CURRANTS--CHOICE OF SOIL, CULTIVATION, PRUNING, ETC.
They wore "curns" in our early boyhood, and "curns" they are still in
the rural vernacular of many regions. In old English they were
"corrans," because the people associated them with the raisins of the
small Zante grape, once imported so exclusively from Corinth as to
acquire the name of that city.
Under the tribe _Grossulariae_ of the Saxifrage family we find the
_Ribes_ containing many species of currants and gooseberries; but, in
accordance with the scope of this book, we shall quote from Professor
Gray (whose arrangement we follow) only those that furnish the currants
of cultivation.
"_Ribes rubrum_, red currant, cultivated from Europe, also wild on our
northern border, with straggling or reclining stems, somewhat
heart-shaped, moderately three to five lobed leaves, the lobes roundish
and drooping racemes from lateral buds distinct from the leaf buds;
edible berries red, or a white variety."
This is the parent of our cultivated red and white varieties. Currants
are comparatively new-comers in the garden. When the Greek and Roman
writers were carefully noting and naming the fruits of their time, the
_Ribes_ tribe was as wild as any of the hordes of the far North, in
whose dim, cold, damp woods and bogs it then flourished, but, like
other Northern tribes, it is making great improvement under the genial
influences of civilization and culture.
Until within a century or two, gardeners who cultivated currants at all
were content with wild specimens from the woods. The exceedingly small,
acid fruit of these wildings was not calculated to inspire enthusiasm;
but a people possessing the surer qualities of patience and
perseverance determined to develop them, and, as a result, we have the
old Bed and White Dutch varieties, as yet unsurpassed for the table. In
the Victoria, Cherry, and White Grape, we have decided advances in
size, but not in flavor.
CHOICE AND PREPARATION OF SOIL
The secret of success in the culture of currants is suggested by the
fact that nature has planted nearly every species of the _Ribes_ in
cold, damp, northern exposures. Throughout the woods and bogs of the
Northern Hemisphere is found the scraggy, untamed, hurdy stock from
which has been developed the superb White Grape. As with people, so
with plants: development does not eradicate constitutional traits and
tendencies. Beneath all is the craving for the primeval conditions of
life, and the best success with the currant and gooseberry will
assuredly be obtained by those who can give them a reasonable approach
to the soil, climate, and culture suggested by their damp, cold, native
haunts. As with the strawberry, then, the first requisite is, not
wetness, but abundant and continuous moisture. Soils naturally
deficient in this, and which cannot be made drought-resisting by deep
plowing and cultivation, are not adapted to the currant. Because this
fruit is found wild in bogs, it does not follow that it can be grown
successfully in undrained swamps. It will do better in such places than
on dry, gravelly knolls, or on thin, light soils; but our fine
civilized varieties need civilized conditions. The well-drained swamp
may become the very best of currant fields; and damp, heavy land, that
is capable of deep, thorough cultivation, should be selected if
possible. When such is not to be had, then, by deep plowing,
subsoiling, by abundant mulch around the plants throughout the summer,
and by occasional waterings in the garden, counteracting the effects of
lightness and dryness of soil, skill can go far in making good nature's
deficiencies.
Next to depth of soil and moisture, the currant requires fertility. It
is justly called one of the "gross feeders," and is not particular as
to the quality of its food, so that it is abundant. I would still
suggest, however, that it be fed according to its nature with heavy
composts, in which muck, leaf-mould, and the cleanings of the
cow-stable are largely present. Wood-ashes and bone-meal are also most
excellent. If stable or other light manures must be used, I would
suggest that they be scattered liberally on the surface in the fall or
early spring and gradually worked in by cultivation. Thus used, their
light heating qualities will do no harm, and they will keep the surface
mellow and, therefore, moist.
The shadowy, Northern haunts of the wild currant also suggest that it
will falter and fail under the Southern sun; and this is true, As we
pass down through the Middle States, we find it difficult to make
thrive even the hardy White and Bed Dutch varieties, and a point is at
last reached when the bushes lose their leaves in the hot season, and
die. From the latitude of New York south, therefore, increasing effort
should be made to supply the currants' constitutional need, by giving
partial shade among pear or widely set apple-trees, or, better still,
by planting on the northern side of fences, buildings, etc. By giving a
cool, half-shady exposure in moist land, the culture of the currant can
be extended far to the south, especially in the high mountain regions.
