Gardening Tips on Black Currants

The blackcurrant is a very popular fruit both to grow and to eat and no wonder. The fruit has high food value and is delicious to eat.

The blackcurrant is relatively easy to grow and if grown well is a good cropper. Blackcurrants

Fortunately it is an excellent fruit for freezing. You can eat them raw, cook them or squeeze them and use for a drink. Not to mention that they make a very acceptable home made wine. Before you ask, yes I have made and drunk blackcurrant wine! Why not try making blackcurrant jam? Black currant juice is rich in vitamin C.

Black currents thrive in cold temperatures. The bushes flower early so care has to be taken if frost is forecast when in flower.

Preparation

Taking the time to prepare the ground before planting will pay dividends in the future. Do not try to shortcut this stage as you will only playing catch up in future years.

Remove all weeds, especially perennial varieties, and dig in well rotted farmyard manure. If you cannot get it from a local farm it is available in bags from your local garden centre - probably smells better too!

Where to Grow

Preferably choose a sunny site that is sheltered from cold winds.

Wet and poorly drained soil is not advised.

Which Variety?

We live in a time when new varieties of blackcurrant bush and many other plants are being produced and released onto the market at regular intervals. Marketing material is normally very good and has to be to do its job. The best advice I can give you is to buy your bushes from a specialist grower. This way you are pretty certain to be buying disease free stock and be able to buy the best bushes for your situation / location. Most will have a catalogue they will send to you and be able to give advice by post, telephone or email. You are hopefully going to have your blackcurrant bushes for many years so it is well worth taking that extra bit of care at this stage.

Planting

Planting in late Autumn is preferable but can be planted between November and March.

Plant the bushes 4 - 5 feet (1.2 - 1.5 m) apart.

After planting, cut down all the shoots to one bud above the ground. This may seem drastic and yes, you will be sacrificing the first year's fruit, but it is well worth it so that you get better bushes and higher yields in the future.

Aftercare

Early Spring feed with a high potash general fertiliser and add a good mulch around the base of the bushes.

Once you have an abundance of fruit you will be looking forward to eating them in your pies etc. the birds in your garden will not bother making pies, they will just love them as they are! You cannot blame them, they are so delicious. There was a time when I let my bird friends have a few. After all, there were so many berries. Unfortunately there is a downside to this kindness. You know how birds think that just about anywhere will do when it comes to needing the toilet? Well, when they have eaten the currants you certainly know where they have been. Great big blue black blobs. Sorry for the graphic description.

The moral of the story is to put a net over our fruit as it is ripening. If you can afford a fruit cage, great. If not, loosely cover with plastic netting but do look out for any feathered friends that may have got themselves into trouble. Supposedly they will feel the netting and fly away. The braver may find a way in and not be able to find their way out. Others may become entangled. Last year I visited a friends garden to water for him while he was on vacation. To my dismay I found a robin had his legs entangled in his fruit netting. Fortunately I managed to cut him free with just a sore looking graze on his leg to remind him of his adventure. It could have been so much worse. What if I had not been going for a couple of days or a hungry cat had been passing through.

Picking and Pruning

You know when to pick the fruit without me telling you. As for pruning, this can be carried out in the summer after fruiting or as soon as leaves have fallen. The black current fruits on new wood and hardly at all on old wood. Fruited shoots should be cut right out which encourages the production of new shoots the following season. It means removing at least one third of the wood, cutting back to the point of origin.

Now for the reason for including picking and pruning in the same section. Once the fruit is ripe I prune and carry the pruning to the garden bench. Sitting in relative comfort I take a branch at a time and pick the berries. No, not my idea. Someone got there long before I did. All that remains is for dome poor soul to snip off the ends before cooking. Why not share your best way of doing this?

Propogation

Lastly, you may wish to increase your stock if you have a large enough garden. Here are some techniques for you to try.

Black currants can be increased from both hardwood and softwood cuttings.

The hardwood cuttings are from the current seasons wood, about 10 inches long and planted into a prepared trench in October so that only the top 3 or 4 buds remain above ground level. Do not remove the buds below ground level. As a guide, it is recommended that you space them about 9 inches apart, firming soil back into the trench.

Softwood cuttings are from he top 3 inches of side shoots and taken in July. They are rooted in a shaded cold frame and should be misted to retain moisture. They should be ready for a nursery bed in the Autumn.

The third way is by layering. Take a supple stem down to the ground and peg down. Eventually it will put down roots from a node and when well rooted can be severed from the parent and potted on or planted in a nursery bed.

You will not regret growing Black Currants.

I hope this guide will help you to grow and enjoy your currants.

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