Currants: everything from planting to harvesting

Currants are a must in any garden. Here you can find out what needs to be considered when planting, caring for and harvesting.

Growing

currants (Ribes) in your own garden is worthwhile for several reasons: they are rarely available in the supermarket or even at the weekly market and if you do, then don't Quality often left a lot to be desired. However, currants taste best fresh - their valuable vitamin C has not yet evaporated. In addition, currants really do not do much work and make us happy for many years. We'll tell you how to plant currants correctly and what you need to consider when pruning, fertilizing etc.

Currants: properties and origin

Currants belong to the gooseberry family and originally come from central and north-eastern Europe. Their name probably comes from St. John, whose name day falls on June 24th and thus roughly coincides with the ripening of the currants. Depending on the variety, the deciduous shrubs reach a height of one to a maximum of two meters.

The berries, which can be harvested between June and August depending on the variety, grow on clusters. Compared to raspberries (Rubus idaeus, aggregate drupes) or strawberries (Fragaria, aggregate fruits), the fruits of the white ( Ribes sativa), red (Ribes robrus) and also black currant (Ribes nigrum ) for real berries.

Currant species and varieties: overview

Currants are distinguished by their color - there are red, white and black specimens. The different colored currants vary in the ingredients and thus also in the taste. Below is a brief overview of the different types of currant and some of the best varieties of each.

• Red Currant: Highest content of fruit acids compared to white and black currant; Taste usually sweet and sour to sour; are eaten fresh, as juice, jam or cakes; the bestVarieties are a matter of taste - we recommend, for example, 'Jonkheer van Tets' and 'Rotet'.
• Whitecurrants: They are slightly milder and sweeter than redcurrants; highly valued for processing into berry wine; proven varieties are, for example, 'White Versailler', 'Primus' and 'Witte von Huismann'.
• Blackcurrants: They are less often eaten fresh, although they contain five times more vitamin C than white or red currants; are often processed into jellies, juices or dessert wines because of their tart taste; We have had very good experiences with the 'Bona' and 'Ometa' varieties in the garden.

There are also bloodcurrants (Ribes sanguinum). However, these are grown as ornamental plants and not for consumption. Their few fruits have hardly any aroma. Although they are not poisonous, they are not suitable for consumption. However, due to their beautiful spring blossoms, blood currants are still popular. For example, 'Snowflame' is a beautiful variety.

We have put together a larger overview of our favorite currant varieties for you here.

Buy currants or grow them yourself?

Currant bushes can be purchased in hardware stores, garden shops and also on the Internet. If you don't want to buy new plants, you can also propagate your currant plants yourself. However, it takes a little patience until the first harvest of the delicious fruits.

Buying currants: This is what you need to know

If you choose he althy plants of a robust, rain-resistant variety when buying currants, you can save yourself a lot of work later. As a rule, these plants are less likely to be attacked by diseases. In principle, it is worth considering which currant varieties are suitable for your own garden before you buy them. After all, there are many criteria to consider, from taste to harvest time, fruit size or color to resistance to various diseases.

Propagating currants yourself

The easiest way to propagate currants yourself is by cuttings. The mother plant is virtually cloned, so the cuttings belong to the same variety as the mother plant. Correctly, these are more like sticks, since the shoots for propagation are usually much more woody than herbaceous cuttings.

Propagating currants by cuttings in a nutshell:

• Cut 20 cm long cuttings with at least 2 - 3 eyes
• Prepare a nutrient-rich, humus-rich seed bed or pot
• Insert cuttings so that at least 2 eyes stick out of the ground; make sure that the buds are pointing upwards
• Water enough and keep moist for a few weeks
• When the first shoots are 5 - 10 cm tall, cut off the shoot tips
• Transplant to a larger pot or permanent spot after 6 - 12 months
• First harvest after about 3 years

You can find detailed instructions on propagating currant cuttings here.

Planting currants: when and how to do it

Below you will find all the important information on how to successfully grow currants in your garden.

Currants: The right location

Currant plants prefer slightly acidic, medium-heavy and humus-rich soil. Since they are forest and swamp plants, they also need an evenly moist soil. To better ensure this, they are often covered with a layer of mulch, such as grass clippings, manure or bark mulch. This layer of mulch also protects the roots of the plant from frost in winter.

