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Gooseberry pest or disease?

kt460kt460 Posts: 5
in Fruit & veg


Can anyone identify what is attacking these baby gooseberries? Leaves look healthy, but lots of new gooseberries have been attacked. Thanks!

Posts

  • kt460kt460 Posts: 5
    Leaves are turning yellow! Please help or point me towards a knowledgeable source of info. I had a great crop of goosegogs last year!  :'(
  • kt460kt460 Posts: 5
    Thank you. Yes i was thinking it might be mildew but just looking a bit different. However I have no idea what to do. I'm a beginner at fruit growing and i have an organic garden, I've never used insecticide (apart from neem) or herbicide. Could you recommend a site where I could get some guidance about what to do? Thanks again for your time! :)
  • Bee witchedBee witched Posts: 1,295
    Hi @kt460,

    Try spraying with a solution of bicarbonate of soda (5g in 1L of water ... with a little drop of washing up liquid.)

    It is early in the season to be seeing this ... but it has been very dry this month ... so make sure you give your plant a good drench at soil level.

    Good luck,
    Bee x
    Gardener and beekeeper in beautiful Scottish Borders  

    A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
  • kt460kt460 Posts: 5
    Thank you Bee witched. It's in a container & I have been generously watering it every other day during the recent dry spell. Maybe it's pot bound, weakening it? I was planning to have it out the container & in the ground, but thought to wait till the Autumn. I think I will remove all the diseased young fruit, & yellow leaves, spray it as you suggest & cut it back & get it out the pot and plant it with lots of compost in the ground. Sounds drastic but I'm afraid if I don't do something drastic I will lose the whole plant, plus whatever it is will spread to another much younger gooseberry & nearby blueberries. Many thanks for your advice. 
  • kt460kt460 Posts: 5
    Bee witched, all I did was remove all the brown fruit & leaves, sprayed it as you suggest & now it seems fine. Lots of healthy fruit appearing, so I have wrapped it in net to keep the birds off & fingers crossed all ok now. Still a mystery though. But thanks again for your help. :)
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