North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Marc Geens" <stekelbes@tijd.com>]

Debby,

I am also subscribes to this list, mainly because I (try to) instruct people
(adults) how to grow small fruits. In most cases it are gardening clubs who
invite me in... Personally I am mainly interested in organic growing of
small fruits. For that reason we (my wife and me) collect varieties and test
them for a few years to evaluate them for possibilities for home gardening
and commercial organic growing.
When you like sweeter Red currant berries you should try Junifer. It is a
very early variety (even a few days earlier than Jonkheer van Tets) but is
very sweet (for a red currant). When the rest of your family likes sweet
berries you should look at gooseberries and if you do not like the spines
look for a varieties as Captivator or Spinefree. The OT126 from the NCGR is
also a winner on our 'testing ground'.
My personal favorit for home growing red currant is Rotet (less prone to
disease and rain damage), followed by Rovada. For taste I choose Junifer or
white currants...
Concerning the suckers, it is most probably a combination of a nursery and
planting mistake. It is recommended not to plant the bush any deeper than it
has been planted in the nursery as to avoid the development of root suckers.
We always grow our red currants as cordons (originally triple cordons, but
the recent planting was done as single cordons). We grow the varieties
ourselves (if not patented) and then remove all the buds from the part that
goes into the ground, as to avoid the development of suckers. before we
started to grow red currants as cordons we grew them as bushes on a short
stem (also to prevent suckers and to keep the branches awuy from the soil,
as the lower berries were dirty and were lost...).

Regards

Marc

Stekelbes 'Proef'tuin
p/a. Marc Geens
Bauwerwaan 62
B-9930 Zomergem
tel/fax 09.3720781
e-mail: stekelbes@tijd.com
site: http://www.users.tijd.com/~tdn12074


----- Original Message -----
From: "Deborah Sleight" <sleightd@msu.edu>
To: "CCE-RIBES-HOMEOWNERS-L" <CCE-RIBES-HOMEOWNERS-L@cornell.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2001 3:03 PM
Subject: Introduction of Member of the Hobby and Small Scale Ribes
Production List


>
> I am happy to be subscribed to this list. In the same way Bob Shearer (see
> message below) loves black currants, I love red currants. I eat them
fresh,
> right off of the bush. I also freeze some for use in baking and cooking
> later in the year. I grow them for myself and my family because they are
> expensive to buy, and it is very difficult to find any for sale. My
> 6-year-old son loves to eat them fresh, too, but my 3-year-old daughter
and
> my husband find them too tart. My son wants to start his own red currant
> patch, so I have made a convert!
>
> I currently have 15 bushes: 2 of Redstart, 2 of Jonkheer van Tets, 2 of
> Rovada and 9 of Red Lake. I want to acquire more varieties, if I can find
> room in my backyard! I am aiming to have early ripening, mid-ripening and
> late-ripening varieties so I can enjoy red currants for a longer period in
> the summer.
>
> I am still learning how to prune. I pruned for the first time in the fall
> of 2000 and produced a TON of suckers from the roots, which really
> interfered with the other canes. I cut those off, and MORE came up. So I
> can see I have a lot to learn. I hope to get (and give) good advice from
> this list.
>
> Debby
>
> P.S. I am the TIRA webmaster, so if any of you have information you'd like
> me to put on the website, please let me know.
>
>
> >Black currants are one of my greatest loves, growing them  will be a life
> >long ambition, one of my happiest times in life has been hand picking
> >currants and  eating the odd one, in the sun or the rain ,  It is the
most
> >rewarding  species I have grown and  will always be learning and teaching
> >the science of  production.
> >         Bob Shearer  Devils Creek Berry Farm, Selkirk Manitoba
>
>
> -------------------------
> Deborah A. Sleight, PhD
> Assistant Professor
> Office of Medical Education Research and Development
> College of Human Medicine
> A-206 East Fee Hall
> Michigan State University
> East Lansing, MI 48824
> USA
> (517) 353-9656 (voice)
> (517) 353-3146 (fax)
> sleightd@msu.edu
> www.msu.edu/unit/omerad/
> www.msu.edu/user/sleightd/
>
>