Gooseberries

 Gooseberries in pots or containers: a loam-based compost such as John Innes 3.

If growing cordons, each June prune all new side-shoots back to five leaves to encourage fruiting spurs to develop and tie the leading shoot to the support as it grows. In winter, shorten the previous year’s growth on the main stem leader back by a quarter to encourage new side-shoots. Shorten side-shoots pruned in summer to two or three buds.

 As fruits form on old wood and around the base of last year’s growth you should prune back the previous year’s growth to two buds and remove any shoots that are growing into the centre of the bush, and cut back leaders by one-third.

Invicta makes a vigorous and spreading plant that bears large, pale green berries suitable for dessert and culinary use. It gives high yields when grown as a bush or cordon and is largely resistant to mildew.

Would it be possible to train a 6 year old hinnonmaki red into a cordon? 

 The normal pruning regime recommended for gooseberries is the regenerative system – remove the lowest stems every winter, feed to encourage new growth up the centre which over the following years will spread out and eventually be removed, this is just a rather more drastic form, and at 6 years old the bush is still relatively young so should adjust to the transition without too much difficulty.

I would suggest you start by getting the stake or bamboo cane in place up which you intend training the cordon. That can be done this coming winter. There is little point doing anything earlier (the ground may be too hard anyway) as the pruning needs to wait until January/February. Then reduce the bush back to a columnar shape by cutting back the lower outward growing branches to short stubs, ultimately leaving just the upward-growing trained stem and side-shoots. This should ideally be done in one go, though if the bush is large (1.2m/4ft + in spread) giving rise to concern that this might give it too much of a shock it could be spread over say 2 years. When cutting back the main side branches try to leave some short spurs of younger growths back near the main stem – the bush will find it a lot easier initially to re-grow from younger buds.

Unfortunately I can see no way of doing this without losing most of at least one year’s crop.

Companion Planting

Broad Beans and Tomatoes are listed as companion plants for Gooseberry as they help to deter the gooseberry sawfly. Broad Beans also fix nitrogen into the soil . Some growers also like to use onions and garlic as companion plants, again to confuse insect pests.

Crops such as parsnips and fennel should not be positioned near Gooseberry beds as they are reported to attract saw fly.

Blog : Pomona Fruits: 

Gooseberries: A Forgotten Fruit

The Urban Veg Patch: Perfecting the art of growing big gooseberries in a small space https://images.app.goo.gl/KgCobn9EDuEwLG747 https://images.app.goo.gl/KgCobn9EDuEwLG747