That's it for now.
Blessings from The Holler
The Canned Quilter
Strawberry/gooseberry jam is one of my favorites. Some states forbid gooseberries and other ribes.
ReplyDeleteYeah Katz it can carry white pine blister rust. I think most states have listed that ban though.
DeleteHello! I love gooseberries! I live in Hickory Grove (the name of our neighborhood) so maybe gooseberries will do well here also. I definitely have lots of shady spots. I used to have a few gooseberry bushes but they didn't produce anything. I assumed it was because I didn't prune them. Do you have to prune gooseberries each year, fall, spring??
ReplyDeleteNothing like gooseberry cobbler! A lady in much church used to make it and it was so yummy.
Thanks for another great post!
I prune mine late winter
DeleteI've never tasted a gooseberry!
ReplyDeleteIt is kind of sweet with a little tart overtone
DeleteI continue to learn so much from you. Many Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the kind words
DeleteI'm so happy to find you are posting again. I do love your blog. God bless
ReplyDeleteIt's encouraging to see you posting again and doing life as before, only on a smaller homestead nowadays. My hubby & I moved 9 months ago - from our 80 acre, 3,000 sq ft home WAY out in the boonies to our 'new' old homestead just moments from a new town - 18 wild Pacific Northwest acres that we are eking all new gardens & barn & house out of. You give me new inspiration and I thank you! Please continue to share!
ReplyDeleteI will try to keep up the pace. I have been doing this blog for many years and sometimes just run out of ideas. Sometimes I just get busy.
DeleteI have only had gooseberry pie once, but it was delicious! I planted two pawpaw trees this year and two apricot trees as well. I can’t wait for them to start producing in a few years! Pawpaws are not the easiest to grow here from what I’ve heard (southeast Kansas), but I am hopeful.
ReplyDelete