Red Gooseberry

Ribes Hinnomaki

• Position: full sun, but some shading needed in very hot weather
• Soil: any well-drained soil
• Rate of growth: average
• Other features: ruby-red berries (mid-July)
• Hardiness: fully hardy
  
  A superb traditional variety that is easy to grow with good disease resistance and heavy crops of fruit. The ruby-red, medium-sized gooseberries are sweet when ripe with a tangy outer skin. The fruit is perfect for bottling and preserves, but if left to ripen fully can be used as a dessert gooseberry too.
  
  
• Garden care: Prepare the ground well before planting. Remove all weeds and dig in plenty of well-rotted manure into the area. Once planted, apply a mulch of well-rotted manure every spring, as well as a nitrogen and potassium fertiliser. Make sure the plant is watered in dry weather and net the bushes to protect the fruit from birds. In the first year, prune shoots back by half to three-quarters to an outward-facing bud in winter. After that prune out weak and older branches only.