17 July 2007 American Gooseberry (Ribes hirtellum) http://ohyah.notlong.com/ 17 July 2007 American Gooseberry (Ribes hirtellum) This American Gooseberry bush was planted in the Spring of 2005. It produced a few berries in 2006. I pruned to five stems and they are full of fruit this year. The dish contains about one-quarter of the berries on the bush. In 2006 after fruiting the foliage was attacked by a fungus (Downey Mildew?) which devastated the leaves, but apparently had no lasting harmful effects. The fruiting stems are supported otherwise, the fruit laden branches fall to the ground. They are just another fruit for the home garden. They take up little room and require minimal care. The berries are sweet with a bit of a tart tang, which is not unpleasant. I mix them with my raspberries and eat as a fruit dish with cream or milk or simply put in the blender to make juice with other fruits. The berries are more pleasant and sweeter than my black current berries, but the gooseberries are a bit more fibrous. http://www.durgan.org/Blog/Durgan.html
http://ohqui.notlong.com 25 July 2007 Picking the last of the Gooseberries. Three large bowls of berries were obtained from this small bush. http://www.durgan.org/Blog/Durgan.html
