Many people started to grow currants and gooseberries for the first time.Currants and gooseberries are not fussy about the soils and can thrive in partial shade. I have clay, good garden loam, and slightly wet soils on my property. I found that if you amend the soil with a lot of organic matter and peat moss, in the case of wet soils, currants will grow just fine. Red and white currants and gooseberries can tolerate slight shade and still produce a lot of berries. Black currants prefer full sun for good berry production.
There is a lot of information on the internet and in books which tells you how to grow and prune currants. However, most of the information comes from the northern European countries where the climate is cool and in some of these countries, humid, as well, but not hot and humid like in some of the US Eastern states where currents are allowed. Currants and gooseberries in the hot and humid areas are easily contracting fungal diseases, such as anthracnose, even disease resistant cultivars (what a surprise). Many sources on how to grow currants usually suggest to spray them with a copper or sulfur fungicide and remove infected leaves. Alas, this is not enough in a hot and humid environment. Perhaps, it would work in some dry and/or cool states, but not in the humid heat of the Eastern US. Unfortunately, there is not enough information on how to deal with currant pests and diseases in these locations.
I found through practice what works in this area. It is not the organic way, but not chemically loaded either.
Currant leaves infected by fungus
1. Begin the spraying schedule in the Fall. It is better to use Captan to do your first spray of the bushes in the Fall after you collect all the leaves around the bushes. I use Bonide Fruit Tree Spray (it contains Captan and insecticides). The next spray with Captan is better done in early spring when the bushes are still dormant. Do one more spray with Captan when the leaves are just opened, but there are no flowers yet. I use the minimal concentration of Bonide Fruit Tree Spray which is proposed by Bonide company for stone fruits like plums and peaches. Do not spray with Bonide Fruit Tree Spray when flowers are open because usually there are a lot of honey bees on the bushes and this spray will harm them because it contains insecticide. In fact, it is better not to spray anything if you can help it during this stage.
2. After the flowering is finished and berry zygotes are visible start spraying with myclobutanil. I use the one produced by Spectracide called Immunox Multi Purpose Fungicide. I spray according to Immunox instructions (they have currants cited). Immunox allows for 8 sprays per season on currants and gooseberries up to the day of harvest. I do the first spray just when I see the zygotes, and the second time in the beginning of July. If you remove the leaves in the Fall and spray with Captan you may only need 2-3 sprays depending on the humidity. I have tried different fungicides from different companies and found that this Bonide/Spectracide Immunox strategy, in addition, to the removal of infected leaves and leaves dropped in the Fall is the best for Ribes. They still may have some yellowing of the leaves but very little. Just spraying with copper or sulfur fungicides does not work in hot/humid summers, which lately is the case in the Eastern US. Hot and wet springs are particularly damaging to currants and gooseberries.
3. In the Fall collect all the fallen leaves around the bushes as best as you can.
There is another unusual berry plant which is native to the Northeastern US, Aronia or Chokeberry (family Rosaceae). This berry is also packed with vitamins and polyphenols. It is tart and sweet, though it is good in pies and juices. It also makes a wonderful jam especially when combined with apples. This berry can be used in winemaking. Aronia prefers moist but not waterlogged soils and, at least in my experience, it needs a lot of sun for good berry production. It has the same problems as currants even though this berry bush is native to the Eastern climate of the US. I found in my practice that what works for the currants works for Aronias too. Same fungicides and the same spraying schedule. I use concentration of Spectracide Immunox multipurpose fungicide recommended by the company for chokeberry. Do not forget to collect all the leaves around the bushes in the Fall.
Another unusual berry in the US is lingonberry. The lingonberry plants are related to cranberries and come from Northern Europe. Lingonberries have a lot of health benefits. They grow well and multiply in the Eastern US. On my property they prefer to grow in peat moss on a sunny slope, but would tolerate slight shade. These bushes are also susceptible to fungus in hot and humid summers. In addition to the good sanitation practice of removal of the dropped leaves in the Fall, I found that spraying with Chlorothalonil such as in OrthoMax Garden Disease Control (I use the dose for the stone fruits) twice (at least two weeks apart) at the beginning of Spring, prior to flowering and then spraying with Copper fungicide gives a good result.
Why I do not use Captan on ribes and Aronia all season? Mainly because I do not know the concentrations for currants and Aronia. Bonide does not provide concentrations for these berries, and I could not find the information from other sources. Spectracide Immunox multipurpose fungicide, on the other hand, has concentrations for these berries. Just spraying with Spectracide Immunox is not enough for good disease control in ribes and Aronia but in combination with Captan early in the season works well. I do not use OrthoMax Garden Disease Control for lingonberries all season for the same reason. Lingonberries are related to blueberries and cranberries. I suppose one can use Captan for lingonberries with concentrations suggested for blueberries. My strategy for lingonberries works well, so I did not try Captan.
And now let’s talk about insects which could be a big problem for the currants. Currants are generally easy growing bushes, but a few insects in the beginning of the summer could be devastating for the bushes.
