GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

Ian B[_3_] · 08-05-2011, 09:35 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening

Roger Tonkin wrote:
In article ,
lid says...

I planted a small gooseberry bush last year and this year it appears
to have some gooseberries on it. Not many, but a few. How do I know
when I can pick them? That is, when they are ripe? They are green
and not hairy and don't look like they will change colour or
ánything.

Also, my sister gave me a rhubarb and it has quite a lot of leaves
with long stems on it, some of which now seem to have got old and
died. Again, how do I know when I should harvest the rhubarbs? When
they have just grown and are red, or leave them to go green, or
what? Does it matter? I'm wondering if the taste changes as the
stalks age and there is some optimal moment for harvesting, if you
see what I mean.

TIA

Ian

I usually start picking gooseberries at the end of May, but it depends
on variety. You can always try the taste test, pick one and bite it,
if you can eat it, its ready to be picked! Otherwise I would wait
until you can gently squeeze the fruit and feel it give a little.

Thanks! there are not many, so I don't want to waste any on experiments.
I'll try the squeeze test

You should not harvest rhubarb for the first year, to allow it to
settle and develop its root system. After that pick a few stems by
pulling outwards and upwards, when they are reasonable size. The
earlier rhuibarb is always much nicer than later in the season, so
pick little and often. Many people say not to pick after the end of
July, because toxins build up in the stems, I tend to stop by
mid-August, depending on how much I've got preserved!

Thanks again. I'll leave it alone to establish.

Ian