How to grow Cape Gooseberry in Australia

Where to plant

Grow cape gooseberries in full sun with shelter from strong wind, in well-drained soil. Do not make the soil too rich: very fertile soil gives masses of leaves and poorly coloured fruit, and good crops come from fairly poor, sandy ground. They like plenty of water while growing and flowering, and drier weather as the fruit matures.

Cape gooseberry is naturalised across much of eastern and southern Australia and is regarded as an environmental weed in Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, where birds and animals spread the seed into bushland. Keep plants in your garden, pick up fallen fruit, and do not plant it near bushland.

• South East Queensland, the Northern Rivers and Sydney: plant from late winter into spring. Plants can live for two or three years where there is no frost.
• Perth: sow from August to October so plants are established before summer. On the frost-free plain it is a short-lived perennial; cut it back after fruiting.
• Melbourne, Adelaide and Canberra: start seed indoors in September and plant out after frost. Grow it as a summer annual; frost kills plants in autumn.
• Hobart: grow it as an annual, planting out in October or November. Fruit ripens late, so pick before the first hard frost.
• North Queensland and Darwin: a dry-season crop, sown from April to about August. Fruit sets poorly and rots in the wet season.

How to plant

1. Sow the tiny seed shallowly, about 5 mm deep, in punnets of seed-raising mix in a warm spot. Germination can be patchy, so sow more than you need.
2. Keep the mix moist and warm; seedlings appear in about two weeks.
3. Plant out after frost, once seedlings are about 10 cm tall, 60 cm to 1 m apart.
4. Dig in some compost before planting, but do not add rich manure.
5. Water in and mulch, and put a short stake or low frame beside each plant to support its sprawling stems.

Watering and feeding

Water regularly while plants are growing and flowering, then ease off a little as the fruit ripens. Do not let the soil stay waterlogged, which leads to root rot.

Feed lightly, if at all. Too much nitrogen gives a big leafy plant with few fruit.

Pruning and care through the year

• Tie the sprawling stems loosely to a stake or low frame to keep fruit off the ground.
• In frost-free gardens, cut plants back after the main crop to keep them compact and productive for another season. Replace them every two or three years, as older plants crop less and carry more disease.
• Pull out self-sown seedlings that come up where you do not want them, and pick up fallen fruit so it does not spread.

Harvesting

The fruit is ripe when the husk has turned papery, dry and straw-coloured and the berry inside is golden orange. Ripe fruit often drops to the ground in its husk; collect it every few days. Pick from the plant every two or three weeks through the season.

Only eat fully ripe, golden fruit. Unripe green fruit is poisonous. Ripe fruit left in their husks keep well; stored dry in a sealed container they can last for several months.

Growing in pots

Cape gooseberry grows well in a pot at least 30 cm wide with a free-draining potting mix and a small stake. A pot also keeps it contained, which helps stop it spreading. Water regularly in summer and feed only lightly.

Using it

• Eat ripe berries fresh, peeled from their husk, or add them to fruit salads, desserts and cheese platters.
• They make an excellent jam, and are good in chutney and sauces.
• Use only fully ripe fruit. Green fruit and the leaves should not be eaten.

Growing from seed and cuttings

Seed saved from ripe fruit grows true. Squeeze the seeds from a ripe berry, rinse and dry them on paper, and store them dry. Stem cuttings also root, and plants from cuttings flower sooner, though seedlings are more vigorous.