Grow Currants From Planting To Harvest
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- Опубліковано 26 сер 2022
- Forbidden fruits: Berries, banned? That's right. In the USA currants were banned from being grown or sold for many years. This ban has since been lifted, and while UK and European gardeners are familiar with this fruit in their gardens, many Americans are yet to discover the wonders of currants.
In this week's episode, Ben reveals the reason why these delicious nutritious fruits were off limits and why they're now (mostly) back on the menu in the States, while demonstrating how to grow these treasures from planting to harvest.
Get ready for the new currant trend! ❤️💙
For more on how to grow soft fruits, see our video:
• Grow Healthy Berries F...
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As an Australian, I laughed when you said red currants like full sun. The sun here fried mine for years till I thought it was dead and moved it to the area for recycling pots, in the shade. It's now thriving with nearly full shade every day 😂
My grandparents had currant bushes in their garden when I was a kid. I remember walking around in what seemed to me like an endless maze of high, lush bushes full of berries. It's quite a magical memory.
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.
Black currants were banned for commercial growers and importers, but home growers were still welcome in most states and red currants were quickly legalized once it was found to not be a vector for WPBR.
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
All children should have the opportunity to experience the wonders and pleasures of naturally grown berries and fruit. My grandparents cultivated both red and black currants in their garden, and the occasional red currant bush was not an uncommon sight to spot in the rurals.
I'm in the UK and I grow Big Ben blackcurrants. They are so sweet and huge in size. I freeze them on a tray and then eat all through the winter in my porridge oats. I use my redcurrants in jam with raspberries about 80 / 20 ratio because the RC is high in pectin. Delicious 😋
Great use of currants there Mavis. :-)
Thank you for this information.
You missed blackcurrants pie! Growing up near some of the largest growers in the UK they were so plentiful we would half a freezer full. Either hot of cold they were a delight
Don't know if they're suitable (can't see why not) but having made sloe gin, sloe sherry and blackberry vodka I can see they could be used for a nice Christmas after dinner drink.
Can you use diluted peppermint oil to scare off insects? What do you use to deter them?
My Uncle always grew currants - black, white and red. His currant wine was much celebrated. I hope to grow some blackcurrants in my forever garden.
Share the recipe! :)
Wow. I grew up on currants (NZ). After moving to the states I did wonder why no one knew what I was talking about.
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.
When picking blackcurrants, it can be a real pain in the back! Some years ago it was suggested that, instead of picking berries or strigs, wait until nearly all the berries are ripe, then remove the entire branch, fruit and all. This gets the pruning of the fruiting branches done, the berries are picked from the branch and the leaves separated out for leaf mould whilst sitting in a comfy chair! So I've done this for several years, with great success - the bush has grown well and is very productive. However, this summer in the UK has been kinda unusual, and the fruit ripened in dribs and drabs. So, I had four harvests (all good sizes), and will have to try and remember to prune come winter.
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
Growing up on a farm surprisingly we didn't have currants but the house on the corner had a hedge full of Red Lake. We looked forward to clearing the bushes every year plowing handfuls into our faces as the family there didn't like them!
I went ahead and planted 5 colours last year in my food forest in Eastern Canada. Black, red, pink, white and golden. Only the black fruited and just a few, but they were marvelous. I anticipate a lot more fruit this year now that I know how to care for them!
Thank you once again for an incredibly helpful video.
You'll have a lovely variety of currants to pick this summer I'm sure. Lovely stuff! :-)
Greetings from East Tejas (Texas)! Our backyard was a natural forest habitat with 100+ft pine trees and others closer to the house and with the storms we get it was dangerous to say the least so sadly we had to cut them. Also when we cut them we decided we could then garden! ANYWAY to make a long story longer we were told once we cut them to watch and wait a couple of seasons and see what native plants come up...well we were amazed, we have boneset,goldenrod,rain lilly,pink honeysuckle beautyberry, wood violet,muscadine grapes, and to the point of your video reference finally; CURRANTS!! Out the wazoo! plus several other cool native plants but the currants oh and blackberry too but the wild currants are delicious and make great jams Im told? Great video and information your gardening station has helped me in my garden and I thank you for your time and helpfulness. May you and yours be blessed.
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.
North America has a native version called golden currants (ribes aureum) which were one traditional ingredient of pemmican.
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.
Had them in my garden in Quebec Canada when I was a kid, I miss em.
My mother often baked w dried black currants. I loved the tiny 'raisins' when I was a little kid. I've wondered why I hadn't seen dried currants in many years.
