Gooseberry / Usiri

Originating in England, this prized culinary gooseberry bears huge, sweet greenish-yellow berries that are delicious for fresh eating, pies, preserves and freezing. The fruit is the largest of any gooseberry we've seen. Vigorous, spiny, spreading bushes yield a prolific quantity of fruit. Has excellent resistance to mildew and other diseases as well as late spring frosts. Fruits ripen in July.

Bush or Vine : Bush 

Planting Instructions and Care 

Pick a site with partial shade to full.These bloom very early in spring, they are susceptible to late season freezes.

Choose a site that warms up slowly in the spring, to minimize this possibility.Most soil will benefit from the addition of organic material such as shredded peat or compost.Space the plants 3-6 feet apart in rows that are 6-8 feet apart.
Dig the hole deeper and wider than the root system.Set the plants with the lower branches a little below the soil level to encourage a bush form to develop.Fill hole with remaining soil. Lightly Fertilize and deeply water your new plants
Afterwards Fertilize in early spring, before growth begins, use ¼ to ½ pound of balanced fertilizer. Apply fertilizer in a band around each bush, working it lightly into the soil from near the canes to a foot or so beyond the branch tips.

A composted material rich in nitrogen, such as manure, also makes an excellent fertilizer and may be substituted for a balanced synthetic fertilizer.