When are my gooseberries ripe?

[wulf]

I've recently bought a new house and am in the process of making the gardens (back and front) more productive. However, one or two of the existing plants give us a headstart.

One of them is a gooseberry. I'm excited by this because (a) I love gooseberries and (b) my wife doesn't, so it probably wouldn't have made the list of new plants to put in. However, despite loving to eat them, I've never actually grown a gooseberry bush before. How do I know when the fruit are ripe for picking?

At the moment they look like this and still feel quite hard:



Wulf

ps. if anyone has any clues on how to tell what variety, I'd love to know that as well - none of the plants come with labels!

[Durgan]

There are two types in my garden American and European. Neither of mine have the small hairs on the berries that your picture depicts. The European is much larger than the American, probably a third larger in diameter. Both my types have smooth berries, with the protruding piece opposite the stem.

The first crop year, I picked when green when I thought they were ripe and they were abysmally sour. Last year I was away and discovered that both change color to reddish brown when ripe and are as pleasant, and sweet as any bush fruit. It takes much time to change from green to red, probably a month or so. The bushes are loaded this year and I am really looking forward to picking them.

The berries do not deteriorate when left on the bush, so waiting to see if yours change color will result in no harm..

[wulf]

Well... unless the birds get them. I'll give them a bit more time though.

Cheers,

Wulf

[Durgan]

Well... unless the birds get them. I'll give them a bit more time though.

Cheers,

Wulf

My birds disdain the gooseberries. They take the cherries, strawberries, raspberries, and mulberries.

[MKG]

I think Durgan may be lucky with the Canadian climate. Here, it's always a matter of judgement. If they're hard, they're not ready. But now comes the race against mould - if you leave them too long, the microbes get 'em. And, of course, not all gooseberry varieties turn red (I once thought that, and the mould beat me to the rewards). The best thing as far as I and my microclimate are concerned is to pick them when a gentle squeeze says they're just turning soft. They're still mouth-puckeringly sour (but I like that) but a bit of sugar cures that very quickly.

Mike

[Millymollymandy]

I've never grown them but I was going to say that picking one and trying it probably wouldn't help. Well it might with texture but not taste.

[Odsox]

It all depends what you want to do with them Wulf.
I shall be picking mine on Sunday, I have 4 bushes and I love them too.

If you want them cooked, mine are destined to be bottled, then now or during the next week or two is best.
If you want to eat them raw, then leave them for another month or so, but then you run the risk of birds etc.

By the way, if you want more than one bush they are very easy to propagate. Just stick a cutting in the ground in November and it will be almost guaranteed to root.
Another factoid, the traditional first cook of gooseberries was Whitsunday pud ... the beginning of June.

[wulf]

If these ones taste good (and I'm planning to cook them so I probably should try harvesting some soon) then that tip about propagation will be very useful. I'll try and plan for another bush or two as I work out what I want where in the garden.

Thanks,

Wulf

[Green Aura]

They're usually ripe at the same time as elderflowers - hence often being put together in jams, puddings etc.

[wulf]

We decided to pick and cook them and store them in a sterilised jar (although I'm hoping to use them sooner rather than later). What was left over tasted fantastic!

Cheers,

Wulf