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Garden Gate:  Currants any one?  |
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melody
True Blue Farmgirl
3319 Posts
Melody
The Great North Woods in the Land of Hiawatha
USA
3319 Posts |
 Posted - May 03 2012 : 6:58:12 PM
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Stopped by Mr. McGregor's Nursery this afternoon thinking maybe I'll try my hand at growing red currants...Only $19.95 for a pretty good size plant, but I've never tried currants-At least I don't think I have!
Anyone grow red currants? And do they make a good jam?
Talk to me ladies....
Melody
Farmgirl #525 |
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natesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1735 Posts
angela
martinsville
indiana
USA
1735 Posts |
Posted - May 03 2012 : 7:11:52 PM
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They are yummy in sweet rolls, hot cross buns and oatmeal nut fruit bread! I love to toast bread with currants in it. So yummy with butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Farmgirl Sister #1438
God - Gardening - Family - Is anything else important? |
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edlund33
True Blue Farmgirl
1501 Posts
Marilyn
Renton
WA
USA
1501 Posts |
Posted - May 03 2012 : 7:50:31 PM
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I planted six red currant plants in my garden last fall. I'm really looking forward to the first harvest this year. (There were several large ones in the yard when we bought our house but I had cut them back and BF thought they were weeds and pulled them out the first summer.)
Currants make really good juice and jelly...I used to help my grandma make it when I was little. I don't know how they would be with jam but I'm sure it would work. I agree with Angela, they are also really tasty in baked goods.
Cheers! ~ Marilyn
Farm Girl No. 1100
http://blueskyanddaisies.blogspot.com
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. - Ralph Waldo Emerson |
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melody
True Blue Farmgirl
3319 Posts
Melody
The Great North Woods in the Land of Hiawatha
USA
3319 Posts |
Posted - May 03 2012 : 7:57:48 PM
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I've been doing some research on the medicinal qualities of currants and it's amazing how good they are for you-but what do they taste like??
Now I am thinking maybe one shrub won't be near enough maybe two to begin and then I can go from there.
Bummer....Marilyn! Too bad about your plants-My DH yanked out dozens of beautiful fern one year in one of my perennial beds thinking I didn't want those strays in between my flowers-Grrrrr! He doesn't mess with my garden anymore-just to till! Men....
Melody
Farmgirl #525 |
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natesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1735 Posts
angela
martinsville
indiana
USA
1735 Posts |
Posted - May 04 2012 : 08:13:44 AM
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I agree about men! LOL! My hubby won't even weed the garden except by my side anymore. He pulled up my huckleberries once and I've never let him forget it. I looked into currants in my area. No one carries them around here. Bummer!!! :(
Farmgirl Sister #1438
God - Gardening - Family - Is anything else important? |
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edlund33
True Blue Farmgirl
1501 Posts
Marilyn
Renton
WA
USA
1501 Posts |
Posted - May 04 2012 : 09:55:55 AM
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Melody, currants are juicy but still fairly tart when they are ripe. I like them freshly picked, but most folks prefer them sweetened or baked in something. They are sort of like huckleberries only tart.
RE Men: Yeah, I know. I wasn't impressed at the time but the yard really was a mess and he was trying to help because he knew it was bugging me..... (We landscape professionals like things perfect, you know!) In retrospect I probably would have taken them out anyway because they need far more sun than they were getting. BF has MS and can't help me with yard work anymore, so I now look back on this as a "happy frustration" and can safely move forward knowing he can do no more harm to my garden. (Smile)
I put the new currants in my big fenced-in garden at our shop that gets plenty of sunlight and there aren't as many birds around to carry the berries away.
I'd start out with a minimum of two plants for pollination.
Cheers! ~ Marilyn
Farm Girl No. 1100
http://blueskyanddaisies.blogspot.com
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. - Ralph Waldo Emerson |
Edited by - edlund33 on May 04 2012 2:33:11 PM |
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bananachicken
True Blue Farmgirl
67 Posts
Ginny
Ohio
USA
67 Posts |
Posted - May 05 2012 : 06:24:40 AM
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I love love love currants! SO delicious in scones!! :) Good luck!
"I should be having tea right now."
-Lady Annalía Elisabet Catherina Tristán Llorente |
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - May 05 2012 : 08:58:19 AM
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My grandmother used to have currants in her garden. We always wanted to pick them--so red and juicy looking--but they were way too tart to tempt a child more than once. But I've been buying dried currants for baking in recent years. They are great in scones, muffins, and sweetbreads.
