Winter Pruning of Blackcurrants

As I mentioned in a recent blog, winter is the best time to prune your trees.  But it’s also a really good time to prune old growth from berry bushes.  Recently, Jodi demonstrated her method of pruning blackcurrants.  I just love the amazing fragrance and flavor of blackcurrants.  I use their juice to make wonderful jellies and sorbets.  It’s also what crème de cassis, that delicious, dark purple liqueur is made from.

The blackcurrant bush sends new shoots up from the ground and the bulk of the crop forms on shoots that grew the previous summer.  It’s really important to thin out older shoots to make room for strong new growth and plenty of open areas for the berries to form.  Thinning also provides necessary air circulation within the bush’s center, reducing the risk of disease.

Jodi uses sharp hand pruners and a hand saw to make good, clean cuts.  She also removes any horizontal growth, keeping the bush strong and upward growing. 

The pruned branches are quite fragrant, as well.  Jodi likes to use them in the greenhouse as support stakes for potted plants. 

Comments

[Hardboiledegg]

Well that is nice to know that some trimmings of plants can exude a pleasant fragrance .There are some shrubs in my neighborhood--planted by the developer --that a) do not do well once the tree canopy matures and then b) if you trim them good grief what a stench!

To have an acre or so of black currents and with all the livestock you have I do hope you qualify for an agriculture tax rate or timberland rating otherwise the cost of living on so many acres would be crippling.

Do your segments here on the blog have a You tube counterpart?? it would be so interesting to have a video to support some of the educational aspects of the material some learn better hearing others need a picture to compliment the process Hope this helps

[Kathy]

Hi, Martha,
Your blackcurrants are prolific, thanks in large measure to Jodi's pruning as you explain. I can remember the fragrance of my grandfather's blackcurrant bushes in his back yard as well as the delicious blackcurrant jelly he made. Thanks for the memories!
Thanks also for the segment on yesterday's show about the rainforests. I have traveled to places like Khao Luk Chang in Thailand and seen the devastation of the rainforest there. Asia is losing its forest fast. It is there that I learned of epiphytes as well as swiftlets, leopard cats, tarsiers, and wrinkled lipped bats. All are endangered. The native teak are decimated. Thanks for giving a voice for preservation and conservation. Buying of shade grown coffee and FSC certified wood is so important.
Kathy

[Trish]

I came across a recipe one year that required black currants and I remember looking all over for them in the stores. There were none to be found and I was told they usually have them in stock around Christmas. The other day in the soup aisle, not with the raisins or dried fruit, I noticed packages of black currants hanging on display; unfortunately, I lost the recipe. Anyway and wow, look at all your currant bushes. What don't you have on your farm?

Please tell Jodi that thanks to her, I bought a pair of those long gloves and they are wonderful! West County Gardener told me they were happy to be mentioned in this blog. Trish

[Jan Erickson]

Hi Martha, I had no idea that black current bushes exuded a fragrance. Is it the fragrance of the current? I remember pruning apple and cherry trees and loved the fact that the cut branches smelled like the fruit. Whenever I burn scrap fruit wood, it's easy to tell what is burning by smelling the smoke. Thanks again for sharing. Jan

[Pam From California]

Dear Laura,
Thank you for forwarding along the post I sent about AOL users not being able to access the Get Tickets page on Martha's web site, the web masters fixed it and I am getting reports from fans they can now request tickets using their AOL email account. Thank you so much, many were having problems requesting tickets myself included now maybe some of us will get tickets. Thank you for assisting and doing so in an ASAP manner.
Have a good weekend.
Pam from California

[Andrew Ritchie]

Do you grow gooseberries, Martha? They are everywhere in Canada and are sort of similar to currants, but more tart. Give 'em a try!

-Andrew in Canada

[Katie Pawlowski]

Can anyone identify these berries for me? They have been growing in my backyard for years. They are small and shiny, compared to the raspberries I purchase in the grocery store. More on the reddish orangey side as well. I've been eating them and haven't keeled over yet!
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s2/tokates/berrieskatie.jpg

[Margie]

What nice rows of bushes. I thought I could do something "so simple" to find the gophers were thinking differently underground. They cared not for the fragrant stalks but the tasty roots.

[Tina]

how wonderful. I'd love to grow more fruit such as this in my backyard. I'm currently converting my city plot into a more self sustainable area..with more garden areas...fruit,flower gardens, and of course vegetables. Do you have any recommendations as to where the home gardener can obtain quality currant bushes for their own back yards/gardens? Just found your wonderful blog too by the way.
Thank you,
~Tina

[Rose @ Classic Charm]

Martha,
Boy I just found your blog and I'm delighted to say the least! Never knew you could trim in the winter, now I know I'll learn a lot coming here - ha! I do have a burning question unrelated to tree pruning, and if Martha doesn't know...well then it doesn't exist. Is there anything else I could use to hang plates on a wall besides the wire hangers?
Rose

[carol]

hello there
I grew up in England. Black currants grow wild on the road sides where I lived. We would go picking with my dad,then we would take them home and smush them onto bread with a bit of sugar...
home made jam (^_^)
carol

[elarael]

Kate, it looks like the indigenous Hawaiian raspberry, the Akala berry, but the leaves are different, so obviously it isn't. Call the botany dept. of your local university and they'll likely know.

[Jacki Johnson]

Hi Martha -

I continue to enjoy your tv show, books, magazines and all your informative information you kindly share with the world. I tresure my time of learning from you.

Re: Blackcurrants We live in the Yukon Territory (Canada) and have a second home on a creek 400 miles north of the lake house we live at part of the year. My father in law planted six black currant bushes he dug up and transplanted in the Yukon to our home on the creek. Two years ago I chose to prune them and they have never produced the volume of leaves and berries since then. I would like to know what I may have done wrong and how to help them recover? I would love to hear from anyone as well with suggestions but trust your expert opinion, Martha. Jacki