polly.walker

I am wanting to start to grow some fruit in part of my garden.
Can any one tell me if it is possible to grow Rhubarb and Gooseberries in Spain.
If so, is it easy or difficult

Regards
Pauline

mikelincs

Depends on where in Spain you are, in the north should be simple for both, in the south I supect more difficult with the lack of water..

polly.walker

Thank you.

I live in Benissa in the Alicante region by the coast.

Bri and Katee

We live a bit further south and inland from you. Last September we planted a half dozen gooseberries along our fenceline. Hoping that if they take it will help be a deterrent for people cutting holes in the fence!

Anyway they were on the irrigation system until November getting water every two days. We won't know if they have survived until we go out again in March and to be honest we will only know for sure this time next year, after they have had a proper summer on them.

We even had a pine tree we planted two years ago die this winter, seems we may have provided it with too much water! so planting anything really is an adventure in horticulture.

angie mccready

hiya,
my daughter brought me a rhubarb root over from UK and so far its doing OK in a large pot.
i've had it for about 3 years now and this year im going to move it to an old bath to give it a chance to get bigger.
im not so sure it would survive in the garden, but good luck anyway.

polly.walker

Thanks to all.

Angie , I will certainly try the rhubarb in container rather than in the garden What type of compost did you use

angie mccready

just ordinary compost, nothing special, the cheapest!! ha ha, but i did mix some earth in with it as compost on its own would dry out too quickly in the summer temperatures, and i soaked it every evening. oh and kept it in the shade of a big tree.

poolboy

I have nurtured the indiginous plants in my garden, just trimmed & shaped them. Anyway, they are so deep rooted & hardy that they survive anything, even strimming back to roots, they just grow back.

So no watering or feeding, just a monthly hair cut.

Chap who owned it before me planted pine trees & with no water they have dug in so deep they are doing v well. My other trees have self seeded & bred.

Total spend in 8 years on my 1600m plot = 0!

bil

Tried rhubarb, but no luck, ditto with jostaberries, blueberries and redcurrants. Passionflowers did fine, but are too aggressive and too easily frost damaged.

Strawberries seem good, but raspberries not worth it. Loganberries and blackberries very good.

polly.walker

Thanks to everyone.

My fruit garden is going to expand this year with Rhubarb, Loganberries, Blackberries and Strawberries.

Any further fruity suggestions welcome Edible that is

Thanks again

Polly

fionamw

Never a truer phrase posted when it comes to gardening in Spain!

fadingstarlight

is there anywhere u can buy rhubarb seeds? or like canned or frozen? I am in the Valencia region. I do not have a green thumb whatsoever so I am not much for trying to grow it myself.
thanks.

bil

Not canned or frozen, no, I thing you'd find the seeds would be killed. It's possible that you can buy seeds, but I'd suggest that you buy a root. That way you know what you are getting. I've never seen rhubarb sold as seeds, but I have seen it sold as roots.

Fred James

You can get seeds.

http://www.thompson-morgan.com/fruit...erpetual/831TM

The climate in Spain is really not right for growing it though as it doesn't like temperatures much over 30c.

I did try the seeds but they didn't make it through the summer. You might have a better chance with an established crown but again, it won't like the temperatures.

bil

That was my experience here to a T.