Gooseberry
Ribes uva-crispa
In a typical UK garden, plant out mid-October to mid-December, and harvest early June to early August.
When to sow, plant and harvest
Last frost around 20 April, first frost around 31 October.
- Plant out
- mid-October to mid-Decemberlate February to early April
- Harvest
- early June to early August
Growing facts
- Spacing
- 120 cm apart, rows 180 cm apart
- Square foot
- 1 per 9 squares (30 cm squares)
- Sowing depth
- Grown from plants, sets or crowns
- Ready in
- 450 to 600 days from planting
- Grows to
- 1.2 m
- Hardiness
- Hardy to about -25 °C
- Sun
- Copes with some shade
- Crops for
- Several years (perennial)
Growing tip
Pick every other berry in early summer for cooking, leaving the rest to ripen; an open, goblet-shaped bush resists mildew.
More fruit
Where these figures come from
Every crop in VegLog was checked against published growing advice. Dates are worked out from average frost dates, so they shift with your garden. For gooseberry, we used:
Grow gooseberry with VegLog
Add gooseberry to a bed and VegLog reminds you when to sow, plant out and pick, timed to your own town's frost dates.
