Gooseberries

Native to Europe, gooseberries have been grown in the UK for centuries. Extremely hardy, they only need protection from birds. However, some varieties are quite sour and difficult to work with as they are covered with sharp thorns. Getting to grips with pruning is important for the best crops but they will crop even when neglected.

Varieties

Many types of gooseberry have been bred and there are competitions to find the largest fruit. The biggest has been reported to be as large as a goose egg and weighed over 50g/2oz. Gooseberries come in red, yellow, green and white-berried varieties, but the most common are either red or green.

‘Invicta’: A culinary, green fruit with good resistance to American gooseberry mildew, a common disease.

‘Pax’ and ‘Rokula’: Modern, heavy cropping, red dessert varieties with good disease resistance to replace ‘Whinham’s Industry’.

Growing tips

Planting

Gooseberries prefer a deep, moist soil, which is reasonably fertile, so dig in plenty of well-rotted manure or garden compost prior to planting. Each spring, scatter 25–50g/1–2oz of fertiliser, such as Growmore, or pelleted chicken manure around the roots as well as a layer of organic matter.

Choose a sunny site and, since gooseberries flower and fruit earlier than any other soft fruit, avoid planting in a frost pocket.

Growing on

Regular pruning is important to give the best yields. This is done in two stages in the winter and summer. Prune to maintain an open, vaseshape to the bush, to allow air and light to reach the centre of the plant.

Between October and March, cut back the shoots produced in the previous season by about half, and cut the side shoots arising from the remaining stems to 5cm/2in to a point just above an outward-facing bud. Cut out old, diseased or damaged wood at the same time and shorten branches on lax varieties growing close to the ground, to prevent the fruit from trailing on the soil. In late June, cut back the side shoots to five leaves from their base to remove much of the soft growth, which is likely to become infected with mildew.

Gooseberries can also be grown as cordons and should be pruned in the same way as currants. In spring, look out for signs of green caterpillars with black spots. These are the caterpillars of the gooseberry sawfly, which can quickly strip the leaves from the whole plant. Pick them off or spray with a suitable insecticide.

When the fruit softens slightly, it is ready to pick.

Container growing

Gooseberries generally do best when planted in open soil. However, they do make good standards (bush plants grown on a long stem) and these can be grown in the border as a decorative plant or in a large tub on the patio. It is essential to provide plenty of water and food throughout the growing season.

When growing in pots, use a loam-based compost such as John Innes No. 3 as this will hold water well and being heavier than peatbased compost will provide more stability.

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In the kitchen

These large veiny, hairy berries are a traditional taste of a British summer. Cooked with plenty of sugar, gooseberries are delicious in pies and jams. The dessert varieties can be sweet if they get enough sun to ripen the berries fully.

Preparation and cooking: Plump, green, sour and slightly under ripe berries are best for cooking with. Later-season, red-blushed berries can be eaten raw with a sprinkling of sugar. Easy to prepare and cook, top and tail with scissors and wash thoroughly. Poach with plenty of sugar and a splash of water. The pulp can then be used in crumbles, ice creams or in the famous creamy, frothy fool. Gooseberries go well with oily fish such as mackerel and they can be used to make jams, preserves and wine. Their flavour complements other fruits such as redcurrants, and elderflowers are often mixed with them to enhance flavour. The fruit sets well in chutneys and preserves – stew until very soft, as you don’t want whole fruit in gooseberry jam.

Storage and freezing: Picked young and firm, gooseberries freeze well whole or, when ripe, lightly cooked and sweetened, or as a purée. Open freeze under ripe berries in a single layer on a tray, pour into bags and return them to the freezer.

Grapes

Grape vines were introduced to the UK by the Romans. In more recent times, the British climate has only been suitable for growing crops reliably in greenhouses but with milder winters, it is becoming more of a practical proposition to grow grapes outside across Britain, although you need to choose a suitable variety.

Varieties

Not only do you have the choice between dessert and wine grapes, but there are indoor and outdoor varieties, as well as black or white-berried vines.

