North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Brungardt, Sam" <Sam.Brungardt@state.mn.us>]

Bill, if you want the berries on the Hinnonmaki Red to size up before
they ripen, you probably should remove every other one.

One nice way to use these unripe berries without having to go to all the
work of making pie is to cook them with a little water and some sugar
until the skins of the berries burst and the berries turn into a mush.
Refrigerate this and then for a dessert, make some sweetened whipped
cream and fold some of the gooseberry puree into the whipped cream.
Voila, you've just made Gooseberry Fool, a traditional English dessert.
Google for a recipe if you want exact measurements.

About the pruning: you can do it either way as you already surmised.  If
you're getting lots of vigorous growth, then you may want to prune out
the branches that are on or near the ground now.  Otherwise, take them
out next spring.  -- Sam Brungardt, St. Paul, Minn. (USDA hardiness zone
4b)

-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of William C.
Garthright
Sent: Sunday, May 27, 2007 8:23 AM
To: NAFEX List
Subject: [NAFEX] Gooseberry care


I planted several different gooseberries a year ago, and they're doing 
quite well, despite getting little direct sunlight. Well, in our 
climate, that's probably a good thing. Of course, we've been getting a 
lot of rain this year, which I'm sure they like. But I have a couple of 
questions about summer care (I've seen conflicting information on the
web):

1. Most of my plants have set gooseberries (all except the Poorman), but

the Hinnonmaki Red is absolutely loaded with berries. They're strung 
almost solidly along many branches. Do I need to thin these out a bit? I

could pick some of the green berries for pie (no, I'm not going to cook 
it, but I can easily give them away) if necessary. Or don't I have to 
worry about thinning gooseberries? Note that I'm growing these for fresh

eating.

2. These gooseberries are thorny as heck, and they tend to grow low. In 
fact, some of the young shoots are lying flat on the ground. Should I do

some summer pruning and remove the lowest shoots? I thought maybe that 
would let the plants put more energy into the remaining shoots that are 
more erect. I'll be pruning off the lowest ones early next spring, 
anyway. Or do I want to leave all of the vegetation this summer, so that

the plants can soak up all the light they can get? Both ways seem 
logical, to me. What do you say?

Thanks!

Bill
Lincoln, NE (zone 5)

-- 
For only $399, you can send your kids away to spend a few days this 
summer with Ollie North, professional traitor, frolicking about on a 
military base and pretending to be brave warriors with absolutely no 
risk. It's the perfect activity for young Republican 
chickenhawks-in-training. - PZ Myers

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