All About Gooseberries
/An illustration of a gooseberry branch. done by SCD Agroforestry Program manager Carrie Brausieck!
Wild, thorny, and reaching, native Gooseberries harken the promise of life in early spring to birds and insects. Commercial Gooseberries offer the same with early clusters of intricate flowers enticing the bees out of hibernation. In summer, translucent lanterns of fruit offer complex flavors in the field and in the kitchen.
Native Varieties
Gooseberries are in the genus Ribes and there are around 50 species native to North America with 30 native to the Pacific Northwest. Coast Black Gooseberry (Ribes divarucatum) has the best flavor of the PNW native Gooseberries and is one of the parent plants to the cultivated Jostaberry. Native edible Gooseberries are small, black in color, and offer a pleasant sweetness accompanied by a tart/acid balance.
Commercial Varieties
Commercially, there are two Gooseberry types: American (Ribes hirtellum) and European (Ribes uva-crispa). American cultivars are more resistant to mildew and more productive, but the fruit is smaller. European cultivars tend to have larger, more flavorful fruit (Cornell University, 2019). Commercial Gooseberries can be found in hues of white, yellow, green, and red. They pop in the mouth like a grape and are full of juice ranging in sweet, sour, and tart flavors.
Relationships & Planting Conditions
Gooseberry flowers early in the spring, providing an important food source for Hummingbirds, adult Butterflies, and native Bees. Birds such as Grosbeaks and Cedar Waxwings eat the berries as they ripen in summer.
Gooseberries grow in wet, well-drained soil at forest edges, under trees, or in areas of partial dappled shade. Whether native or commercial, this plant lends itself to agroforestry systems through its preferred relationship with trees.
Maintenance
For commercial varieties, pruning is one of the most important practices to allow good air circulation (preventing powdery mildew) and to improve fruit production.
Marketability
Gooseberries are shelf-stable and aesthetically pleasing, lending themselves well to farmers’ markets and store displays. They keep well frozen and can be processed into jams and jellies, juice, wine, and even yogurt (Bratsch & Williams, 2009).
Some of the content above is taken from these Gooseberry resources : Ag Marketing Resource Center and Native Plants PNW.