The tiny raisins are "Zante Currents" which are made from a variety of grape and different from actual current berries.
American here, Incredibly concise and excellent framing of information. I am in Colorado, USA and the Ribes Aureum, common name Golden Current, (not touched on here) is a native currant that has delicious sweet golden berries that have the finish of its common name "Clove Currant", with a wonderful warm aftertaste of cloves. Great Video, I would recommend the golden currant as I've personally found the flavor to be more desirable than both the red and white currant, and on par with the black currant; while being incredibly drought and salt tolerant.
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.
Currants are the best, my grandma has a great bush (now moved to my parent's garden, as my grandma moved to an apartment)
I live in southern Quebec, Canada and have grown several black currant bushes for the last 5 or so years in 35 US gallon Smart Pots. My mom used to make black currant jam/jelly which I loved, but now I watch my sugar intake and instead of jam or jelly I make wine! I make a black currant/ black raspberry wine that is totally awesome especially if I use honey as the sugar. Creme de Cassis is also a favorite recipe I make. Love them, love them, love them!
Mmmm... black currant/raspberry wine must be delicious!
I love currants! Tastiest fruits on earth!
I used to work at a private school and we took the kids to pick raspberries and several acted as though it were alchemy. All seemed to enjoy the process especially when we made jam!
I have black currants and love them. Their leaves make excellent tea.
My grandparents grew red currants. We made the best jelly from them.
We found out that when making black currant jam if you leave the piece that was flower on there is no need to add pectin ie lemon juice as some recipes advises,slightly loose easy to spread.
What a harvest we - and our local wildlife - have enjoyed from our dozen or so blackcurrant ‘trees’ this year, which we inherited in a very neglected berry patch along with about 20 gooseberry bushes, three summers ago. It’s been overwhelming! What bounty. The bushes are pretty old and woody, and we pruned them quite seriously in our first autumn here. Then in that winter we removed several of them, in order to create some air, light and space around them. And this year we have been rewarded by finding a redcurrant and a whitecurrant bush among them, as well as pounds and pounds of fruit. We will continue to process of reclaiming space in the berry patch again this autumn. I just love the challenge of making sure we don’t waste our crop.
Ensuring nothing's wasted is a great aim to have Sarah - good on you. :-)
What do you use to keep bugs off them?
I have been drinking Ribena since childhood. I finally got around to obtaining a bare root cutting and it's now growing nicely in a container. The leaves are very good for making tea.
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.
Used to live in Hungary and love blackcurrants, have missed them. Doubtful they'd survive in Texas but thrilled to hear we're getting them back.
What do you use to keep bugs from off them? Can peppermint oil be used?
Black current jam is a very good thing on toast.
You can make tarts etc with them also.
Adding a few to apple based things adds a nice complex flavor.
I just love this channel! Every time I’m looking up a new plant, if this channel has a video it’s the first I watch! Great blend of interesting things, facts, not too much fluff - I never fast forward through sections - just super well made. Nice work!!
Thanks so much Laura, that's really kind of you to say. :-)
My currants were loaded this year, the branches weighed down to the ground with berries, picked a few & all my redcurrants but the birds got the rest, nothing is wasted in nature.
I've had two black currant bushes for years. Completely neglected and overgrown and each is 5-6' across. I still get large harvests but I will be more dedicated in my pruning and I'm sure I'll get even more. I leave some for the birds, the bonus being I get baby plants popping up here and there. I will look into taking cuttings because I'm thinking a black currant hedge would be wonderful. Thank you, Ben!
I think the pruning will only help Diane. Well done on leaving some for the birds. :-)
Fascinating to hear this! I had 2 kg of redcurrants this year ….. and 6 blackcurrants! I’ve moved this young blackcurrant bush into the sunshine now as you have recommended and look forward to a bigger harvest!
I've had red, black and white for years here in Washington state. They are abundant producers!
I'm so excited to learn that it should be easier to get and grow currants! Thank you for this informative video on them.
Absolutely love blackcurrant jam and have done so since I was a kid. We used to have three really big blackcurrant bushes which had to be netted otherwise the birds stripped them bare 🤣 They loved them too!
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.
Thanks for this. I bought one on impulse and decided I'd learn about it after. Very helpful
Yup! I've planted 10 black, 10 red and 5 gooseberry!
Awesome! I love ❤️ my Redcurrants and Blackcurrants! 😋
I always wondered why I couldn't find them here in the US. My family is from the UK so I grew up only having dried currents. I now grow them and was so amazed at the fresh taste. Thanks for the lesson. 👍🏼🥰
Hi Ben
Love your video
For a lot of years I've grown red, white, black and pink currants and they're so easy to grow. I've made red currant jam and a mix of currant compote, pies and and sprinkled on my porridge every morning.
