Grow Currants From Planting To Harvest 

Sounds like a very special memory - wonderful! :-)

That's beautiful!

My father's family has a summer cabin on an island where the forest is full of wild currant bushes of all three varieties, I have many wonderful summer memories of trekking through the forest picking and eating currants as I went, it was absolutely wonderful 😍 The white currants were always my favourite, bit more acidic and fresh tasting than black currants but more sweet than red currants, sort of the perfect combination of the best aspects of both of the other two varieties.

We had just a few blackcurrant bushes in the garden and I remember full buckets of fruit. Recently I noticed a 'wild' redcurrant mixed in with some greenwall bushes of a neighbour building. Some bird must've carried it in.

Thank you!

Interesting insight, thank you.

@@miblvd431 White Pine Blister Rust, it was mentioned in the video.

@@dhawthorne1634 Some people are more visual and auditory and they like to read it as well as hear it.

I got a pink current bush this year. propagated at hardy fruit tree in Quebec

Derp

Full sun uk is a lot different to Australian full sun. Glad you have saved your currants.

So glad I found your comment re planting in the shade. Thank you

You'll have a lovely variety of currants to pick this summer I'm sure. Lovely stuff! :-)

This is how I pick sloes in autumn.

What a great idea Pam. :-)

That's exactly what I do too Pam, it's usually pretty hot at harvest time too.

Use a fork to strip them from the branch. Super easy. And wear gloves the juice is equal like cherries able to ruin your fabrics.

That's exactly how we harvest pot here

Share the recipe! :)

yeah the white/yellow veriant grows really bad. I worked at a growing farm of fruit plants. we had black/red/white version and I like the currant black version / red to sour and white doesn't grow that good

here in the rockies of Colorado we have wild wax currants they grow everywhere.

There are also native black currents. They grow more plant and less berry than the domestic ones but in places with enough rain they do fine in the shade of large trees.

@@klm20079 really? Weird. I have a golden/white currant bush and I have to move it due it growing out it's space. And the crops are huge. But it's in a semi shaded area.

American black currant (distinct native species) tastes pretty bad. No acidity, sweetness, or appealing texture. I spent a summer excitedly monitoring a huge thicket intending to collect kilos of it for wine, and after trying a couple different berries, I can see why the birds didn't take it before I did.

It is sad too. I found as a teenager a bag of 2 plain red currants at Fred Meyers and cheap. My mom had said she remembered my great gramma having yellow gooseberries and making the best gooseberry pie. I had never seen that either in stores. So I planted them and in a year had this lovely dangling red jeweled bush on either side of the entry door. Although supposedly best when cooked, I did not know at tasted them. I thought they were the most unique berry flavor, a pleasant taste. I never saw any again until a decade later in a specialty nursery in Oregon, where I found what I think is called Pink Pearl, or a white variety that was super sweet. I grew it but one year when it was thriving must have pruned poorly as it died. Not one nursery in Vancouver, WA today has them, but Portland Nursery has several, and several gooseberries. I bought a Pink Champagne and put it in a planter, and a golden gooseberry that is low growing in the ground. What is also exciting is the seeds that fell off the old white currant sprouted a few years ago, and now I have surviving 2 very tiny sapling plants too.

How wonderful to discover wild currants growing - what a treat! They will make great jams I'm sure.

what part of Texas are you in I thought it was all desert and dry

@@obfuscateidentity2329 there are actually 8 different climate zones here in Texas. From dry arid (like you imagine) to sub-tropical.

I've never heard of the golden currant - it sounds very appealing indeed. :-)

I have found golden currants in the wild too (I’d call them orange) and some of them were amazing tasting, so sweet like candy but with a lot of flavor, maybe like a sour candy. But I’ve also found some that were very undesirable. You never know. I’ve propagated some cuttings from a good one so I can have some in my garden soon.

@@realstatistician VERY true, and the colors shift based on genes and time of year(some turn black as the summer progresses; where others remain orange) though I find it to be a two part issue, some are bad from genes, others bad from the growing conditions. The available propagates coming to online or to box stores have been reaching production and desirableness of ribes nigrum.

The tiny raisins are "Zante Currents" which are made from a variety of grape and different from actual current berries.

Great that you're already getting a use out of your cutting.

I had forgotten about Ribena. A warm drink when you had a cold.

I'll have to try it as a hot drink this winter. It's usually a cold one for me.