Currants thrive in this location:

• Sunny to semi-shady (we recommend whitecurrants for semi-shade)
• Soil doesn't have to be deep; a large plant trough or a low bed (40 cm) is therefore sufficient
• In the case of heavy frost and a high risk of late frost, mobile plant troughs and tubs are the better choice; If there is a risk of frost, push or carry them into the garage, for example
• Soil should be able to retain moisture well; a medium-heavy floor is therefore ideal

Currants: When is the best time to plant them?

Currants root best if planted in autumn after the leaves have fallen or in early spring before they sprout again. At this point in time, the soil is usually well moistened, the water requirement of the plants that have not yet sprouted is significantly lower and the risk of the young, poorly rooted plants drying out is lower. In principle, however, planting is possible almost all year round. In that case you shouldjust make sure there is a good water supply after planting.

Planting currants: Instructions

Planting currants basically works in the same way as with other berry bushes or fruit trees. The only difference to be aware of is that the plants need to be planted a little deeper - red and whitecurrants a few centimeters and blackcurrants even a hand's breadth. This promotes the formation of new young shoots, which is particularly important for blackcurrants, as these only bear fruit on the one-year-old shoots.

Planting currants - this is how you proceed step by step:

1. Remove weeds from the soil so that they don't grow into the rootstock afterwards.
2. Dig a planting hole and loosen the soil around and under it with a digging fork.
3. The strongest and most beautiful five to six shoots that grow in different directions are selected and cut back to a third of their shoot length. However, three to five buds per shoot should remain. Cut off the remaining shoots.
4. Briefly dip the root ball in water to soak it.
5. Place the red and white currants a few centimeters lower in the pot than they were originally and the black currants a hand's breadth lower than before in the planting hole.
6. Fill the planting hole with compost, press down lightly and water generously.
7. Cover the soil surface with mulch (bark mulch for calcareous soil, grass clippings, straw, manure, etc.).

Tip: Pile up some soil around the plant. This dam is used when watering to prevent the water from running away and reaching the plant roots.

Important for tall trees: Before planting, a post is driven into the planting hole, to which the tall tree is attached after planting. Incidentally, even after a few years, the trunks bear far fewer currants on average than a well-developed bush. Here you have to decide between optics and yield. In addition, tall stems need to be cut thicker and more regularly to keep them in shape. So they create a little more work.

You can also find detailed information and tips on planting currants here.

Transplanting currants

AtWhen transplanting currants, it is important to consider the age of the plant. After transplanting, it takes two to three years for the shrub to fully recover and hopefully bear as many berries as before. Such a procedure is therefore only worthwhile for younger shrubs. The best time for transplanting is autumn. The soil then dries out less quickly and the roots, which first have to re-establish themselves in the soil, find enough water.

The procedure is very similar to planting currants, but you should also prune the roots of the currant slightly when transplanting. You should dig out the planting hole generously and also when digging out a large area. You dig a circle around the plant with the spade that is larger than the diameter of the bush and try to loosen the soil as deep as possible under the bush with a digging fork. Then lift out the currant plant and cut back the damaged roots down to the he althy tissue. Now move the plant to its new place and fill the planting hole generously with compost.

Water and fertilize currants

Currants do not have deep roots, but prefer moist soil that rarely dries out - and if it does, then not for too long. This places very special demands on your water supply. We give you tips and at the same time tell you what is important when it comes to supplying currants with the right nutrients.

Watering currants correctly

Currant bushes want to be watered sufficiently, especially in the warm and dry summer months. Since the roots of many varieties do not penetrate very deep into the ground, regular watering is essential when there is no rain. However, the frequency and amount of watering are strongly dependent on the soil conditions. In general: Due to the better water storage, currants on heavy, rather loamy soil do not have to be watered as often as on sandy locations. Incidentally, the water requirement of each plant is highest during flowering and fruit formation, but there should not be any longer dry periods in between. After the harvest, you usually no longer have to worry about your currants. However, if there is exceptionally little rain in the fall, the plants will appreciate a little extra water every few weeks, but in a regular fall with occasional rain it willlow water requirement well covered at this time.

Plantura tip: Mulching currant bushes - for example with straw, grass clippings or bark mulch - reduces the evaporation of soil water and keeps the plants wetter. However, be aware of the consequences that mulch materials such as straw and bark mulch have on the nutrient supply to your plants.