Carol from the UK.
i got only one black currant bush and god ohh god, i still have jars of jam since last year season and obviously half a dozen jars from this year.... amazing plant and fruits....
For those trying to grow these central-East-Coast (Carolinas/VA), be aware that our birds are too smart/desperate for the whole "light = underripe" trick. We grow exclusively green grapes, and the birds will eat them as soon as they become ripe unless we cover them. I am unsure as to the blueberries however, ironically enough.
Peaches have no issue however when it comes to birds, racoons on the other hand...
I will watch your video a few times . I am super excited to try my hand at growing them . Thank you from Florida 🦩
I have 6 black currants plants. I removed the leaves with those yellow blisters on its leaves. I have 1 red currants. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
I already have wild gooseberries growing on my place. They turn the shade of black currants when they are ripe. They are tasty, and the birds think so as well.
Lovely! :-)
This is currently my favourite video on UA-cam 😋
Kind of you to say! 😀
I grow a lot of them they are wonderful kind of a medicinal back flavour
thanks for giving me the current information on currants.
I was fortunate enough to have a grandmother that snuck in some currants and planted them. I've been nibbling on these awesome berries every summer my whole life, nearly 30 now.
I'm growing Ben Sarek & Titania Black Currants - they are fruiting for the first time this year. I've also added 2 White Currants, and a red gooseberry this year. Can't wait!
You'll be picking plenty!
Thank you , I was just getting ready to plant 7 currant plants and needed to know distance between. 🙏
Definitely on my list of berries to grow next year. I love Ribena, but never ate black currants when I lived in the UK. Plus they are extremely healthy. Easy to grow and good for us sounds like a great combo for a garden. Thanks for the video.
Oh you know I'm growing these now! Thanks a heap, B!
I truly do enjoy your channel. Thank you for sharing.
Hell yeah! Ive aquired one of the currants my gma had, one down, 3 to go!
I’ve never eaten currants. I should try some. Love goose berries, but had no.luck with them.Thanks again for the great info !
My auntie had a huge red currant bush on her farm... AWESOMENESS!!
Great presentation as usual and really informative, thanks for the video.
We have been growing them for10 years in Illinois, USA we love them in pancakes
Red, black, and white currants are all great, and the leaves smell really pleasant.
I have two currants in large pots, a white and a pink. This is the second summer for both of them and I was well rewarded with beautiful fruit and lots of it. Thank you for the information in your video
Hi! You've a gorgeous picture on your profile 😊 just decided to stop by and say hi. I hope my compliment is appreciated 😊
Titania is my favourite blackcurrant, huge fruit, also have a few of the Ben varieties. I have about 40 bushes altogether, they're great.
That's a great number of bushes - you must be picking load! :-)
Easy to grow? I'm intrigued and indeed, have never even heard of growing currents. Now I know why! thanks!
I never knew that Currants were band. My grandparents had a garden full back in the 50s through the 70s before they moved.
Just ordered 2 varieties for or fruit guilds. So grateful.
When I was growing up, in the sixties, every farm in our neighbour hood, had currant bushes as well as plums, apple and pear trees, gooseberries and raspberries. The currants required very little maintenance and were covered in fruit every year.
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.
I loved red currants when I was a kid. Very tart.
Red currents looks so beautiful😍❤
Love, love, love this video! I think I'll plant myself some currants. ❤️ Thanks for this video. 😀
Great work Deb!
My mother in law has a red & a black currant bush in her back yard. I love the red ones! And they really are prolific! One smallish bush produced several large bowls full of berries! (Probably a couple quarts worth!)
Thanks so much for this video! My bare root currants arrived today and I wasn't sure how to give them a good start. Can't wait for my first currant harvest!
I love them my parents and grandparents always had and have them in the garden in Germany.
Now I will plant them here in Virginia.
@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.
Fresh leaves of black currents make excellent tea with very unique flavor!
Had no idea. Grew up on multiple currant types. It must not have been a very strict ban.
I'm so excited to see this video. We have a couple acres of property that aren't doing much right now. We have been toying with the idea of starting a current farm, since it's a fairly rare crop in our area (Pacific Northwest in the US). Thank you for the great information, I will definitely be looking deeper into this idea now. Also, as a bonus, we have these crazy, thorny bushes with unusual red fruit growing around the perimeter of the pasture right now and I had no idea what they were....until that picture of a gooseberry popped up! This tells me we might actually have luck with a current farm! Thanks Ben, you are always so helpful!