OUTDOOR PLANTING

‘Boskoop Glory’: A delicious black dessert or wine grape.

‘Madeleine Angevine’: A heavy cropping white wine grape.

‘Siegerrebe’: A white dual-purpose variety. Strawberry grape: A dessert type.

INDOOR PLANTING

‘Black Hamburgh’: One of the best-known dessert varieties and one of the most popular for growing in a greenhouse.

‘Buckland Sweetwater’: Compact and sweetberried.

‘Thompson’s Seedless’: Vigorous white dessert variety.

Growing tips

It is still important, especially when growing dessert grapes, to choose a variety which is best suited to the climate in your region, in order to benefit from a good, sweet crop of grapes.

The key to good grapes is sun, sun, sun. This is because sunlight is essential if the fruit is to produce the sugar necessary to make the berries sweet. Vines must, therefore, be planted in a sunny south-facing, sheltered spot, such as against a warm wall, and be supported by strong wires. The strawberry grape is a good choice for planting outdoors in such a spot.

If you don’t have these requirements consider growing an indoor variety in a cold greenhouse, conservatory or well-ventilated polytunnel.

Planting

The soil should be well drained and reasonably deep and fertile. Dig in plenty of well-rotted garden compost or manure at least a month prior to planting and fork over the base of the hole to improve drainage. Scatter some generalpurpose fertiliser or pelleted chicken manure over the planting area.

Growing on

To keep your vine under control, it is best to grow it as a cordon (single straight main stem or rod) or multiple cordon (several straight main stems arising from the same plant). These main stems arise from horizontal branches running along the bottom wire and are kept as a permanent framework on which the fruiting side shoots are formed.

As the side shoots grow, train them out either side of the main rods and once a bunch begins to form, pinch back the shoot to two leaves from the bunch, to concentrate the plant’s energy on the fruit.

During the winter, cut back the tip of the rod by half of the growth made in the previous year and, as the rods age, replace them with other suitably placed rods which have formed on the horizontal branches.

With dessert grapes, if the bunches have set a large number of berries, you may need to thin them out to improve the size and quality of the remainder. This must be done in several stages and begins when the fruit is the size of a pea until there is 1cm/½in between the fully grown berries.

Although grapes like to grow in well-drained soil, watering during the summer is important to maintain even moisture levels and to help prevent the fruit from splitting and getting mildew. This is why traditionally, the roots of greenhouse grapes were planted outside the greenhouse, with the stem running underneath the wall and into the structure.

Once the grapes are soft and sweet, you can begin harvesting. Snip the bunch off the stem by cutting it half an inch or so either side of the main stalk. Handled carefully, your grapes may store for six to eight weeks if kept cool with the cut end in water.

Container growing

Grapevines can be grown very successfully in a large pot or tub filled with a loam-based John Innes compost, but they do need additional care. Place the pot on a sunny, sheltered patio during the summer, but, if possible, bring the plant indoors into an unheated greenhouse or polytunnel for the winter where it will be sheltered from cold winds and heavy frosts.

Keep the vine reasonably moist during the growing season and feed regularly with a high potash tomato food from April to September.

Pruning is different, too, and rather than relying on a system of permanent rods, cut all growth back to within a bud during the dormant season to maintain a tight head.

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In the kitchen

A ripe, sun-warmed grape can be delicious straight off the vine, but native fruit from warmer climes can often be very acidic when grown in cooler temperatures. Grapes make great juices and, of course, wine.

Preparation and cooking: Sharp grapes can be cooked until caramelised and sweet. Roast them with poultry or game, or bake in tarts and crumbles. They can also be used to make jellies or eaten at any time as a healthy, low calorie snack. Pair with cheese or throw into salads; cook, freeze or ferment to make the most of your crop.

Storage and freezing: To maintain plumpness and flavour, store unwashed on the stalk, refrigerated in an airtight container. Pluck and rinse the fruit then spread them on a tea towel to dry. Open-freeze on trays and seal in bags, to be enjoyed as cooling ice-grape sweets. Frozen grapes are also easier to peel.

