Blackcurrants
- When planting new blackcurrant bushes, put in deeper than height of pot/ soil & cut branches to ground (stimulates growth from base)/ bury up to 2 buds.
- Cut offs can be used for hardwood cuttings - 20 - 25cm long, stick straight into ground. Cut tip off & put into ground 2 buds deep. Once rooted and transplanting - cut down to ground again - it will most likely throw up a few stems. Following winter don't prune at all and then prune annually there on after.
- When pruning - cut stems to right back to base (don't want tops to branch).
- Abnormally big buds is sign of a gall mites. When you dissect and look through microscope you might see them. They cause the blackcurrant to have reversion virus. Big bud occurs near bud burst time - commercially sulphur can be used (this is also an acceptable organic method), but some fruit varieties can get phytotoxic from this.
- Other pests - Currant Clearwing moth - but plants often long lived if not affected by gall mite.
- Ben varieties are bred from a Scottish research station near Dundee. Loch varieties are hybrid berries from the same place.
- Ben Sarek is a good compact one for small gardens.
- Espaliered currants should be covered - pigeons will eat green fruit as soon as they set.
Blueberries are pruned like blackcurrants - less vigorous, so only done approx. every three years. Need to give an ericaceous feed annually. Can be propagated by semi-ripe cuttings, not as easy as currants.
Gooseberries
- For framework bushes, prune to an inward facing bud for rigid shape (counter to outward facing for easier picking). Lomond cultivars are mildew/ gall mite resistant.
- Cordons - have 40cm apart.
- Standards (Photo 1) - cut lateral branches back to two buds. To train one as such - leave one apical stem as standard, cut other stems back to 2/3rd.
- Prune to five leaves in summer.
- For cuttings (also redcurrants) - 40 - 45cm in length. Put in ground 4 buds deep, can lift up and rub buds off later. They have a suckering habit.
- Gooseberry & redcurrant fans good for north facing walls.
- There are gooseberry growing clubs originating from 19th & early 20th century who were interested in breeding them (mainly men, some of the men in the past had been in the Battle of Waterloo so some of cultivars have grand heroic names). They have competitions to grow the biggest gooseberries (up to hen size), they would de-fruit the bush to concentrate energy on just a few fruit. Biggest gooseberry wins prizes like brass pans & copper kettles. They even have monitoring figures who would supervise the picking of the competing fruit, to ensure there is no cheating. Societies still exist in places like Cheshire and Yorkshire.
- Gooseberries found in high altitudes in Eastern Europe.
- Jostaberry (cross of blackcurrant & gooseberry doesn't get mildew & big bud - good alternative.
- There is Chuckleberry too - a cross between redcurrant, gooseberry and jostaberry!
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| Photo 1: Gooseberry trained as standard. |
Indoor Vines (Photo 2)
- Fan heater only put on if snow/ spring frost.
- Set 1m - 1.2m apart
- Pruned the rod 'n' spur system.
- Pruned in Dec. - laterals to 1 bud (not including ones from the base - may be used for taking over old stem).
- Ongoing pruning takes place in summer. Lateral shoots are chosen to be trained horizonally. Extra ones are cut out (more than one may come out of same place). They are cut off where it tries to overlap another, so they don't shade each other out.
- Sprayed for mildew with organically approved Aston Garshield (garlic extract). Other methods are sulphur (legality uncertain) & potassium bicarbonate.
- In winter vines are untied & let to hang down to encourage even bud break. They are tied back up when new buds appear. Bark is scraped with a not very sharp knife to the green to help expose pests (e.g. mealy bugs) then all of it is painted with a diluted soap based wash. Not required for outdoor ones. Straw is raked out, recovered with compost, well watered up & then with fresh straw (straw breaks down slower than hay).
- They are washed with a soap based winter wash after bark scraping.
- Sometimes blow torch is used to burn tree back to old framework to rid of woolly aphids.
- Feb - fertilised - Vitax Q4 is used.
- Muscat of Alexandria is ancient Egyptian one.
- 'Sultana' syn. Thompson's Seedless is one used for said name.
- Schiava Grossa (syb. Black Hamburg) is a good one to grow in a cool greenhouse.
- Not prone to vine weevil, but was first described on a vine. If problem did occur would be treated with nematodes.
- Young vines - shorten leaders by half. Following year - let grow a bit more then shorten - not allowed to grow too tall too soon. Do this process until it reaches the top.
- Thinning of fruit within bunches early on in fruiting. There are special grape scissors.
- Grapes in bottles with charcoal used as cut flowers/ fruit.
- Heathrow and Lea Valley were growing grapes commercially.
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| Photo 2: Indoor vines - Jim has untied & temporarily tied looser to demonstrate better the pruning & maintenance of them. |
- Romans may have had vineyards in Britain.
- Don't need deep/ nutrient rich soil. Drainage is most important. You don't want to encourage too much growth.
- Pruned the Double Guyot (French) system - widely used worldwide.
- Fruiting arms are cut off and new good ones are trained to take its place (from middle of main stem). Another strong one in the middleish is cut down to three buds. (Photo 4)
- Phoenix, Orion varieties good for small land, allotments & cool climes. Suppose to be resistant to botrytis but they still seem to have trouble with it.
- Biodegradable clips are used as ties.
- Unlike hybrid berries, can be entwined on wire support on both sides.
- Often grafted e.g. Bacchus because of Phloxera disease from U.S. Wisley does have some propped from cuttings though. Initially grown in Long Toms. Bacchus is a Sauvignon Blanc type variety.
- New plants planted in spring (around April) to escape first winter & frost.
- 1st year run one stem up. 2nd year cut down to almost half for more shoots and can start training.
- Don't crop too much when young.
- Have 60/70/ 80cm grid guards for protection but maintaining good ventilation.
- Regent & Rondo - two red wine varieties suitable for UK (most are for whites).
- Half herring drainage system is in place.
- Some of vineyard planted through mypex, petrol ran auger used to make planting holes.
- Grass has to be kept down with strimmers & mulching - organic approach. New tech. utilising hot water to put round base of vines in development.
- Once vines start to grow, wire supports are slackened to capture growth, except for bottom two. The wires are approx. 40cm apart the top two are two parallel ones to hold in vine shoots from either side.
- Wooden pole supports = sweet chestnut.
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| Photo 3: Outdoor vines before pruning. |
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| Photo 4: Outdoor vine after pruning. |