Blackcurrant

How to grow blackcurrants

Plant certified disease-free bushes 1.5m apart. Position them 5cm lower than the original soil level then cut all stems to 3cm.

Choose fertile moist soil in a sunny sheltered site.

Water and mulch your blackcurrant bushes. Cut a quarter of the older stems to 3cm every year to stimulate new growth (fruiting is best on one and two year-old wood). Remove weak and crowded stems.

Harvesting and using blackcurrants

Pick your blackcurrants when fully coloured and ripe, but still firm. Remove whole trusses (strigs) rather than individual fruit.

Tips on growing blackcurrants

Pigeons and other birds will compete with your for your blackcurrants so cover the bushes with a netting to protect them, making sure it's well-secured so no birds get trapped inside.