Page 26 - Simply Vegetables Spring 2022

I never fail to be surprised how many people are not aware that currants come is so many colours - most people are aware of black and redcurrants but few are aware of whitecurrants and even fewer know that there are pinkcurrants! It is well worth growing all of these currants as they each have a different flavour
to add to those sumptuous summer desserts! They are all easy to grow soft fruits and are just superb to eat during the warm days of summer whether fresh or cooked. Although all these currants are part of the Ribes family and there
are two distinct ways of growing them. Blackcurrants are grown as bushes whilst the other currants are grown on
a short single leg - or as a multi stem
for bush growing - and can be grown
as bushes, cordons, double cordons, or fans. Incidentally these currants bear no relation to the currants used for cooking that are in fact dried grapes!
So, let’s first have a look at blackcurrants which are grown as bushes as all new growth arises from beneath ground level. The fruits usually grow in small clusters or on short strigs. Blackcurrants are a very popular soft fruit which have a strong and distinctive flavour and are traditionally grown for jam, cordial and pudding making. Ribena, of course, is a major user of blackcurrants in the UK.
Blackcurrants need a relatively sunny
site and before planting ensure that
the site is well dug over to ensure good drainage. Poor soils can be improved
by working in plenty of organic matter such as well rotted manure or home- produced compost. As the plants can be fairly vigorous it is, perhaps, best to limit your planting to one or two blackcurrant plants - unless you have plenty of space - allowing at least 1.2m (4ft) between them. Plant blackcurrants around 50mm (2 inches) below their nursery growing level to encourage good rooting and branch development. Blackcurrants are best planted in the dormant season (autumn if possible) and after planting cut all shoots down to two buds above ground level.
Mature plants will need pruning annually after leaf fall to encourage new wood and this is simply done by removing around a third of the bush either by cutting out some of the older branches to a young shoot near the base or complete branch removal if the bush has become overcrowded with branches.
Red, white, and pink currants are grown on a permanent framework as the fruiting buds are produced in clusters at the base of one-year-old shoots and on short spurs on old wood and to enable this permanent framework, whether it be a cordon or fan, redcurrants are grown on a single short leg. As opposed to blackcurrants, red, white, and pink currants have a sweet flavour and are usually eaten raw with the colours used for decorative purposes. Additionally, these currants tend to grow on long strigs which can act as a very decorative feature in the garden. Mind you, having said that birds find them very attractive too so they will always need to be grown under some form of protection at fruiting time!
As with blackcurrants, red, white, and pink currants do need to be planted in a relatively sunny site and will require good drainage which is best achieved by good
ground preparation. Use plenty of organic matter as with planting blackcurrants. Planting distances depend on exactly how you are going to grow these currants. As noted earlier you can grow red, white, and pink currants as bushes or as cordons which can be grown up a single stake or cane meaning there is no need to devise
a complicated supporting structure. If you have a good warm wall, you might consider growing these currants as fans albeit they are very space consuming.
If growing as bushes shorten all stems after planting by about half to encourage
a good, strong framework. During the
year these shoots will grow upward again and produce side shoots (spurs) and it is on these side shoots that a lot of fruit will develop. In late June/early July cut back the current season’s side shoots back to 4 to 5 leaves. Then in the dormant season prune all of the previously summer pruned side shoots to about 25mm (1 inch) to a bud. Cut the main stems back by a half. Plant bushes between 1.2m and 1.5m (4 to 5 feet) apart.
If growing as cordons you need to
cut the central leader back by half after planting to an outward facing bud and all laterals back to 25mm (1 inch) from the main stem to a bud. Remove any laterals completely up to 150mm (6 inches) from ground level. In late June/early July cut back the current season’s side shoots back to 4 to 5 leaves. Do not cut the leader
Growing multi
coloured currants!
GERRY EDWARDS FNVS
26 Simply Vegetables