grow darnit:

Some may grow taller, some shorter. Why is this a concern? If they become too tall, you can always prune them down.

If there is an issue here, it is what are you going to do with all those blackcurrants? Are you a jam maker? English and Scottish persons are able to make decent jam from these fruits, but that seems to be about their best, if not their only use.

I only had to grow one variety of blackcurrant to determine that these foul-tasting things were not for me.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Jellyman,
Being tall is not a problem, I'm trying to pick the tallest variety to put on my property line. The neighbor's yard is quite lower than mine, so I only need a bush that's 5 feet tall or so to completely screen them off. Harvestman is absolutely right - pretty much all of Europe is crazy about black currant, and I happen to come from a "cooler European country" where black currant is a must on every garden plot. I find the flavor very rich and delicious and my 2 year old agrees wholehartedly. I grind berries and sugar in a food processor, then keep it in the fridge. Right now I have only one bush and last year we ran out of thas deliciousness by October. Online sources give different information about the size of the bushes and I tend to believe that different varieties probably have different growth habits. I was just wondering if anyone grew these and knows how tall they will get.
Grow

I may have grown Swedish Black- years ago I tried many varieties from Whitman Farms. You should order a Strata plant from her- I accidentally called it Cascade. It was the standout here for size and flavor.

5' is about right for max height of vigorous varieties. If you call Whitman Farms, Lucille can give you specific info- she sells the varieties you have.

Grow, I am in different zone, so my experience can be irrelevent, but my Black Currants here (I have three different varieties, don't remember names, sorry)are in 5x5 range even with prunning. My sister has more varieties and some of her currants are even bigger, at least 6x6. I love them too and do the same preserve as you desribe, also make jam and freeze a lot to make compots in winter.
Olga

"If there is an issue here, it is what are you going to do with all those blackcurrants? Are you a jam maker? English and Scottish persons are able to make decent jam from these fruits, but that seems to be about their best, if not their only use."

I'm not a fan of Blackcurrant, it's probably over exposure due to being a Brit but to think of Americans as being almost devoid of it and to see the above statement makes me believe there's a vast untapped market for the fruit. Try to source a bottle of Ribena cordial, dilute with cold water and drink, or I'm sure a Brit you trust could send you a sample of Ribena if you can't get it. Almost all black currants are used to make Ribena, kids are weaned on it (which could explain our sometimes grim choppers) and it'd be very unusual to see a child who turns it down. I'd venture it's as valid as the best of fruits. More so to it's intended recipients where the apple, peach or anything else (barring chocolate) often get a luke warm reception.

Gooseberries on the other hand, I'm a big lover of.

Jellyman's patented current cordial for kids, I can see it now. ;)

Here's a link if you do decide to try Ribena. You should imo, try Lucozade at the same time and Horlicks if you've never tried it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ribena, Lucozade and Horlicks

Thank you for the input, everyone. I'm glad to hear that my plan might actually work. I will probably call and ask Lucile as well, just to be on the safe side, especially since I ordered the plants from her. Olga, I bet you and I come from the same part of the world. Mootube, I LOVE gooseberries, I just can't believe almost nobody grows them here.
Grow

"Mootube, I LOVE gooseberries, I just can't believe almost nobody grows them here."

I think that's largely down to a demonisation campaign as many Ribes cultivars being potential carriers of white pine blister rust. It's a situation that Americans should start to see past now and embrace the permitted Ribes varieties for all their benefits. There really is a vaccum where Ribes is concerned that is really just waiting for an 'entrepreneurial' kickstart. Who would take the bull by the horns? The inclination will come eventually I'm sure as US growers get a sense of the potential of the genus, the UK market would also be an excellent market to study for the endevour.

On topic, I'm doing a similar fence to you on a much smaller scale. It has 4 or 5 varieties of blackcurrant (unfortunately I can't catalogue which), interspersed with around 10 gooseberry varieties, 2 redcurrant and white versailles to add interest.

Cutting wood for most of these was in plentiful supply so I've planted the cuttings 2 or 3 thick and very close together. You'll need to keep grass and weeds right down initially and you should have a very high percentage (of currant cuttings) take, otherwise you'll find much less will take with any competition from grass. European gooseberries won't take nearly as well from cuttings so I'd start them with hormones etc. in a controlled environment if you even plan to add them.
Another point is that most of the foliage you'll get eventually will be at the top of the stems, leaving a lot of gaps on the bottom 2/3rds. You can add varieties of differing heights and continuously prune the stems quite low, planting the cuttings at the gaps. The pruning should cause at least one new vertical shoot, hopefully more.
If my fence were longer, I'd probably add bueberry and aronia to the mix but not Rubus unless you can isolate the roots along the fence otherwise they will spread.

I've been dissapointed with Ben Sarek though I've only tried one plant. Bought in autumn it looked a very healthy specimen but died during dormancy that same year. I won't be buying another one but for you, I'd take one cutting from it and plant it in a different environment than the main plant. It may be overly cautious to say that but my limited perception on this variety is understandably poor. Anyway, I hope you find something in my post helpful and good luck with the fence.

I like gooseberries off the plant OK, but don't find them very useful cooked- a bit acidic (which is good), zero aroma (bad). They are the usual victims of currant worms here- not currants and all the best Euro varieties are extremely susceptible to mildew. Invicta and Poorman are pretty good but I suspect I may be missing something due to the limitation of my varietal experience. Still I believe it is only the English who favor their goozeberries (sp. intentional). Black currants have a much greater world wide fan base and this may mean something.