Love Ribena too, but sadly they put aspartame in it here :( I have it from another brand. Black currant juice has always been my favorite. In many parts of Europe you can buy it as a soda, named cassis.

@@AnnaMaria-zm8cv We have two versions of Ribera here in Canada - the one with aspartame and another one with just sugar. I agree the aspartame one is not good.

Mmmm... black currant/raspberry wine must be delicious!

Ensuring nothing's wasted is a great aim to have Sarah - good on you. :-)

What do you use to keep bugs off them?

I think the pruning will only help Diane. Well done on leaving some for the birds. :-)

What do you use to keep bugs from off them? Can peppermint oil be used?

The birds can be very quick at hoovering up all the currants!

Going to have to do this to my elderberry bush next year! Birds have gotten all berries this year 💜😭

I took over an allotment which had like 20 very much neglected bushes on it grown very close together. It took birds few days to strip it completely. I had to take them all out as they were so neglected it wouldnt be worth it to keep them. I had to abandon this whole allotment anyway as it was all neglected, a huge greenhouse on the bringe of collapsing... too much frustration and work for me to bring it back to full glory. It was awesome with an old plumtree and cherry tree and this wooden greenhouse.... So sad. It was like heaven on earth.

That's a great number of bushes - you must be picking load! :-)

You'll be picking plenty!

Thanks so much. :-)

What should I use to keep insects off? What about diluted peppermint oil?

@Beyond Sky Homestead we are Habitat Homestead in SW VA. Do you know of a good regional supplier for starter vines?

@@autiemuse sadly not but I will check my nearest nursery and find out if they have them, if not I will ask my parents to send me some seeds.

Thanks so much Laura, that's really kind of you to say. :-)

Lovely! :-)

Exciting stuff. Hope they grow really well for you. :-)

@@GrowVeg thank you!!! I have a quick question if you don’t mind! The two bushes are very small, around 8” high, both in 4” pots. Would you recommend continue to grow them in pots before planting them? Or would it be okay to stick them in the ground right now?

Sounds like an idyllic neighbourhood you grew up in Jack.

@@GrowVeg It most definitely was. A lot of hard work and hard play. No sitting inside. "Get outside and play" was the most common order our parents gave us.

That sounds like a great plan! Very best of luck with your project.

Much of the PNW has a climate comparable to that of the UK, where these thrive! Your currants should do beautifully!

So pleased you are getting something tasty to harvest. :-)

Your very welcome. Great to be expanding your plants at least. :-)

Sorry to hear you're struggling with fruit fly. Hope next year is troublefree for you.

Kind of you to say! 😀

Great idea!

Make sure you dont just do like water and fruit. Maybe try mixing in fresh fruit with a can of something like peaches where the liquid has that light syrup infused with the peach flavor!

They are not fruit trees. They really do need the soil amendments. I’m in South Carolina and watched 3 die over a 2yr period for poor soil prep. Jostaberry which is a black currant/ gooseberry hybrid is the only one left. I have more coming and will do more soil prep. Anthracnose was a huge problem. Weekly spraying with Daconcil

So pleased that the cuttings have taken. That’s really great news. :-)

They do have such a superb flavor. Glad you're getting to enjoy them so much. :-)

That's really great to hear - it is a very giving plant once it gets settled in.

How do you keep bugs off?

Hope you manage to find them for sale somewhere.

Thanks so much for subscribing Michelle - a warm welcome to you!

Great stuff Katherine. I hope they grow well for you. :-)

Great work Deb!

Hi! You've a gorgeous picture on your profile 😊 just decided to stop by and say hi. I hope my compliment is appreciated 😊

They are a great currant to start with Donna - enjoy.

The black ones also have a stronger flavor. If you only get a small harvest early on, adding them to apples can be a good way to make a pie with a nice additional flavor note.

@@kensmith5694 thanks for the information, I order a black one and red-pink one. Looking forward to trying them out.

Haha - absolutely! :-)

Hmm - sounds good!

What a shame. :-(

Cheap black currant wine is the only thing I remember from the first music festival I went to lol

@@wybuchowyukomendant you need to try mine, everyone i give a bottle to love it hence this year im making a 2 gallon batch ( 12 bottles )

Sounds like a superb use of the fruits Marty!

i just added a red currant bush, and a red gooseberry bush, to my garden! the black currant bushes are fruiting already and i am looking forward to the ripe berries

Well done on growing a fig from cuttings - very impressive!

That's really wonderful to hear - you'll have so much to pick! :-)