North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Douglas Woodard <dwoodard@becon.org>]

John S., how do Poorman and Hinnomaki Red compare in berry size, 
productivity in relation to bush size, bush size, and disease resistance 
with you? Any difference in ease of propagation from cuttings?

Doug Woodard
St. Catharines, Ontario


John S wrote:
>   Jim, My experience with Tixia is disappointing.  While the berries are 
> large (easily 1"), they are also sour.  They also fall off for me before 
> they ripen, making them a frustrating experience.  Given your tendency 
> to pick your gooseberries pre-ripe, they may be of advantage due to 
> their size but I think they are a poor table gooseberry.  If bugs are a 
> major problem for your "Poorman", then screen it and let them ripen.  
> You should be pleased with the ripe berry taste.  Gooseberries fruit 
> size can be significantly affected by the number of berries allowed to 
> mature.  If yours are tiny, thinning may help..
>
> Hinnomaki Red is excellent but similar to Poorman in taste and sweetness 
> and among my favorites.  I find they ripen at slightly different times.  
> Pixwell is a poor comparison and not worth growing unless you use the 
> fruit for cooking.  Poorman produces average size berries here.  If 
> yours produced tiny berries, then perhaps you had incorrectly ID's 
> plants or something else was wrong.
>
> John