Kitchen Garden Forum

Hi all,
I planted some gooseberry bushes last year and they have grown well - they look very healthy with lots of leaves, but hardly any gooseberries. Has anyone else had this problem? Is there anything I can do or is it too late now and will I have to wait until next year to see if they do any better? They are in a sunny spot & I've been watering them regularly.

Gooseberries crop on last year's growth, so maybe yours are still putting on that growth. You should get some fruit next year.

Aha - that explains it - thank you.

The goosberries on both my bushes are small, though plenty of them. These bushes get forgotten about and weren't nurished last year. Could that be the cause?.
What should I do, and when, to have decent size berries?.

Sammy, The fruit that some gooseberries bear seem to be smaller than others. However, they do need to be well nourished with plenty of manure dug in around the roots and kept well watered, especially during the fruiting period. If the bushes have grown rather large, a light pruning in autumn after the leaves have dropped may also help. They will probably continue to fruit if left unattended but the fruit crop may shrink in size and quantity every year so they're worth giving a little care and attention to, especially as gooseberries seem to be one of those fruits which are not readily available to purchase in the supermarkets if you like them. Manure them in the autumn and in the growing season keep a good mulch around the root area if possible to help retain moisture in the soil.

Also, the more fruit, the smaller they will be. They are quite often thinned out early for jamming or other cooking and then the rest left to swell and ripen, try that next year.