I actually just noticed them available in a catalog for Miller Nursery (Canandaigua, NY, so somewhat local for me). At least one variety they offer is supposed to do well in partial shade under large trees. I'm thinking about giving them a try in my shady backyard. |
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crittergranny
True Blue Farmgirl
1096 Posts
Laura
Lindrith
NM
USA
1096 Posts |
Posted - May 12 2012 : 6:26:31 PM
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I have a currant bush in the yard of our old cabin that was planted over 40 years ago by my mom. It has spread to be several bushes and nearly fills that little part of the yard. However my mom got it as a start because the parent bush had unusually large currants but in all of those 40 + years it has never produced a currant. It gets lots of flowers in early spring and has plenty of bees etc to pollinate. What I am wondering is if it needs another bush to pollinate with. We are probably many miles from another currant bush. I know some apple trees need that. I hope your bush gives lots of currants Melody. Yes they are great little berries. My Grandma used to have a currant bush. Tart but yummy if I'm remembering right. It has been a long time for me since I tasted a currant.
Laura
Horse poor in the boonies.
www.nmbarrelhorses.com |
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NeeneeB
Farmgirl in Training
34 Posts
Kristin
N Windham
CT
USA
34 Posts |
Posted - May 17 2012 : 03:47:14 AM
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| I went to a U-pick place a few years ago and picked enough to make a huge batch of jelly. It was soooo good! I planted two bushes last summer and hope to have at least a few berries this year. I need to find room for more bushes! |
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felixfelicis
Farmgirl in Training
26 Posts
Rachel
Denver
CO
USA
26 Posts |
Posted - May 23 2012 : 12:51:50 AM
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Can anyone recommend their favorite recipe for currant jam or jelly? The family that lived in our house before us planted several currants that we haven't done anything with. I think it's a shame to let them sit there just because we've never had currents before. They are so incredibly sour when plain but I've always dreamed of having fruit plants around so I'm willing to give it a try.
The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.
-Bertrand Russell |
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hlogarden
Farmgirl at Heart
9 Posts
helen
waterford
mi
USA
9 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2012 : 2:48:50 PM
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I have a red and a champagne currant bush. It took a couple of years before I harvested enough currants for jelly. It was worth the wait. I also love to eat them fresh,but they are tart.Also I've read that they can stand some afternoon shade when the temps are over eighty. I always cover them with shade cloth when it gets too hot.
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Ninibini
True Blue Farmgirl
7577 Posts
Nini
Pennsylvania
USA
7577 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2012 : 3:05:17 PM
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Can you believe it!?! I was just watching a program today about currants and gooseberries, Mel! They said that they are prone to powdery mildew (especially in moist areas), and that the key is to keep the nitrogen in the soil low, because nitrogen actually promotes the growth of the mildew, and to make sure they are planted far enough apart to allow air flow. They also said to add a little potassium to the soil every now and then, because they really like it. They said that they are very easy to grow, just plant and let them do the rest! I hope you try them!! I use dried currants in my baking for the holidays - SO good!! :)
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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Edited by - Ninibini on Jun 02 2012 3:07:33 PM |
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melody
True Blue Farmgirl
3319 Posts
Melody
The Great North Woods in the Land of Hiawatha
USA
3319 Posts |
Posted - Jun 02 2012 : 8:29:10 PM
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Actually, Nini I check my currant shrub nearly every day-She has plenty of air circulation andis planted on kind of a gentle incline where she gets loads of sun plus I have her planted just off the back picket fence where for years I grew NUCLEAR size tomato's!-and today I noticed a little red color to the berries that are present! I might not have a bountiful harvest of currants this fall as she is just now establishing herself in her new surroundings, but that's okay MIL has a well established one up at her house and has promised me all the currants I can manage this fall!
She looks healthy and happy-I just realized how strange it is that I am referring to my currant shrub as she-LOL!
Thank you Nini for all the helpful information-I'll keep a close watch for any mildew!
Melody |
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KatTylee
True Blue Farmgirl
230 Posts
Katrina
Mitchell
Nebraska
USA
230 Posts |
Posted - Jun 09 2012 : 06:31:53 AM
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Hi Melody,
Red currents are great little producers. I put one in at my house a couple of years ago and even the first year I got a few berries. I don't know the actual name of the type but there are orange ones as well that are sweeter straight off the bush. Where I grew up there were lots of those growing wild. Don't know if they are a high altitude version or not. My mom brought me a start of the orange one last summer so it will be interesting to see how it does this year. It sure had a bunch of flowers on it this spring. I don't know about the black currents for flavor.
Recipes... I made a current jelly that was yummy but I think I found the recipe on allrecipes.com or in the Ball canning book. It was a very basic recipe or else I wouldn't have done it but it was delicious.
Good luck with the currents. I like them becuase they are easy to grow.
~"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."
— Oscar Wilde~
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Garden Gate: Currants any one? |
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Currants any one?
