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labruscagrape - Re: [OFEX] red currants

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Subject: Ontario Fruit Explorers

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  • From: "Biz Storms" <biz.storms@sympatico.ca>
  • To: "'Ontario Fruit Explorers'" <labruscagrape@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [OFEX] red currants
  • Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 09:16:02 -0400

Good morning folks,

 

Spent the day at the farm yesterday, trying to get ahead of the grass before it gets too long to mow. I think I have samples of every bug bite imaginable, plus a new little chomper that swells up beautifully. Our black currant bushes are also exploding with fruit – lots more than last year. Ours seem to be pollinated the most by bumblebees. This year they must have arrived at odd hours using stealth mode, since we rarely noticed them around. Looks like our cassis supply will increase by large amounts this coming December.

We had also purchased one of the “giant” black currant variety’s from MacFayden Nurseries a few years back, and it grew like a normal size variety for the last three years. It has now exploded in size and is also heavily laden with fruit. Since the branches are more sturdy than the clove currant, it has a more porcupine appearance. It also ripens a bit later than the others, with larger berries. I wish I had recorded the name before my best half  tossed the packaging.

As for the bees, both our hives made it successfully through the winter, and when we removed the medicated strips two weekends ago, they had just about stocked both the upper and lower hives with honey. We put honey supers on both and they have extremely busy with them. With all this heat and massive amounts of dandelions, lilacs and the early bloomers like the Nanking Cherry and the Saskatoon berries – it has been a great year for early honey. I’m predicting our earliest year so far to have to haul out the extractor.

For those of you with apples, I’d love to hear how your pollination went with this wacky freezing to heat wave weather. We have some varieties that will not produce a single fruit this year, since bloom coincided with the chill two weekends ago and the rain and wind blew off or destroyed the blooms. Alternatively, most of the crabs bloomed early, as they tend to do, and the Dolgo, Chestnut, Geneva, Trail and Scugog crabs are covered with fruitlets. Strangely, the Centennial and a few others are more hit and miss. Hopefully we can start bagging in another week or two when rowing season ends. I have become envious of other sporting parents, since they tend to not have to get up at 4:30 in the morning to get the kids to the water for a practice before school every day. On the other hand, we know where our daughter is on Friday nights – in bed at 8:30 !

Going back to apples, we seem to be under attack by the leaf rollers – anyone else experiencing this? Also, early growth on the apple trees this year is awesome. Again, way ahead of the last few years. Is this happening on other fruit varieties?

One final question. Does anyone have Thimbleberries? Mine are now four years old and doing absolutely nothing. Maybe I have a bunch of eunuchs, but for all their size, there’s been no fruit. Much ado about nothing, so far.

 

Well, must dash. Cheers, Bizmark.

 

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: labruscagrape-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:labruscagrape-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of John Barbowski
Sent: 28 May 2006 17:09
To: labruscagrape@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [OFEX] red currants

 

My currents (red and black) are too young for comparison. The have a reasonable fruit set.

Pears are good, apples are very good, apricots average, blackberries appear to good, strawberries are very good, cherries (sweet) are average, peaches are good, jostaberry is sparse (still a young shrub - 3rd yr) and grapes are very good (young vine).

jb


From:  "Thomas Olenio" <tolenio@sentex.net>
Reply-To:  Ontario Fruit Explorers <labruscagrape@lists.ibiblio.org>
To:  "labruscagrape@lists.ibiblio.org" <labruscagrape@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject:  [OFEX] red currants
Date:  Sun, 28 May 2006 17:06:03 -0400
>
>Hello All,
>
>My red currants are going gang busters this year.  They are laying on the
>ground with a ton of green fruit.
>
>Anyone else seeing this?
>
>The variety in question is "Cherry" red currant.  Usually, they are
>upright, but this year they are ground dwelling, pulled down with fruit.
>
>This is much to early for this.  Makes mowing a pain.
>
>Later,
>Tom
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