Currant stem girdler
This insect is the most difficult to control. The female of the girdler lays an egg in the young shoot of mostly white, red currants and gooseberry . It lays an egg in the pith of a new shoot and then punctures the shoot about 1 inches above the site of the egg in such a manner that the top portion of the shoot gets disconnected from the rest of the stem and dies. The top of a shoot will wilt and topple over. It could be still attached or fallen completely.If you prune your brushes regularly, every season, you will have a lot of new shoots to protect. So far there are no means to completely eradicate this insect, but it is possible to minimize the damage. In the Northeastern US this insect is active at the end of May and at the beginning of June. I found if I spray young shoots during this period with Imidacloprid and Spinosad (I use those of Bonide) it significantly reduces pestilence by this insect especially by putting Spinosad powder on the young shoots. I still have one or two shoots infested but that is not a big problem for the bush. I do not know exactly why it works. The girdler female is not feeding on the bush and may not be killed by those substances, although both substances may kill it by the contact. Possibly the insect does not like to land on the treated bush especially on the Spinosad powder. Also make sure that you do not have feral currant bushes in the area. You can’t control infections and pests on them (too much time and money) so better to eliminate them on your property. It is good to plant your currants as far as possible from the wild trees and bushes because you can not control the diseases and insects on them too. If you have a property in a forested area, you have to work with what you have, but try to create some clearance around the currants, especially from poplars, since they are an alternative host for the girdler.
If you find a wilted shoot damaged by the girdler, cut it 6 to 8 inches below the puncture line and burn the shoot. Do not leave it anywhere on your property because larvae of this insect can survive the winter in the cut shoot. If you think that you missed some of the shoots you can still kill the larvae with imidacloprid, but in this case treat the soil around the bush with it. I use Bonide Annual Tree and Shrub Insect Control according the Bonide instruction. The plant will uptake imidacloprid and the larvae which is feeding inside the shoot will die. I found that this strategy works well and I have very limited number of girdlers on my currants even though there are numerous poplars in the adjacent forest.
The other pests are more easily controllable.
Cutworms (caterpillar) can be killed by the application of imidacloprid, spinosad or pyrethrin which considered to be suitable for organic gardening.
Cane borers can be control by imidacloprid and by cutting and destroying infested branches.
Aphids can be controlled by by application of imidacloprid, spinosad or pyrethrin.
Aronia and Lingonberry bushes seem not to be affected by insects that much and require just a spray or two with Spinosad or Pyrethrin. The only major damage on Aronia seems to come from Japanese beetles, which can be controlled by a variety of general and Japanese beetle specific insecticides. Same goes for the currants which can be attacked by this beetle.
A few ideas of using currants, gooseberries, aronia and lingonberry in cooking
Apple and aronia, or black or red currant pie
Aronia and black or red currants are naturally sour and fit perfectly in a pie baked together with apples.
Ingredients
Ready made pastry for two crust pie or you can do it from scratch
1 can of apple pie filling
1 cup of aronia, red or black currant berries fresh or frozen
1/3 cup of raisins
1/4 cup of chopped walnuts
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 F
1. Unroll the pie crust according manufacturer's instructions and place one of the crusts into a well greased 9 inch pie pan. The other crust can wait unrolled on a dinner plate.
2. Spread the apple pie filling on the crust which is in the pie pan.
3. Put berries on the apple pie filling in such a way that they would not touch the crust, and press slightly
4. Put the raisins on the top of the berries and press slightly. Raisins can touch the crust.
5. On the top of raisins put the walnuts and press slightly.
6. Now that the first crust is filled place the second crust on top and press the edges of the two crusts together and fold them over towards the center of the pie. Make holes in the upper crust with a toothpick for the vapors to escape.
7. Bake the pie for approximately 50 min or until crust is dark golden in color.
8. Cool the pie to at least room temperature before serving.
Suggestions.
The raisins adds more sweetness to the pie and also absorbs the extra juices from the berries which could make pie “runny”. This pie is somewhat sour-sweet, but not overly sweet. If you like a sweet pie you can add some sugar over the berries. Red currants also can be combined with peach pie filling. Currants can be substituted with lingonberries. I found that black currants are the best to combine with the apple pie filling.
Aronia, red or black currant jam
To prepare a jam from one of these berries take 2 parts of berries and 1 part sugar. For example: 2 lb of berries and 1 lb of sugar. Put the berries in a large pan in which you will prepare the jam and put sugar over the berries and leave them overnight or at least for a few hours until the berries give enough juice to start boiling them. Bring the berry and sugar mix to a boil, constantly stirring. Then reduce the heat and simmer the jam for 40 min. Stir frequently. These berries have high pectin content so you don’t have to add any commercially produced pectin.
Put the jam in the jam jars while it is hot. Keep the jam in a cool place.
Lingonberry apple jam
Lingonberries taste very good when done together with apples. Take equal parts of apples and lingonberries and sugar. For example: 1 lb lingonberries and 1 lb of not peeled apples cut into quarters and 1 lb sugar. Pour 2 cups of water in a large pan in which you will prepare the jam then put in the apples and berries and then put the sugar over the berries. Add more water if needed. Bring the berries and sugar mix to a boil, constantly stirring. Then reduce the heat and simmer the jam for 40 min. Stir frequently. Apples have high pectin content so you don’t have to add any commercially produced pectin.
Put the jam in the jam jars while it is hot. Keep the jam in a cool place.
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