Giving Up On Gooseberries

Can grow gooseberries round here but there is a lot that is not possible now. Plums, which for years we got more than we ate off a victoria are now stolen at blossom stage/just after by wood pigeons and pocket plum disease has now made an appearance. Cherries in a fruit cage are got by squirrels and fruit flies now. Netted strawberries all eaten by squirrels. Pears, like plums by pigeons just after flowering and any they miss, by squirrels before they ripen.
So we are left with raspberries, apples, red/black currants, gooseberries, sometimes melons and some nectarines in a polytunnel that the fruit flies miss. Oh and rhubarb.

For the iffy gooseberry growers, can I put in a recommendation for Jostaberries please.
They're a cross between a gooseberry and a blackcurrant. The fruit is larger than a blackcurrant but not as big as a gooseberry. Its spineless and doesn't seem to be troubled by sawfly.
Don't try Worcesterberry as they're a similar cross but have even worse thorns than gooseberries. I grow them as a hedge.

For the iffy gooseberry growers, can I put in a recommendation for Jostaberries please.
They're a cross between a gooseberry and a blackcurrant. The fruit is larger than a blackcurrant but not as big as a gooseberry. Its spineless and doesn't seem to be troubled by sawfly.
Don't try Worcesterberry as they're a similar cross but have even worse thorns than gooseberries. I grow them as a hedge.

.....You forgot to mention, they are tasteless!

Your tastebuds must be all to pot, Vinny. They definitely have a taste.

For the iffy gooseberry growers, can I put in a recommendation for Jostaberries please.
They're a cross between a gooseberry and a blackcurrant. The fruit is larger than a blackcurrant but not as big as a gooseberry. Its spineless and doesn't seem to be troubled by sawfly.
Don't try Worcesterberry as they're a similar cross but have even worse thorns than gooseberries. I grow them as a hedge.

http://kitchengardenblog.co.uk/2014/04/3...by-sawfly/ 

Sawfly finished off my josterberry……………..luckily

For the iffy gooseberry growers, can I put in a recommendation for Jostaberries please.
They're a cross between a gooseberry and a blackcurrant. The fruit is larger than a blackcurrant but not as big as a gooseberry. Its spineless and doesn't seem to be troubled by sawfly.
Don't try Worcesterberry as they're a similar cross but have even worse thorns than gooseberries. I grow them as a hedge.

http://kitchengardenblog.co.uk/2014/04/3...by-sawfly/ 

Maybe sawfly are afraid to venture into my garden.

For the iffy gooseberry growers, can I put in a recommendation for Jostaberries please.
They're a cross between a gooseberry and a blackcurrant. The fruit is larger than a blackcurrant but not as big as a gooseberry. Its spineless and doesn't seem to be troubled by sawfly.
Don't try Worcesterberry as they're a similar cross but have even worse thorns than gooseberries. I grow them as a hedge.

.....You forgot to mention, they are tasteless!

Yup, lovely big tasteless fruit, but the deer loved the taste of the bark and killed it!
It was really productive so useful for bulking out blackcurrant.
My first gooseberry died after an unhappy 4 or 5 years where it produced no more than a couple of berries and then MrPP ran it over withthe ride-on!  I planted a new one last year that's covered in fruit this year.

I don't have a problem with any pests on my gooseberries and generally get a decent crop.i can't blame you for wanting rid of them if you're finding them more hassle than they're worth as space is important.
As they are a good source of food and early nectar for insects and birds it would be a shame to get rid of them entirely. Could you dig em up or take cuttings and replant somewhere away from your veg patch? Like thr far side of an informal hedge?

I don't have a problem with any pests on my gooseberries and generally get a decent crop.i can't blame you for wanting rid of them if you're finding them more hassle than they're worth as space is important.
As they are a good source of food and early nectar for insects and birds it would be a shame to get rid of them entirely. Could you dig em up or take cuttings and replant somewhere away from your veg patch? Like thr far side of an informal hedge?

We have a poorly Fastia japonica we are going to cut down at some point, so I will replace that with a shrub which provides lots of early bee forage. I didn't realise the scale of the...scale problem until I'd got them in the green bin.