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Post by richardw on Jan 12, 2014 2:46:38 GMT -5
This evening while me and the kids were foraging in amoung our gooseberries bushes, i was thinking what would be involved in growing them from seed,has anyone tried them before.
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Post by samyaza on Jan 12, 2014 5:12:33 GMT -5
We grow several varieties and they often grow ( not true ) from seed. Humans and dogs propagate the seeds. I doubt it's the case of birds.
These self seeded plants are usually more spineful, with smaller and less numerous fruits. They're also very prone to powdery mildew on fruits.
I don't say seeded plants are bad, just that you'll most probably need to stabilize a strain first.
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Post by billw on Jan 12, 2014 7:05:40 GMT -5
I've gotten a few that are acceptable, but nothing that really compares to the improved varieties. I have had better luck with seeds from American gooseberries than European. With the European gooseberries, my experience is similar to samyaza - lots of mildew and not just on the fruits.
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Post by richardw on Jan 12, 2014 13:11:47 GMT -5
Well it really sounds like going by what you guys have said that there's a stabilizing project just waiting for me. I'm trying to find more of the history of the gooseberry in NZ because i know that many of the older verities were wiped out by a disease 40 or so years ago(be great if anyone else can find more info),so many of the wild plants still found today here in NZ are likely to predate this period thus showing they had a degree of tolerance.The two different strains i have were both found growing wild,one beside the road in a ditch the other behind an old shed,when i first grew them i had them in rows where they were mulched to keep them free of weeds,they become badly effected by mildew which got me thinking 'why dont the parent plants get mildew',the difference was they were growing in amongst the long grass so i took more cuttings and grew some bushes in my orchard,6 years later no mildew at all. Gooseberries for me are a must grow fruit because they produce well every year,need no looking after and the best part is the birds dont take the fruit Bill - i would imagine you would have more problems with mildew given your coastal climate,have you ever tried them like i have in long grass. So do the seeds need stratification before sowing? Photo showing the 6 year old plant with its just on ripe fruit.  Here's one the winters cuttings doing rather well.  |
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Post by copse on Jan 12, 2014 15:40:46 GMT -5
Does it make a difference whether you clear the grass around your gooseberry bushes?
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Post by blackox on Jan 12, 2014 18:03:38 GMT -5
I wonder how long grass helps to prevent mildew in gooseberries? I've never grown gooseberries before but have feral ones on the property. They're purple so I don't think that they're native, we have those too.
I notice yarrow in the bottom picture, that makes good tea.
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Post by richardw on Jan 12, 2014 18:12:23 GMT -5
Does it make a difference whether you clear the grass around your gooseberry bushes? A difference with what?,they grow just fine with grass growing up through it |
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Post by richardw on Jan 12, 2014 18:16:33 GMT -5
I wonder how long grass helps to prevent mildew in gooseberries? I've never grown gooseberries before but have feral ones on the property. They're purple so I don't think that they're native, we have those too. I notice yarrow in the bottom picture, that makes good tea. I dont understand why it prevents mildew either,but it works,plans are to have 100's more doted about the orchard. Never tried Yarrow tea,what do you use ,young leaves? |
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Post by blackox on Jan 12, 2014 19:00:12 GMT -5
We pluck the leaves right off the plant and dry them (I don't see why fresh leaves wouldn't work). This way the plant survives to disperse it's seed. I'm not sure if using the young leaves would effect yarrow's medical properties or not. A cloth soaked in the tea can be applied to the skin to keep an inflammation down. There are plenty other useful properties of yarrow that I can't recall at the moment.
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Post by richardw on Jan 12, 2014 23:24:58 GMT -5
Just been out and picked some and have made a brew......hmmmm not to bad either,as you can see i'm not sort on yarrow,pretty much grows every where and does so well thanks to the copious amount of water i apply to the orchard area.  |
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Post by copse on Jan 13, 2014 14:17:00 GMT -5
Does it make a difference whether you clear the grass around your gooseberry bushes? A difference with what?,they grow just fine with grass growing up through it Sorry! That was a terrible question :-) How did you tackle the grass when planting out the cuttings? Did you clear the grass around them to a certain point in growth, or just bung them in the dirt amongst the grass and leave them to it? |
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Post by copse on Jan 13, 2014 15:54:18 GMT -5
I'm trying to find more of the history of the gooseberry in NZ because i know that many of the older verities were wiped out by a disease 40 or so years ago(be great if anyone else can find more info),so many of the wild plants still found today here in NZ are likely to predate this period thus showing they had a degree of tolerance. If you find anything out, please post. I have a book from 1969, The Home Orchard by NZ Dept. of Agriculture, which lists only the most generally grown: Levin Early, Farmer's Glory, Billy Dean and Gregory's Perfection. It has no references to other varieties, or problems with them. And the more modern Growing Fruit and Nuts in New Zealand by Paul Baxter/Cathy Jones from 1985, which also lists Levin Early and Farmer's Glory, before stating that the most common varieties are Careless, Gregory's Perfection and Green Overall. While I've yet to see either of the common three which were still around, Levin Early, Farmer's Glory and Gregory's Perfection, for sale. I suspect they're not the "other varieties" you're referring to. |
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Post by richardw on Jan 13, 2014 16:46:49 GMT -5
A difference with what?,they grow just fine with grass growing up through it Sorry! That was a terrible question :-) Thats fine,dont worry about  How did you tackle the grass when planting out the cuttings? Did you clear the grass around them to a certain point in growth, or just bung them in the dirt amongst the grass and leave them to it? I grow them im posts till they are quite tall though i do have pull some grass away till they can compete on there own. |
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Post by steev on Jan 13, 2014 21:33:41 GMT -5
When I was <7, my Granny would buy gooseberry pie from a particular bakery; I never saw it later. When I got the farm, I thought I'd grow some for curiosity. The first berry I ate, it was all "Wow!, that's exactly what I remember" from 50+ years before. Subsequently, I learned that for about that time-period, gooseberries had been prohibited, being seen as an alternate host of white-pine blister rust, or some such; the lumber interests having more clout than the gooseberry interests, gooseberries had been just outlawed in the USA. I'd gone looking for them shortly after they'd been re-habilitated, what timing!
Regrettably, they aren't pleased with the farm's climate.
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Post by richardw on Jan 14, 2014 12:25:22 GMT -5
Why ?too dry ya reckon?,ive noticed with one of the varieties that ive got that the parent plant that grows on the roadside grows in a very dry spot,yet it fruits well every summer.Not sure if they are a shallow rooted bush or not,maybe this one has its roots deep enough that its found water
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