Actually gooseberries are as popular as currants in many colder European countries, not just English who favor their gooseberries. There are plenty varieties that are good for vine, jams, pies and of course eating fresh. Some varieties have really tender skin, more tender then grapes and plenty of flavor and color.
Olga

I was basing my comments on some googling of various European countries national production data of black currants vs red currants and gooseberries I did some time ago.

Black currants are immensely more nourishing than gooseberries I believe. There can be no comparison as far as anti-oxidants go but potassium and other minerals are considerably higher as well.

There is a man in NY state who has been recruiting farmers to grow black currants. He will purchase them and pack them out. I used to have his card.

You are right about production data. Gooseberries are usually grown by home orchards and are not counted in production statistics, I assume. In many East Europian countries every samll yard has currants and goosberries grown side by side. Just a couple bushes of each, but both are always present. It is almost impossible to find a home garden w/o these two. Kind of like azelea or evergreens that are planted here by bilders next to almost every house there would be currents and gooseberries planted next the house in every village or small town. Almost no exception. Apple tree and in majority of cases sour cherry tree are also a must for each home.
olga

Interesting, but I have to believe that the reason more black currants are produced commercially is because of overall demand. Even in this country, black currants are used more, if only in alcholic beverarges like Cassis and currant flavored vodka. Gooseberries just have no distinctive flavor- they are tart with no aromatics.

OK, I admit it- I'm just much more a black currant fan than gooseberry fan although I like gooseberrys off the plant as much as the best black currants. I strongly believe the cullinary uses of black currants completely blow away GB's whether in drinks, sauces or baking.

There is a old gooseberry varieety called Negus, it is so aromatic that you would never believe. It is as dark as dark red grape, the skin is tender and the flavor is VERY strong. The vine from this variety is really really good.
I am actually a more currant person myself, but I just try to be objective. I think it is easier to cook with currants then with gooseberries, which are bigger challenge for cook. Recipies are more time consuming and storage is more problematic. Black currants can always be frozen and then processed whenever needed, this doesn't negatively impact flavor. Frozen gooseberies is completely different story.
Olga

I had a client several years back who had a major interest in growing all kinds of ribes and I ordered about 20 varieties of gooseberries based on reputed flavor. Naturally, the majority were varieties popular in Europe. Every one of these suffered terribly from mildew, while Invicta flourished. Because Invicta was touted as being comparable to these fussier types we ended up running with mostly it and Poorman. Henomake Yellow is another highly rated one I still manage- it is also mildew resistant. Are the varieties you know far superior to these and are any resistant to mildew?

I have no clue how they would perform here. Climate is so different. They were superior in taste to Invicta and Poorman, I am comfortable to say this. I am not familiar with Henomake Yellow.
Olga

Harvestman:

You are right that it was churlish of me to paint blackcurrants with such a broad brush, the more so since my experience is limited to one cultivar and probably not a very good one at that. Thousands of English persons cannot all be wrong. I never did try making jam from them; I based my observation only on the flavor fresh from the bush. Like apricots, I recognize that blackcurrants can acquire quite a different flavor in cooked or prepared form.

For many years, the resident expert on ribes at the NAFEX message board was Ed Mashburn, located at Northumberland just north of Harrisburg, PA. Ed grew and bred dozens of currant and gooseberry varieties, and used to hold an open house during the month of July. His advice on variety selection and cultivation was the best around, but I don't see his posts on NAFEX any more. I hope he is ok. His website is still up, but dated 2006.

You are probably right that if I had make a nice jam from my blackcurrants I might have been pleasantly surprised. For now, the favorite preserve here at Jellyman Farms is red raspberry, but they are all pretty good, made in the low-sugar style with Pomona's pectin.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Don, yeah, you have to add quite a bit of sugar to make black currants palatable unless you use it in a blend.

I have communicated with Mashburn in the past and noticed his absence. He was quite active in Pennsylvania orchard circles it seemed. I think they have a home orchard society there that probably knows what he is or isn't up to.

Apart from jam, you can make a fool,with blackcurrants, maybe so called because its so easy: to make it you cook and puree the fruit and add whipped cream to it so as to get a fluffy mouse type pudding beautiful served in a champagne glas or pretty bowl and delicious.

To avoid trouble spots in making a fool cookin gfruit has its art read thefollowing.

Take some strong tasting fruit, blackcurrants, plums, etc and stew whichever you have choosen taking great care with the amount of water you use to stew them in.

Plums just let go of so much water when you cook them so you end up wiht a bit of fruit floating in a sea of liquid, bu you need to put som eliquiid in th epot to stop them from burning. while apples seem to absorb some of the water you add to them.

Once ready, if very liquid maybe you want to boil some of the liquid off though they are already cooked you puree the fruit. Again too wet a puree is no good.,

Add sugar to taste to the puree or when stewing the fruit. not too much but enough to stop the puree being extremely tart, acid.

Then you whip creme and add it to the puree. Again, I dont like too much cream anymore than i like too much sugar but others may like a lot of creme in their fools. You loose the delicious sharp tastyness of the fruit if you use too much.cream.

Now you have a beautiful fluffy fool which can if the meal is informal merely be served from the bovwl onto diners plates but if not then the fool can be served in pretty bowls or open champagnne glasses. It will look pretty because of the colour of the fruit.

At the table you can put a bit of cream and some on top of the fool, sugar to give it a crunchyness as well as to to sweeten it up if it is too sharp for you.