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I have two Gooseberry bushes, Invicta and Careless. Both have flowered profusely this spring and are now laden with small forming fruits which I will lightly thin towards the end of the month to allow for larger fruits mid summer.
Yesterday I noticed some of the fruits on the Careless bush are showing signs of mildew, it did well last season but I know this variety can be susceptible to mildew. Pah! My veg bible advises cutting out congested branches to improve air circulation and removing any infected branches straight away. Oh, and to plant resistant cultivars. Whoops.
However, Invicta (mildew resistant) is going great guns so far so I should be OK for Gooseberries this year.
Hope you win your battle with the mildew, just don’t invite me round to share the fruit. I’ve never seen the attraction of gooseberries, except when my dad grew a lovely sweet dessert variety. I guess I ought to try and track one down. Having read some of the rhubarb suggestions I might try one or two. Rhubarb is also not my favourite fruit, but some sugar and spice might help. The trouble is, hubby likes both without too much added sweetness, so it’s hard to suit the both of us at once.
Gooseberries always remind me of childhood and going to pick our own, but ensuring we were wary of those nasty prickles. Bad luck with the mildew, it’s been a funny old year so far but looks like the weather’s turning for the better now and we’re well on our way towards summer.