Even well to the north it is unprofitable when grown on light, thin,
poor land, unless given liberal, skilful culture.
PLANTING, CULTIVATION AND PRUNING
I regard autumn as the best season for planting currants, but have
succeeded nearly as well in early spring. If kept moist, there is
little danger of the plants dying at any time, but those set in the
fall or early spring make, the first year, a much larger growth than
those planted when the buds have developed into leaves. Since they
start so early, they should be set in the spring as soon as the ground
is dry enough to work, and in the autumn, any time after the leaves
fall or the wood is ripe. The plants of commerce are one, two and three
years old, though not very many of the last are sold. I would as soon
have one-year plants, if well rooted, as any, since they are cheaper
and more certain to make strong, vigorous bushes, if given generous
treatment in the open field, than if left crowded too long in nursery
rows. For the garden, where fruit is desired as soon as possible, two
and three year old plants are preferable. After planting, cut the young
bushes back one-half or two-thirds, so as to ensure new and vigorous
growth.
In field culture, I recommend that the rows be five feet apart, and the
plants four feet from each other in the row. In this case 2,178 plants
are required for an acre. If it is designed to cultivate them both
ways, let the plants be set at right angles five feet apart, an acre
now requiring 1,742 plants. Sink them two or three inches deeper than
they stood in the nursery rows, and although in preparation the ground
was well enriched, a shovel of compost around the young plant gives it
a fine send-off, and hastens the development of a profitable bush. In
the field and for market, I would urge that currants be grown
invariably in bush, rather than in tree form. English writers, and some
here who follow them, recommend the latter method; but it is not
adapted to our climate, and to such limited attention as we can afford
to give. The borers, moreover, having but a single stem to work upon,
would soon cause many vacancies in the rows.
Currants are grown for market with large and increasing profits;
indeed, there is scarcely a fruit that now pays better.
Mr. John S. Collins, of Moorestown, N. J., by the following ingenious,
yet simple, invention, is able to drive through his currant and
raspberry fields without injuring the plants.
"An ordinary cart is changed by putting in an axle fifteen inches
longer than usual, the wheels thus making a track six feet and eight
inches wide. The shafts and body of the cart are put just as close to
one wheel as possible, so that the horse and the wheel will pass as
near together, and as near in a line, as practicable. The axle of the
other wheel being long, and bowing up several inches higher than
ordinary in the middle, it passes over a row of bushes with little or
no damage. Thus, fertilizers can be carried to all parts of the field."
Of course, it would not do to drive through bushes laden with fruit;
but after they were picked, such a vehicle could cause but little
injury.
In the garden and for home use there is the widest latitude. We may
content ourselves, as many do, with a few old Red Dutch bushes that for
a generation have struggled with grass and burdocks. We may do a little
better, and set out plants in ordinary garden soil, but forget for
years to give a particle of food to the starving bushes, remarking
annually, with increasing emphasis, that they must be "running out."
Few plants of the garden need high feeding more, and no others are more
generally starved. I will guarantee that there are successful farmers
who no more think of manuring a currant bush than of feeding crows.
This fruit will live, no matter how we abuse it, but there are scarcely
any that respond more quickly to generous treatment; and in the garden
where it is not necessary to keep such a single eye to the margin of
profit, many beautiful and interesting things can be done with the
currant. The majority will be satisfied with large, vigorous bushes,
well enriched, mulched and skilfully pruned. If we choose, however, we
may train them into pretty little trees, umbrella, globe, or pyramid in
shape, according to our fancy, and by watchfulness and the use of
ashes, keep away the borers. In one instance I found a few vigorous
shoots that had made a growth of nearly three feet in a single season.
With the exception of the terminal bud and three or four just below it,
I disbudded these shoots carefully, imbedded the lower ends six inches
in moist soil as one would an ordinary cutting, and they speedily took
root and developed into little trees. Much taller and more ornamental
currant and gooseberry trees can be obtained by grafting any variety we
wish on the Missouri species (_Ribes aureum_). These can be made pretty
and useful ornaments of the lawn, as well as of the garden. Instead,
therefore, of weed-choked, sprawling, unsightly objects, currant bushes
can be made things of beauty, as well as of sterling worth.
