Anna Ralphs Gooseberry -

It has become the "Holy Grail" of heirloom Ribes hunters. Blogs like The Gooseberry Gazette and forums on the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale frequently discuss "The Anna."

Gooseberries are susceptible to a fungal disease called American gooseberry mildew ( Sphaerotheca mors-uvae ). In the early 20th century, this disease decimated European soft fruit. While some cultivars like ‘Invicta’ proved resistant, the delicate, thin-skinned ‘Anna Ralphs’ was tragicically vulnerable. anna ralphs gooseberry

It is demanding. You need a deep, moisture-retentive but free-draining loam. pH must be between 6.0 and 6.8. Add copious amounts of well-rotted manure in the autumn before planting. It has become the "Holy Grail" of heirloom Ribes hunters

While her husband, Thomas Ralphs, managed the livestock and the wheat fields, Anna managed the "cottage garden"—a space traditionally reserved for medicinal herbs, vegetables, and soft fruit. According to parish records and a surviving diary fragment held at the Shropshire Archives, Anna was known locally as the "Berry Woman." pH must be between 6

The seeds are on their way to the Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst, UK. While seeds that old rarely germinate (gooseberry seeds have a notoriously short viability), there is a non-zero chance.