Topic: Growing blackcurrants in the bog

[pg]

Soggy ground is what I meant. That's just the child in me wanting a silly topic title.

Bob Flowerdew on Gardeners' Question Time on Radio4 yesterday said that he'd recently discovered that wild blackcurrants are bog plants. It seems that in a pique he ripped up a blackcurrant bush & threw it at his wheelbarrow, intending to dispose of it. Said currant missed barrow & ended up sitting in his pond, where it remained & thrived and is now bearing fruit.

I've always grown my blackcurrants in the usual bed method, topping up with compost etc. Just wondered about moving some to a soggy bit.

Anyone else tried growing their currants (presumably red & white also) in a boggy area?

I'm pretty sure some other fruit bushes like the soggy side - cranberries & blueberries (?)

[goodlife]

Oh yes..currants would love growing in soggy area...but..they will thrive if you give them wide spacing and allow them grow to their full potential. Providing you give them plenty of mulch and spring feed they will then give you HUGE return for little trouble.. ;D And best thing is..unless you use HUGE quatity of these berries you won't need more than one bush per type of currant. Fully grown red currant bush that is happy where it grows have potential to yield couple of bucket fulls of berries..at least!..and that sort of crops demand lot of water.
This is something I often rant about..well think of.. ::) Gardening programs and pruning guides are always talking about pruning..chop, chop chop.. >:(..and its simply not necessary. Mine get very minimal amount of pruning and the return with crops are enormous..I never net my bushes as what ever birds eat..there is still so much left for me and plenty left in bush for later on for birds to finnish off too.
My gran's farm have always had these enormous bushes that required very little maintenance and yielded well...for years and years. There is no need to plant several bushes and then resulting constant pruning regime to keep them in control and to get enough crop from them for return. Just one will give more return and less work..simples! ;D
Rant over... :-X...and yes same applies for all currants.

[pumkinlover]

I try to keep my blueberries as damp as possible - I grow them in plastic cold water tanks half buried and with minimal drainage holes but one died when the drainage hole blocked and it flooded :-[

[goodlife]

I made blueberry container out of giant fiber glass water container..with drainage holes 8" from the bottom so the space bellow is like water storage/self watering space.
After first year I haven't watered the planter even once.. ;D We've had really dry summer this year and its going strong..blueberries, lingonberries, bilberries and odd heather.. ;D..its like scaled down heathland..I even dropped few pine cones and needles to complete the 'picture'.
But yes..all those do like good moisture..but not standing water..yet they are able to cope with dry situation too.

[Morris]

Blackcurrants do like more water and better soil. Though I've never had the opportunity to try bog!

But the thing I love about red/white currants and goosegogs is that they thrive on dry as dust soil and neglect, especially gooseberries. Once established, of course.