American Gooseberry (Ribes hirtellum)

Durgan · American Gooseberry (Ribes hirtellum)

http://ohyah.notlong.com/ 17 July 2007 American Gooseberry (Ribes hirtellum)

http://ohqui.notlong.com 25 July 2007 Picking the last of the Gooseberries.

This American Gooseberry bush was planted in the Spring of 2005. It produced a few berries in 2006. I pruned to five stems and they are full of fruit this year. The dish contains about one-quarter of the berries on the bush. In 2006 after fruiting, the foliage was attacked by a fungus (Downey Mildew?) which devastated the leaves, but apparently had no lasting harmful effects. The fruiting stems are supported, otherwise the fruit laden branches fall to the ground. They are just another fruit for the home garden. They take up little room and require minimal care.

The berries are sweet with a bit of a tart tang, which is not unpleasant. I mix them with my raspberries and eat as a fruit dish with cream or milk or, sometimes simply put in the blender and make juice with other fruits. The berries are more pleasant and sweeter than my black current berries, but the gooseberries are a bit more fibrous.

I managed to get a European Gooseberrty Bush (Ribes grossularia) in early Septermber from a neighbor, who was moving. The European type has larger berries. This bush should produce well next year, since I managed to get almost all the root, and the bush is about three feet high.

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Local lass

looks odd them being red :lol: are they sweet or sour.
ours when properly ripe are really sweet.

Durgan

Local lass

i have never liked cooked gooseberrys i do how ever like them picked straight from the bush and just pop them in your mouth.