Friday, June 8, 2007

Too too hot

It's 35 degrees out there and we're melting. I visited the allotment this afternoon at lunch time as we have a busy week and it's the only time I could go. I can't help but feel that the water I gave the plants probably all evaporated!

I asked about the redcurrants on my plot and apparently the plants are 17 years old! No wonder their yield is low and they look ill. This winter I'll replace them with other plants. I'm thinking of a gooseberry (kruisbes) and some other raspberries ...

2 comments:

Celia Hart said...

If your redcurrant bushes aren't diseased - just old - take some cuttings. I pruned the old currant bushes (red and black) when we moved to our present garden, and stuck the prunings into the soil in the shade of the garden wall (this is how my Gran used to take cuttings of all sorts of things with great success). All the currant prunings struck and we now have lots of new currant bushes which have much bigger juicier berries than the old parent plants. There's nothing to lose, if they don't root buy new.

jansmoestuin said...

Indeed taking cuttings goes very well. Your plants are however very old and could have virus when they don't yield well.
I have very good experience with buying new plants.
There are specialised firms where you can buy bare root plants. They are very cheap. Making your own cuttings does not save much money.
The good thing is that you can choose your variety and harvest time. You can also buy white currant. Birds do not recognice and eat them (no nets needed) and they have the same taste.