Blackcurrants

Removing the lid from a jar of homemade blackcurrant jam on a dark, midwinter morning is like letting summer out of the bottle. The flavour and thick texture of the fruit reminds me of purple-stained fingers and the bitter aroma of blackcurrant foliage as the fruit is harvested on warm, August days. Picking the berries is a slow job and preparing them for the pot is even more laborious. The thought of cold, winter mornings with toast thickly smothered in blackcurrants that were basking in the summer sun only a few months ago makes it all very worth while. It’s even more satisfying when you know the fruit has been grown in your own garden.

The best time for planting blackcurrants is any time from November until the end of February. Young plants tend not to be very expensive to buy, and once they are established, they require little maintenance and will bear fruit for many years. The trick is to provide them with ideal soil conditions right from the very start. Moisture retentive soil is extremely important for reliable crops of fruit but it should also be well-drained and never water-logged. Before planting, prepare the soil by digging in lots of well-rotted compost or farmyard manure. Remember that blackcurrants like richly fertile conditions, so a generous amount of organic matter incorporated into the soil will provide long-lasting nutrition. This can be supplemented in later years by providing a thick mulch around the base of each plant. Applied annually in early spring, the mulch will also help to control weeds.

Sunshine is essential. The juiciest, darkest berries are produced during the warmest summers, so long as the soil remains moist. A south-facing aspect, therefore, gives the most exposure to sun and the best shelter from  cold winds.

Blackcurrants are self-fertile so even if you plant only one bush, it should bear fruit. Straight after planting, cut all the stems down to just above the second bud from soil level. Robust young shoots will grow from each stem and should provide the first fruit the following summer. After that, an annual pruning session in winter is all that is needed to keep them happy. The best fruit is produced on wood that is not older than three years. Cutting out old wood every year ensures there is room for new growth and a healthy crop of fruit. Try to get into the routine of removing around one third of the older stems every year – December is the perfect month for this job.

Blackcurrants can be susceptible to mildew – a fungus that enjoys mild and damp climates. Fortunately, some modern varieties such as 'Ben Tirran' and  'Ben Gairn' show a good deal of mildew resistance. An insect pest that often causes trouble is big bud mite. Once plants are infected, this irksome mite is difficult to control and a severe infestation results in a greatly reduced yield of fruit. Spraying with insecticides is not an option I would ever consider but help is at hand with a variety called 'Ben Hope'. With good resistance to both mildew and big bud mite, this new, Scottish variety would be my first choice for reliable, trouble-free crops of blackcurrants.