The cultivation of the currant is very simple. As early in the spring
as the ground is dry enough, it should be thoroughly stirred by plow or
cultivator, and all perennial weeds and grasses just around the bushes
taken out with pronged hoes or forks. If a liberal top-dressing of
compost or some other fertilizer was not given in the autumn, which is
the best time to apply it, let it be spread over the roots (not up
against the stems) before the first spring cultivation. While the
bushes are still young, they can be cultivated and kept clean, like any
hoed crop; but after they come into bearing--say the third summer --a
different course must be adopted. If the ground is kept mellow and bare
under the bushes, the fruit will be so splashed with earth as to be
unsalable, and washed fruit is scarcely fit for the table. We very
properly wish it with just the bloom and coloring which Nature is a
month or more in elaborating. Muddy or rinsed fruit suggests the sty,
not a dining-room. A mulch of leaves, straw, evergreen boughs--anything
that will keep the ground clean--applied immediately after the early
spring culture, is the best and most obvious way of preserving the
fruit; and this method also secures all the good results which have
been shown to follow mulching. Where it is not convenient to mulch, I
would suggest that the ground be left undisturbed after the first
thorough culture, until the fruit is gathered. The weeds that grow in
the interval may be mowed, and allowed to fall under the bushes. By the
end of June, the soil will have become so fixed that, with a partial
sod of weeds, the fruit may hang over, or even rest upon it, without
being splashed by the heavy rains then prevalent. This course is not so
neat as clean cultivation or mulching. Few fruit growers, however, can
afford to make appearances the first consideration. I have heard of
oats being sown among the bushes to keep the fruit clean, but their
growth must check the best development of the fruit quite as much as
the natural crop of weeds. It would be better to give clean culture,
and grow rye, or any early maturing green crop, somewhere else, and
when the fruit begins to turn, spread this material under the bushes.
On many places, the mowings of weedy, swampy places would be found
sufficient for the purpose. After the fruit is gathered, start the
cultivator and hoe at once, so as to secure vigorous foliage and
healthful growth throughout the entire summer.
Pruning may be done any time after the leaves fall, and success depends
upon its judicious and rigorous performance. The English gardeners have
recognized this fact, and they have as minute and careful a system as
we apply to the grape. These formal and rather arbitrary methods can
scarcely be followed practically in our hurried American life. It seems
to me that I can do no better than to lay down some sound and general
principles and leave their working out to the judgment of the grower.
In most instances, I imagine, our best gardeners rarely trim two bushes
exactly alike, but deal with each according to its vigor and natural
tendencies; for a currant bush has not a little individuality.
A young bush needs cutting back like a young grapevine, and for the
same reason. A grapevine left to itself would soon become a mass of
tangled wood yielding but little fruit, and that of inferior quality.
In like manner nature, uncurbed, gives us a great, straggling bush that
is choked and rendered barren by its own luxuriance. Air and light are
essential, and the knife must make spaces for them. Cutting back and
shortening branches develops fruit buds. Otherwise, we have long,
unproductive reaches of wood. This is especially true of the Cherry and
other varieties resembling it. The judicious use of the knife, kept up
from year to year, will almost double their productiveness. Again, too
much very young and too much old wood are causes of unfruitfulness. The
skilful culturist seeks to produce and preserve many points of
branching and short spurs, for it is here that the little fruit buds
cluster thickly. When a branch is becoming black and feeble from age,
cut it back to the root, that space may be given for younger growth.
From six to twelve bearing stems, from three to five feet high, with
their shortened branches and fruit spurs, may be allowed to grow from
the roots, according to the vigor of the plant and the space allotted
to it. Usually, too many suckers start in the spring. Unless the crop
of young wood is valuable for propagation, all except such as are
needed to renew the bush should be cut out as early as possible, before
they have injured the forming crop. In England, great attention is paid
to summer pruning, and here much might be accomplished by it if we had,
or would take, the time.