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Old 16-07-2005, 10:09 PM
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The message
from Alan Gould contains these words:

A Worcesterberry is a small, purple, very thorny, disease resistant
gooseberry, probably a 'tamed' version of the original wild gooseberry.
Not to be confused with the Jostaberry, which is a cross between a
gooseberry and a blackcurrant. [Joanna Readman - 'Fruity Stories']


Thank you, I recall a number of years ago we had one of those, which we
called a desert gooseberry, we all dreaded being told to go and pick
them!. They were absolutely delicious, and we used to propogate them by
taking cuttings and get rid of the old plant every few years.
Unfortunately, when I got my own garden, after a few years the plant
stopped fruiting, and I was unable to go back to the original. This one
seems to have bigger fruit (round 1.5cm - bigger than black currants,
but smaller than gooseberries) and is fortunately thornless, which would
presumably point to a Jostaberry.


If you leave them until they are fully ripened, i.e. black, the birds
will probably have them first. We picked about 4 lbs. of them today in
all colours from green to black. We have the splinters to prove it :-(


As the bush is in a netted area, with redcurrants, the birds can not get
at them! I've picked almost 40lbs (yes fourty!) of gooseberries off just
one bush over the last three weeks, so I can sympathise.