How to grow and eat Gooseberries. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
If you’ve never seen or tried them, gooseberries look a little bit like a large grape: translucent skin, ovoid-spherical shape, and similar coloring. You can find them in greens, purplish-reds, whites, and yellows. Left to ripen, they do have a sweetness, but they are more readily characterized by their tartness. They can be eaten raw, but they are more prized for use in pies and jams.
Gooseberries, like most berries, aren’t all that particular about where they grow. They will produce better in full sun, but they’ll provide fruit under a little shade. They handle a huge swing of temperatures, surviving down to -40 in the winter and performing well up to about 90 degrees. With most berries, slightly acidic soil is the best bet, and good drainage helps a lot. The best time to plant a gooseberry is in the winter or early spring, when it is dormant.
Gooseberries can be eaten as they are picked, but they are generally cooked into sweet treats.
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