Peaches

Although peaches can be grown outdoors in milder or more sheltered areas of the UK, their success is reliant on the weather. In a mild year, peaches can crop well, but in a cold, wet season expect a low yield. Nectarines, with their smooth skins, are even less reliable and ideally require a greenhouse, polytunnel or conservatory.

Varieties

Some varieties of peach are better suited to the British climate than others. The most reliable are:

‘Peregrine’ and ‘Rochester’: These can be grown in the open in warm or sheltered areas, especially when grown as fans against a warm wall.

Nectarines are suitable only for very favoured areas, try:

‘Early Rivers’ and ‘Lord Napier’: These are the ones most often seen in catalogues.

Growing tips

Planting

Choose a site which is both sheltered and sunny on free-draining soil, which holds plenty of moisture during the summer. Improve dry soils by digging in well-rotted garden compost or manure prior to planting, either outside or in the greenhouse border.

If growing as a fan, buy a three-year-old tree that has already been partly trained. Before planting, fix some strong wires to the wall with vine eyes at 45cm/18in intervals to support the framework of branches as they grow.

Growing on

Pruning should not be done in the winter, but in late spring or early summer when the sap rises as this helps to prevent bacterial canker and silver leaf. Bushes are trained in much the same way as plum trees, but for fans cut back any branches growing away from the wall or into it, then thin the side shoots on each branch by pinching off every other one.

In May, cut back the growth from the remaining side shoots to five or six leaves. Finally, after fruiting cut back to the lowest shoot on each side branch, removing all but the lowest shoot. This is the replacement shoot – the one on which fruit will develop next season.

If the crop is heavy, the fruits may require thinning in stages until they are 20cm/8in apart, to ensure good size and quality.

Give your tree a dressing of fertiliser, such as Growmore, or pelleted chicken manure in the spring before mulching with well-rotted garden compost, and cover ripening fruit to deter wasps and birds.

Container growing

Peaches are ideal for growing in pots since they can be moved indoors into a frost-free greenhouse, conservatory or polytunnel from February when flowering, then placed in a sheltered spot outside once the frosts are over.

As with many fruit trees, peaches and nectarines are usually grafted onto rootstocks to control their growth. To grow peaches in a pot, look for a tree grafted on to St Julian A or Pixy. Grow in a large 38–45cm/15–18in pot filled with John Innes No. 3 compost and keep on a sunny, sheltered patio during the summer. In the autumn move the tree into a greenhouse or, if this is not possible, a shed, garage or simply close to the house wall where it will be sheltered from the worst of the winter wind. In spring, protect the blossom from frost with horticultural fleece if the tree cannot be taken under cover.

Although both peaches and nectarines are selffertile, they blossom when few insects are on the wing to pollinate them, so to be sure, pollinate them yourself with a soft brush. Each spring, add a new layer of fresh compost to the top of the pot and feed every 14 days, as the fruit is developing, with a high potash tomato food.

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In the kitchen

Nothing beats the sensual juicy flesh of a ripe, sun-kissed peach. Ripen on the tree and pluck when the fruit is warm, heavy and juicy. Take great care when picking peaches and nectarines as they bruise very easily. Lift and twist gently and if the fruit does not come away easily, leave it for a few more days.

Preparation and cooking: Stone, peel and cut into quarters for desserts. Use raw, or enhance the flavour by baking or poaching in caramelised syrup. The classic Peach Melba made with fresh ripe fruit is a revelation. Simmer halves in sugar, water, vanilla and lemon juice and serve with the sticky sauce and cream. Halves are delicious doused in your favourite liqueur and jarred and stored or shared as gifts. Peaches and nectarines make wonderful jams, pies, liqueurs and ice creams. They can be juiced and are sometimes used in chutney and as an accompaniment for roast pork.

Storage and freezing: If harvested under ripe, allow the fruit to soften on a sunny windowsill but don’t keep in the fridge, as they will remain hard, bland and floury. Cooked peach and nectarine dishes can be frozen, otherwise eat straight from the tree.

