Sam’s Gooseberries

Search for gooseberries in a shop and the chances are you won’t find them. I confess I knew very little about them until Sam Turner told me about a lost collection of gooseberry cultivars that might still be living in the abandoned grounds of an old botanical research station. They were put there 40 years, perhaps as the research station was being closed down but are they still there?

I love that many of the stories for the podcast are now coming from listeners, so we get to tell a plant story together. As you will also know, for me, the plant and the place are entwined and in the case of this story - literally! So wherever possible I try to go to those places, hoping that that brings listeners closer to the joy of the story.

Look carefully at the left of the photograph to see a raised concrete bed.

The old botanical research station which belonged to Manchester University is in the shadow of the Jodrell Bank telescope. It once held several Plant Heritage National Collections including the gooseberries. We think that many of the cultivars were grown by a man called Frank Carter who worked there and was himself a prize winner in the gooseberry growing competitions around Cheshire. There is a tradition of these competitions that stretches back over 200 years.

So join Sam and me on the search for the lost bushes and to learn more about the growers who sadly maybe the last generation to practice the dying art of growing prize winning gooseberries.

If Sam and I do look a little dishevelled it is because I don’t think I have ever waded through so many stinging nettles in pursuit of a plant story! With thanks to Richard Okill who is himself a prizewinning gooseberry grower who gave us this list of Frank’s cultivars and a lesson in gooseberry growing. Sadly you won’t find Frank’s cultivars in garden centres but many of them are alive and still winning prizes amongst the specialist growers like Richard.

With thanks also to additonal research from Liz Edwards - Conservation Adviser at Plant Heritage.

Sam’s dream is to put together a historical collection of Frank’s cultivars so she is on the search for them. If you can help, then do get in touch with me - sally@ourplantstories.com

And if you would like to try some gooseberry recipes - well I asked Kathy Slack, the wonderful cook, who you may remember from the Radish episode if she could help.

Kathy said:

I'm delighted you're giving them some love because they are increasingly difficult to buy in the shops these days. Poor gooseberry growers.

I do indeed have some recipes and you'd be enormously welcome to use them.

https://kathyslack.substack.com/p/gooseberry-blondies

https://www.fortnumandmason.com/stories/seasonal-veg-with-kathy-slack-summer

https://www.kathyslack.com/blog/gooseberry-elderflower-trifle