[Stewarty]

(I'm adding this question here on this thread because, search as I might, I can't see hoiw you start a new topic on this forum)

I'm considering getting rid of some very beglected blackcurrants and redcurrants, and perhaps buying some new ones. If I do, am I able to plant the new ones into the same patch of land, or would it be better to prepare some new ground elsewhere for them....?

[New shoot]

Well the new thread problem is sorted for you 

As for the fruit, you could replant in the same area, but it will need clearing and probably a lot of stuff digging in to revitalise it.  Having said that, fruit is a long term planting so any new area you clear would also benefit from a good addition of organic matter.

If you are buying bare root fruit bushes mail order, they could arrive in the next few weeks, so that may sway your choice of planting area.  You can heel them in for a few weeks if need be, but they are best planted asap.

[Christine]

Are the bushes so neglected that it's not possible to take cuttings from them? You'd need to keep said bushes for next season (but with some pruning they might do better) so that your potted up cuttings have time to get themselves into production mode.

I'd be inclined to make a new fruit bed whatever route you take - cuttings or new plants - as this allows you to get the area really fertile. No point in spending out or working and not giving the new plants a good start. That will allow you then to really take time clearing the old bed and making the soil really fertile again. If the bushes have been in place some time the soil probably needs a good work over with manure and compost too.

[Growster...]

We're in the process of planting new fruit bushes, and these comments are very helpful!

I took cuttings from some really old blackcurrant bushes, and hopefully they'll grow well (they have done on previous work), but I've now got redcurrants, gooseberries (Xenia) and several 'Joan J' rasps to go in, as well as even more blackcurrants, which you can hardly ever get from shops these days!

What we're finding is that as we have now relinquished The Patch (sob), and don't have enormous appetites, the fruit crop seems to be more of a pressing need, while good veg is still available in - er - supermarkets...

But fruit growing is very satisfying, and well worth the effort of a good digging and manuring, plus some fertiliser - the returns are usually better than you'd anticipate!

And to answer your question, cuttings are dead easy in most soft fruit! An old boy I knew used to mark his veg rows with a piece of blackcurrant bush, and at the end of the season, he had a new bush for each row!

[Goosegirl]

As Growster said, cuttings take very easily; in fact a stem from my rather neglected blackcurrant bush was touching the ground and had already taken root.

[Stewarty]

Thanks for the very clear and helpful advice.  In fact I've started pruning, and discovered just how much the plants had been neglected, and how over-crowded they were. Some seemed mostly dead. Most had  tops of long stalks that had a frayed appearance, as if they had been whipping against each other in the wind  -  or maybe that's just how they get after fruiting...?
And I had started taking hardwood cuttings, which is something I've never done before. Is it best to trim back the top of the cutting, or just leave the whole tip of the stalk in place...?
I think I will certainly consider setting up a whole new soft fruit area, with thorough clearance and  manuring - so I'll need to brood on re-planning the layout of the 2  ten-pole allotment plots that I mostly use for cultivation.
Thanks again