Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: thatshallot on February 11, 2015, 16:41

Title: Soft Fruit Cordon
Post by: thatshallot on February 11, 2015, 16:41

Hello,
Have been loitering on this brilliant site for a while, but haven't really posted much.
 I have a couple of currants on my plot that only have one stem/cane growing on each plant( They are 1 to 2 years old). One is a Blackcurrant and the other is a Pink currant. Would it be possible to train these as cordons or should I have done it sooner? Thanks  :)

Title: Re: Soft Fruit Cordon
Post by: New shoot on February 12, 2015, 07:13

You be able to do that with the pinkcurrant, but blackcurrants fruit best on younger wood, so I'm not sure a cordon would be a good idea  :unsure:  Usually, you prune out the older wood in stages leaving the 1 and 2 year old wood behind to crop  :)

Title: Re: Soft Fruit Cordon
Post by: Goosegirl on February 12, 2015, 10:58

I don't think you can cordon blackcurrants but others on here will say if I'm wrong.

Title: Re: Soft Fruit Cordon
Post by: thatshallot on February 12, 2015, 18:11

Thanks. Wasn't sure about any currant tbh, think I might have been getting mixed up with gooseberries  :unsure:
 Just trying to make better use of my space  :)

Title: Re: Soft Fruit Cordon
Post by: solway cropper on February 13, 2015, 22:37

A couple of years ago I took some cuttings of gooseberries which I'm currently training as cordons in the hope that picking the fruit will be a little less painful.  I can't see how it would work with blackcurrants, as others have indicated.

Title: Re: Soft Fruit Cordon
Post by: Comfr3y on February 14, 2015, 11:35

I've got a couple of those due to hard pruning last year i think you'll a lot more blackcurrant stems later in the year. They are almost like completely different plants shooting off in all directions.