[NAFEX] Gooseberries for TN?
William C. Garthright
billg at inebraska.com
Mon Oct 5 10:43:21 EDT 2009
> I hate to say it, but considering where gooseberries are from,
> (England and the Hinnomaki's from Finland) but perhaps your berries
> did better BECAUSE of the clouds and reduced light from screening. I
> definitely plan to plant mine where they will have mostly shade, that
> stands out pretty clearly from both Nafexers experience and the KY
> bulletins.
My gooseberries are planted in a narrow (7 ft. wide) strip between my
house and a solid vinyl privacy fence, so they only get direct sunlight
for a brief period at mid-day (they do get redirected light reflected
from the white vinyl fence and light-gray vinyl siding, so maybe that
helps). I planted them because I didn't think anything else would
produce fruit growing there. And so far, that's worked out very well.
Actually, in Nebraska's climate, I don't think they'd do well in direct
sun. They'd certainly need a lot more watering. But they produce quite
well for me where they are. And, as I say, not much else would produce a
lot of fruit there.
> I have read elsewhere that the green-yellow berries don't get as
> sweet, though Lon said that the H. Yellow is really nice when well
> ripened.
I suppose it depends on personal preferences and maybe the conditions,
but I never thought Hinonmaki Yellow was good ripe. Plus, they fall off
the bush VERY quickly when they start to get ripe - or, at least, they
do for me. So I pick them all green. As soon as they start to turn
color, and start to fall off the bush, I pick them all.
Well, I'm anxious for gooseberry pie by then, so it works out well. I
let the other varieties ripen longer. And as I mentioned earlier, H.
Yellow is my most prolific gooseberry (though the smallest bush, by
far), so I get a lot of gooseberries from it.
Bill
Lincoln, NE (zone 5)
--
We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very
average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us
something very special. - Stephen Hawking
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