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[John S <swim_at_svc@yahoo.com>]

I don't consider Black Velvet thorns to be too bad.  But I grow Whitesmith gooseberries and have been known to grow Litchi tomatoes with impunity, which have very bad thorns.  They are good "teaching" plants.

With any thorned small fruit, some caution is needed when harvesting.  You can't just grab a branch and strip it.  With gooseberries, whose fruit do not ripen all at the same time, some testing of firmness of each individual fruit is warranted before picking anyway.

Black Velvet is worth the caution and effort.  If thorns are a serious issue, try Jostaberry or Orus 8 - black current/gooseberry crosses with dark fruit of similar appearance and a flavor profile that is not too far off.  Not as sweet, however.



--- On Sat, 12/25/10, Naomi Counides <naomi@oznayim.us> wrote:

From: Naomi Counides <naomi@oznayim.us>
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] opinions on gooseberries
To: "'North American Fruit Explorers'" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Date: Saturday, December 25, 2010, 6:22 PM

I am getting interested in the Black Velvet.  How evil are the thorns?  I have a conventional Gooseberry that tends to go unpicked because of my reluctance to make blood sacrifices in the garden.

Naomi

 

"

---

From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of John S
Sent: Saturday, December 25, 2010 12:52 PM
To: North American Fruit Explorers
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] opinions on gooseberries

 

Black Velvet is one of the best for productivity and flavor.  Jewel is also very good but mine does not seem to be as thorny as indicated by others (correct color though!).  These are two the the easiest to propagate - I'm always getting rid of volunteers, usually from prunings in the compost pile.

Had Friend but lost it. It had limited productivity for me.  Haven't tried Jeanne.



--- On Sat, 12/25/10, Deb S <debs913@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Deb S <debs913@gmail.com>
Subject: [NAFEX] opinions on gooseberries
To: " North American Fruit Explorers " <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Date: Saturday, December 25, 2010, 11:37 AM

What experiences have you had with the following varieties of gooseberry:

 

Black Velvet

Jewel

Friend

Jeanne

 

Good, bad, indifferent?  How was production and flavor?  Was the bush vigorous?  Very thorny?

 

Thanks!

 

deb

SE Ohio zone 6ish

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