Blackcurrants

ashcarrot

I've got a load of blackcurrants grown after two years+ of nurturing. They're black on the outside but green with little pips in middle is that how they're supposed to be or do they need more time to ripe? I suppose i've only got them frozen or in jars so was expecting them to be black throughout and looking like blackcurrant juice coming out.

davemorton

They sound about right. Got my first blackcurrant harvest this year, used them to make the most fantastic tasting jam!

rhiwfield

If they are black on the outside they will be ripe. I love them, their taste is transformed by cooking

Now you have the hard choice, jam, pie fillings, cordial, cassis....

Primrose

Blackcurrants can be really tart in flavour and in the past I've made the mistake of being impatient and harvesting them when they're just turning purple rather than waiting until their skins are really black. Leaving them in the sunshine for just a few more days can make quite a difference in their sweetness.

chelms38

rhiwfield wrote: »

If they are black on the outside they will be ripe. I love them, their taste is transformed by cooking

Now you have the hard choice, jam, pie fillings, cordial, cassis....

That is a nice choice to make.

davemorton

Is it easy to make cuttings from them, or am I better off buying some more dry root stock, as I was so impressed with my fruit this year, that I need more!

Primrose

Yes it's fairly easy to make cuttings. Just snip off some shoots directly under a leaf bud and put them in some compost or direct into the soil. Be sure to keep the soil very moist, and at this stage of their life, out of the hot sun in a slightly shady place, especially when the weather is hot. Not all of your cuttings will take, but the more you do, the better chance you have that some will. The best time to take cuttings is probably towards the end of the summer when the leaves are starting to die off. If you've got a greenhouse in which to protect them through the winter, so much the better.

tangojulie

Blackcurrant cuttings are probably the easiest of all. Take a long piece of stem (15-20 cm) and half bury it in soil. It will root from each buried bud. Leave it for 12 months to get some decent roots going.

Then the hard bit. When you plant it out the following year, cut it right down to soil level. With its by then fantastic root system, it will send up lots of strong new shoots. This won't give you fruit the first year but it will give you a strong well-branched bush for the future.

I've tried leaving them to grow without cutting back and the sad truth is that you never get a well shaped bush that way. So now if I want more bushes, I root twice as many as I need. Plant half of them properly and look forward to fantastic harvests in years to come. Plant the other half in an odd corner and let them grow for a year. They will give you a small crop, better than nothing. Then pull them up the following year when your proper bushes come into production.

Good luck!