Grow Your Own Magazine

Thinking about growing some soft fruit this year - never grown any fruit before. The OH fancies white and red currants.

Can anyone recommend good varieties - how sweet are they? I've never tasted either

Plus any tips on growing conditions please?

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Manda.

"Wouldn't it be nice
For maybe an hour
To not have a care."

I grow red currants but unfortunatly have absolutely no idea what variety as I've lost the info. Re growing, treat them pretty similar to a gooseberry and they don't take much work. Can get pretty big and unmanageable if you don't prune them properly but you should get a good crop. We only have one and get plenty for our needs. I like to sprinkle a few on my cereal / yoghurt when they're fresh but OH finds them too sour so prefers them cooked with a bit of sugar. Freeze well too if you get too many. Never grown white currants but would guess they're pretty similar.

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Some of us live in the past, always talking about back then. Some of us live in the future, always planning what we are going to do. And, then there are those, who neither look behind or ahead, but just enjoy the moment of right now.

Which one are you and is it how you want to be?

Thanks Alison - never grown gooseberries (hate them!) though. Hmm I understood redcurrants were meant to be sweeter than blackcurrants?

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Manda.

"Wouldn't it be nice
For maybe an hour
To not have a care."

They are sweeter than blackcurrants but not as sweet as say raspberries. Have a look on the web eg Ken Muir site for a bit more info.

__________________

Some of us live in the past, always talking about back then. Some of us live in the future, always planning what we are going to do. And, then there are those, who neither look behind or ahead, but just enjoy the moment of right now.

Which one are you and is it how you want to be?

Apparently white currants are the sweetest, red next, and then blackcurrants. Ken Muir is an excellent sitel, and plants are good quality but quite pricey.

I grow ( or should I say grew) Red white & black currants.
Redcurrant - Rovada. White currant - Blanka & Blackcurrant - Ben Sarek

The white never seemed to do as well as the other two and I think I got something like 20lb of fruit of the red & black.

__________________
ntg

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
A large group of professionals built the Titanic

http://grief-encounters.blogspot.com/

I was looking at the Blanka & Rovada on DT Brown Nick, what sort of size do they grow to?

__________________
Manda.

"Wouldn't it be nice
For maybe an hour
To not have a care."

I grow white versailles and always get a good crop! The birds seem to love red currants and white currants but don't bother with the blackcurrants!

White currants taste to me like grapes with a lot of pips! Deffinately worth growing though!

I think the redcurrants variety are 'something' van tets and the blackcurrants are Ben Conan!

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

Mot sure Manda, ,mine are only 2 or 3 years old and they are about 3ft tall at the moment. I gave them loads of space mind you (about 6ft between bushes). I didn't get mine from DT Browns I think it was Marshalls but there are a lot of places that sell them.

Snadger - Jonkeers van tets I think it is.

__________________
ntg

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
A large group of professionals built the Titanic

http://grief-encounters.blogspot.com/