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!
I think I might try to grow currants. I have hardy kiwi, mulberry, and 2 cherry trees in a very small yard.
I began growing red currants about 5yrs ago; fantastic berries with many uses. We had very heavy yields up until this year when we had a currant fruit fly infestation. The fly inserts its larvae into the berries when they are green and the larvae stay there until the berries fall off. The larvae then overwinter in the soil and the whole cycle starts over again in the spring. I will have to set sticky traps and install floating row covers to try and break the cycle. Not many gardeners on this side of the "pond" are aware of this great plant.
Nova Scotia.
Sorry to hear you're struggling with fruit fly. Hope next year is troublefree for you.
my first Currant and Gooseberry bushes just arrived, thanks for the help on how to plant them! super excited
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?
Interesting plants 😊
I love the idea of frozen Popsicles with fruit inside. I think it's a wonderful idea and I can't wait to try it. Thank you for your efforts here.
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!
Thank you! Excellent video.
Such a thoughtful and thorough lesson on currants where other videos fall short
Thanks so much. :-)
What should I use to keep insects off? What about diluted peppermint oil?
Great video Ben packed with useful info for new gardeners. Currants are great to have in the garden but net the fruit if you want any yourself
Yes indeed Tony - definitely need to keep them netted - the birds had most of mine this summer!
Hi, great video, thanks for sharing and take care 🙂
Here in Sweden it is a rather popular berry but think has a bit "adult" taste and complex aroma and perhaps even an acquired taste for some. Also the leaves can yield a lovely "tea" infusion..
I just bought black and red currents and a goose berry. I'm glad I found this video!
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
I planted some native Missouri gooseberries and at first they were not doing well due to the attack of some pesky non native beetles the first two years, but now they are thriving with minimal care really. I have recently done some cuttings after watching a few of your videos and have peeked to find some roots are growing. TYVM for your videos. This year I am experimenting with electo-culture gardening as well.
So pleased that the cuttings have taken. That’s really great news. :-)
Thank you Mr Ben : )
Mmmm. I wanna grow them now that I know more about them. Good vid.
Unfortunately, currants are still banned in Maine, but you can find them somewhat wild near old homesteads.
These make an excellent mead. Going in my garden.
Hmm - sounds good!
I only learned about blackcurrant a few weeks ago. I was eating gummy worms and the package said that was the flavor and I really liked it.
You inspired me to plant currents in my garden. I just subscribed because I love how you encourage your audience. Cheers 😃
Thanks so much for subscribing Michelle - a warm welcome to you!
It's why a lot of purple flavoured things in the UK and other countries are blackcurrent, but in the US they are grape
Happy memory picked the red currants next door.Mom made jelly for both us and the spinsters next door who had the bushes
I am in utah in USA . I was a missionary in Manchester and wales 🏴 in 1993-95 in my 20s . I loved currents . I have tried to buy them and have not found any one saling them . I will keep trying . I am 52 now .
Hope you manage to find them for sale somewhere.
Just watched - very helpful. I am in Sweden and my grandmothers bushes I’d red currant are amazing and will harvest today and look forward to pruning etc for next year.
So pleased you are getting something tasty to harvest. :-)
didn't even know they were banned, have a black currant bush next to my house, been here for over 30 years
Ok ban is lifted, cool! I have a backyard full of cherished ancient white pines though lol
I live just outside of Atlanta Georgia and my mom used to have a hard time finding currents when we lived in Western New York since we came to Georgia at the dekalb Farmers market you will find like five different types of dried currants and I love it because they are so amazing in all of my breakfast breads and my sweet style baked goods they're amazing on pies I never thought of growing them but I use them like f****** crazy I don't even really use your typical blueberries or raspberries anymore because currents have just such more depth of flavor and just work so much better as a jam or jelly or pie filling or bread addition or topping. I'm going to have to look into growing some of these in our garden now because I completely forgot about the possibility of doing that
They do have such a superb flavor. Glad you're getting to enjoy them so much. :-)
Thank you. While I’ve had curr1nts for years, I’m just now trying to increase the number of plants I have. T
Hanks for your help.
Your very welcome. Great to be expanding your plants at least. :-)
Already have some currants on order for the Midwest. So excited to grow fruits I cant just buy at the store!
Currants are delicious. Also in the USA, if we grow them in greenhouses, then we shouldn’t need to worry about them acting as a vector for tree disease.