Fertilize currants correctly

Currants are best fertilized in February. An organic fertilizer that gradually takes effect provides the currants with many nutrients from early spring, when shoot growth begins, to fruit formation over a long period of time. Due to this desired long-term effect, we recommend organic fertilizers such as rotting manure, compost or our Plantura organic universal fertilizer.

In addition, organic fertilizers in organic quality promote active soil life and are significantly more environmentally friendly than mineral, fast-acting variants. We advise against horn products, as they contain too little potassium and therefore do not provide the currants with enough.

You can find out more about fertilizing your currants here.

Water the currants in the pot and fertilize

Since plants in pots dry out more quickly due to the smaller volume of substrate, currant bushes in pots need to be watered more frequently than outdoors. The specimens in the pot are also fertilized in February, but with significantly smaller amounts than plants in the field. Because plants in this place cannot produce as many shoots and also not as many fruits as plants that can spread freely. Therefore, they cannot use as much fertilizer as their siblings in the bed. We recommend using a little less than the minimum recommendation for the minimum and maximum information for organic commercial fertilizers. Of the Plantura organic universal fertilizer, for which we recommend 90 to 140 g per currant plant, 60 g is sufficient for a small potted plant and 80 g for a large one.

Cut currants

In order to be able to harvest many berries every year, it is worth taking good care of the currants. In addition to watering and fertilizing, this also includes trimming them regularly. Such pruning stimulates the growth of new, fruit-bearing shoots. The old, no longer bearing canes are removed so that the young ones can get more light and develop aromatic fruits. Well aerated shrubs are beyond thatalso less susceptible to fungal diseases.

Pruning currants: When is the right time?

Currants are usually cut in summer after harvest or before they sprout in February. In summer, the currant bush is sometimes additionally thinned out before harvest. This allows you to promote the formation of flower buds on the remaining shoots through better lighting.

Cutting currants: instructions

When cutting the currants, you should pay attention to whether they are red, white or black varieties. White and red currant varieties form most of the fruit on the side shoots of the one- to three-year-old main shoots. Shoots that are more than three years old only form a few side shoots with small fruits and must therefore be replaced by younger shoots. Black currants mainly bear fruit on one-year-old shoots. The growth of new, young shoots must therefore be encouraged even more with them.

Cutting currants in a nutshell:

1. For red and white currants, cut off all main shoots that are more than four to five years old. With blackcurrants, you can already cut back the one-year-old shoots that have borne fruit this year.
2. As a rule of thumb: Between eight and twelve main shoots are ideal for the plant. Cut off remaining, weak shoots that are growing inwards.
3. This step is particularly important for red and white currants: on the eight to twelve selected shoots, the side shoots that have borne fruit this year are cut back to the main shoot, except for a stub. Up to eight of the newly grown side shoots are left per main shoot. The other side shoots (low-set, thin, steep-growing, drooping) should be cut off directly on the main shoot.
4. Remove diseased and dead branches as well.
5. For red and white currants: In the case of slow-growing varieties, cut back one-year-old shoots by about a third. This improves branching, i.e. the formation of new side shoots.

You can find more information about the ideal pruning of currants and summer pruning in our expert article.

Harvest currants: When isHarvest time?

Depending on the variety, red and white currants usually ripen between June and August. Black currants begin to bear ripe fruit in July. However, it is not so easy to determine exactly when the fruit is ripe for picking. The berries take on their varietal color and become somewhat softer as they ripen. However, very soft fruits are often overripe and even fall off the bush. If you still feel resistance when plucking, you should wait a few more days. If the fruit can be separated easily, they are usually ripe. A sweetish taste also indicates that the fruit is ready for harvest. However, there are also large variety differences here.

Plantura tip: Only harvest on dry days, as wet fruit tends to rot. That's why we advise you to always wash the fruit immediately before eating or processing it.

Currants can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days. However, they are he althiest when they are fresh when the vitamin C, which is sensitive to light and heat, is still fully available. Because of their high fruit acid content, currants are particularly suitable for making cakes, tarts, jams and jellies.

Did you know that currants and gooseberries belong to the same family? We introduce you to the prickly relative of the currant and helpful tips on cultivation and care.