Does anyone know a good place to purchase black and red currant seeds? Gooseberry seeds too. As far as I know they are legal here (Indiana), not that I really care anyway. I'm having a hell of a time trying to find somewhere to buy seeds other than ebay. I would prefer not to buy them off ebay, but maybe it's a safer bet than buying chile seeds from ebay. I did find some on jungseed.com, has anyone ordered from them before? Also are there any specific varieties that people can recommend?
black & red currants
- Thread starter Avon Barksdale
- Start date
Ciao Avon-
Wow, growing from seed, eh? I think you're really better off getting plants. Garden centres and nurseries carry them and should still have them now, although spring is the best time because there will be more of a choice. If you're fortunate to know people who have currant bushes in their gardens, ask for cuttings early in the spring, otherwise, really, plants will do the trick much much faster than seeds will. I haven't seen seeds offered for these kinds of woody berry bushes, to be honest.
Wow, growing from seed, eh? I think you're really better off getting plants. Garden centres and nurseries carry them and should still have them now, although spring is the best time because there will be more of a choice. If you're fortunate to know people who have currant bushes in their gardens, ask for cuttings early in the spring, otherwise, really, plants will do the trick much much faster than seeds will. I haven't seen seeds offered for these kinds of woody berry bushes, to be honest.
Thanks for the reply Sorellina. Yeah I know it's really late in the season, I'm planning on getting a grow light in the fall and was thinking about starting some inside this winter. It may be different in Canada, but here in the US they're really rare at nurseries, at least where I live. Currants really are practically unknown in the US since currant growing was banned in the early 1900s because they can carry white pine blister rust as a threat to the timber industry. I've been to 5 or 6 nurseries this summer and haven't found any. Very very few people I know have even heard of currants. I have found a few places online that will ship currant plants, but only in the spring. I also know one Russian lady who has a few and offered to give me a cutting. She said she would give me a cutting in the fall, so I don't know if her plants are too small for a cutting right now or what.
Do seeds take a really long time to reach a decent size?
Do seeds take a really long time to reach a decent size?
You can always decide on a trip to Western Canada, I have black currant that grows like a weed and while you are visiting you may as well take home some Goji plants; Gooseberry, Saskatoon, Elderberry are all pretty common. I could pick some berries at the end of September and mail them out if you wish(current and goji), I don't have gooseberry but there are lots of farms that do.
Our big event is coming up next week, the Calgary Stampede, where we receive many Americans, Japanese and Europeans to see this world class event.
Our big event is coming up next week, the Calgary Stampede, where we receive many Americans, Japanese and Europeans to see this world class event.
Thanks BC, that's a nice offer. I googled Goji and it looks like a pretty cool plant. The berries look pretty similar to chiles on the outside and inside from what I saw. Apparently they are a member of the solanaceae family so they are probably fairly closely related to chiles. I've had goji flavored fruit juices but never a fresh one, how would you describe the taste?
The goji flowers are a pretty purple in colour.
Back to goji, Yes, the berries do look like an ornamental pepper, the original plant came from my neighbour who brought the plant back from a China(he immigrated around 50 years ago). I use to mow the plants down with my lawnmower, until last year, I asked what kind of berries they were and he said "wolf berry", so on the internet I went searching wolf berry - who knew?
(You can see last years plant with berries in my signature link)
As for taste, I will be honest, after first tasting the berry there was no big Whow factor, it just taste like some kind of berry (nothing like a blue berry or raspberry or strawberry). Some people say they taste sweet and delicious, I find them kind of bitter, but I may have picked them late in the season. Imagine being asks to describe pomograte(another flavour that I don't find appealing). I saved a big bag of berries and froze them and now eat several on with my oatmeal.
I'll also be honest after almost a year of eating the berries I haven't noticed any kind of super health benefit and I am pretty cognizant of my being. I have lost about 15 pounds but since I haven't worked in over a year I have had time to properly take of myself by working out more and pay better attention to my meals. I didn't have as many colds this year and when I did symptoms lasted for a very short time, like 2 days but that could have been from all the hot peppers I ingest.
Potawie, I am not sure how you started your original plants but perhaps a cutting might be the better way to start the plants, I got to thinking about this today as I am replacing my fence and have to negoiate around the plants as they back onto the 4X4's.
The plant is a bush and properous in the spring, I am forever cutting it back and stinky, phew, it has a heavy scent, I have no idea why she wouldn't just cut off a young branch and give it to you. Black currant berries are best eaten ripe, very ripe because the young berry has a very challenging taste like the smell of the plant, takes a lot of getting use to. I don't mind the ripe berry.
Back to goji, Yes, the berries do look like an ornamental pepper, the original plant came from my neighbour who brought the plant back from a China(he immigrated around 50 years ago). I use to mow the plants down with my lawnmower, until last year, I asked what kind of berries they were and he said "wolf berry", so on the internet I went searching wolf berry - who knew?
(You can see last years plant with berries in my signature link)
As for taste, I will be honest, after first tasting the berry there was no big Whow factor, it just taste like some kind of berry (nothing like a blue berry or raspberry or strawberry). Some people say they taste sweet and delicious, I find them kind of bitter, but I may have picked them late in the season. Imagine being asks to describe pomograte(another flavour that I don't find appealing). I saved a big bag of berries and froze them and now eat several on with my oatmeal.
I'll also be honest after almost a year of eating the berries I haven't noticed any kind of super health benefit and I am pretty cognizant of my being. I have lost about 15 pounds but since I haven't worked in over a year I have had time to properly take of myself by working out more and pay better attention to my meals. I didn't have as many colds this year and when I did symptoms lasted for a very short time, like 2 days but that could have been from all the hot peppers I ingest.
Potawie, I am not sure how you started your original plants but perhaps a cutting might be the better way to start the plants, I got to thinking about this today as I am replacing my fence and have to negoiate around the plants as they back onto the 4X4's.