Topic: Blackcurrants..........have I done the right thing?

[silly billy]

I read in one of my allotment books that the best way to harvest blackcurrants is to cut the stem with the fruits on down to near ground level then pick off the fruits. Is that the right way to do it? I do hope so as I have already done it  :o :o :o.

[hopalong]

I read in one of my allotment books that the best way to harvest blackcurrants is to cut the stem with the fruits on down to near ground level then pick off the fruits. Is that the right way to do it? I do hope so as I have already done it  :o :o :o.

I've heard that too. Cutting the whole stem with the fruits on combines picking and pruning.  However, I am a new blackcurrant grower and my problem is that only one of my 9 bushes is fruiting! Should I have pruned them hard when I put them in? And should I prune some of the branches down to ground level and trim sideshoots this winter, even if the bushes have not fruited?  Advice welcome!

[adrianhumph]

 Hi Paul,  :D
                  Presuming your bushes are young, they should need no pruning for 2 to 3 years, then you should remove about a third of the older stems each year, right down to the base of the plant. This encourages new shoots to grow from the base. Also remove thin, weak looking stems plus any that are crossing other branches as these crowd the bush & get in the way. Cutting back sideshoots is not the way to prune blackcurrants.
                                                         Adrian.

[Baccy Man]

Are you sure you weren't reading about blackberries I often harvest them like that. With blackcurrants I usually pick a whole truss of currants rather than picking them individually but i wouldn't cut the stems while harvesting.
If you still have the cut stems they should root them easily if you want some more bushes.

[Tulipa]

Hi

I don't have a book to hand to check, but I have often cut the stem and harvested from that.  I think blackcurrants fruit best on the previous year's wood, so by cutting out the branch you are harvesting from you are left with the new growth to provide the wood for next year's harvest.

I have been doing this for about 30 years and there may be a new thinking on this, I have never checked!! :-[

I am quite happy to be told I am wrong... :)

T.

[Baccy Man]

These are the 2 most common pruning methods for blackcurrants, info is quoted from:
http://www.ext.vt.edu/news/periodicals/commhort/pulledarticles/2005-07/ribes.html

Black currants produce best on one and two-year-old wood. They do not fruit on spurs, as do red currants and gooseberries. Strong one-year-old shoots, and two- and three-year-old stems that have an abundance of strong one-year-old shoots are the most productive.

Because of their bearing habit, black currants can be pruned by two different methods. These two methods can be used in both free-standing and hedgerow systems.

Method 1: In a method similar to pruning red currants and gooseberries, plants should have two- and three-year-old canes, along with one-year-old shoots, with a total of 10 to 15 canes per mature bush. Black currants are somewhat more vigorous than red currants, hence the number of canes kept is higher. The proportion of one-year-old canes kept to older canes is also different, with approximately one half of all canes kept being one-year-old canes. Remove all shoots more than three years old at ground level.

Method 2: An easier method of pruning black currants takes advantage of its fruiting habit. This system uses only one-year canes and an alternate-year production system:

Year 1: Plants are pruned to the ground immediately following the harvest, then lightly fertilized and watered. Small immature canes may be allowed to grow. This will usually provide 12 to 18 inches of growth by dormancy. These canes do not set flower buds.

Year 2: The previous year's canes remain vegetative and additional canes are produced.

Year 3: A large crop is produced. Plants are again pruned to the ground after fruiting.

The cycle repeats with vegetative growth only the next year. As plants are out of production for a season, the planting should be divided into differently-pruned blocks to insure a crop each year. This method greatly simplifies pruning of black currants and reduces insect and disease carryover. The hedgerow planting system is ideal for this time-saving pruning method.

Black currants can also be trained as a standard. This requires diligent pruning to promote one-year-old shoot production on older wood.

[silly billy]

Thankyou all for the replies. I am still unsure if I have done the right thing.

[jennym]

To try to answer your question silly billy, if there aren't any stems at all left on your blackcurrant bush now, then in a way you've done the wrong thing, because you won't get any fruit next year. You probably won't have killed it though  :)
But, if there were some young stems already grown on your bush, but that didn't produce fruit, and you left them alone, then they will produce fruit next year.

To clarify: if new whiteish coloured stems grow in spring and early summer of 2008, they will produce fruit in 2009 and also 2010. In 2011 these stems will produce far less fruit.
Stems that start growing in late summer 2008 probably won't produce as much or maybe no fruit until 2010, because they won't be as mature as any stems that get a head start and start growing earlier in the year.

What I tend to do with blackcurrants is prune in late winter/early spring each year. I cut down to the ground about a third of the stems, the oldest ones which will be dark brown with shiny bark on them. When the leave start appearing, I mulch with rotted horse muck. They need a lot of moisture, and are best in rich soil.

[shirley B]

  Silly Billy,  like tulipa i have been harvesting my blackcurrants the same way as you have done for the last eighteen years, and have healthy plants with large fruits.  Shirley B

[silly billy]

I have removed about half the stems as they were the ones that had fruit on and the rest didn't. Thanks so much for responding I think I now know what to do ;D ;D.
Thankyou.