Pears

Although pears are not the easiest fruit to grow, due to their susceptibility to frosts at blossom time, given the right conditions, they will thrive and crop heavily, but if you live in the north of the UK or have an exposed garden, it is best to grow pears as a fan or cordon against a warm south or westfacing wall or fence.

Varieties

Pears have been grown for many centuries and as a result a large number of varieties have been bred. The main groups are culinary (cooking) and dessert (eating), the latter being a better choice for growing in the garden. Perry pears are grown for making a fine alcoholic drink and tonic, but are not generally suitable for smaller gardens.

‘Beth’: An early dessert pear cropping in September. Not self-fertile.

‘Concorde’: A late dessert variety cropping in October/November.

‘Conference’: The most popular dessert variety and partly self-fertile.

‘Williams’ Bon Chretien’: Another dessert variety with a great flavour. Crops in September, but does not store well. Both ‘Beth’ and ‘Conference’ will pollinate it.

Growing tips

Planting

Follow the planting and training advice given for apples and you won’t go far wrong. However, pears are fussier than apples when it comes to site. The much earlier flowering means that it is important to find a sheltered spot, especially when growing bush trees in the open. If this is not possible, stick to trained types such as cordons, fans and espaliers, which can be grown against a warm wall.

Pears do have the advantage of tolerating heavier soils than apples, but dislike chalky conditions. Choose a reasonably free-draining, moisture-retentive soil and when planting make sure that the graft union is at least 23cm/5in above the surface to prevent the fruiting wood from rooting into the soil and bypassing the parent rootstock.

Growing on

When the blossom appears, keep some horticultural fleece handy to protect the flowers from frost – wall-trained trees can sometimes be covered completely with a sheet suspended over the top, but be sure to uncover during the day when insects are interested.

Mulch each year in the spring after applying a general fertiliser.

If you have a heavy crop, it may be necessary to thin the fruit to improve the quality. Not many varieties are self-fertile, so if you have little space, train ‘Conference’ as a spacesaving espalier along a fence or wall.

Harvesting

Pears should be harvested when nearly ripe, since if left to become over ripe they won’t store well. Most tend to turn from a very acid green to a slightly lighter hue when ready for picking and some acquire a rosy blush, but colour is not always a good guide. To pick simply lift and gently twist; if they come off without resistance they are ready. Take great care not to bruise the fruit and if you intend to store them, lay them out in a single layer in a paper-lined tray. Place somewhere cool and dark.

Container growing

Pears are well suited to growing in large pots and containers, filled with loam-based John Innes No. 3 compost. Stand your tree – a self-fertile one if you don’t have room for two – in a sunny position and water well during the growing season.

When the tree is flowering you could move it into a greenhouse or conservatory to protect it from frost but you will have to pollinate the fruit with a small, soft paintbrush. Feed your tree each week between April and September with a high potash feed to encourage fruit formation and ripening. Supplement this by adding some controlled-release fertiliser.

Fact file

Calendar

In the kitchen

The perfect fruit for the English garden, as versatile as the apple but more complex.

Preparation and cooking: When soft, sweet and ungritty, pears are the perfect foil for any sharp blue cheese. This, combined with bitter leaves and walnuts, can create a noteworthy salad. Late season dessert pears, such as ‘Concorde’, cook well and are especially good for desserts. Divine when drizzled with dark chocolate, in tarts or simmered in sweetened red wine. There are numerous delicious recipes that use pears and they can often be a substitute for apples in pies, flans or for baking or making juices, purées and chutney – they can even be barbecued.

Storage and freezing: A well-stored harvest will bring joy to the winter kitchen. Keep pears in a cool, dark and dry place (see Harvesting) or bottle, poached in syrup. Pears can also be frozen in the same way as plums. One of the easiest ways to preserve them is by pickling in a boiled solution of white distilled vinegar and sugar to which you can add spices such as cinnamon, allspice, ginger and cloves, to taste.