[Kleftiwallah]

I have read that it is a lot easier to cut off the branch/shoot carrying the blackcurrants and pick them from there.  But if you do this, aren't you denuding the plant of sunlight gathering leaves just when it needs them to accumulate nutrients and strength  for overwintering ? ? ?

Cheers and thanks in advance.

Cheers,   Tony.

[New shoot]

They fruit better on young wood, so the theory is you do your annual prune and pick at the same time.  Personally I've always kept some one and two year old wood and just cut out the oldest branches when I prune 

[Kleftiwallah]

Thanks for that shoo newt - OOPS  , sorry "new shoot".

Cheers,   Tony.

[sunshineband]

I wait to choose which branches to cut out after leaf fall as I can better see what I am doing 

Going with the thread title

Has anyone ever used one of those plastic dustpan-like toothed creations that say they are for harvesting blackcurrants etc?

[devonbarmygardener]

I know they're a pain in the bottom!
I started off fairly patiently then just grabbed handfuls or branches!

There MUST be an easier way
Never heard of this dustpan thingy - I'll invest if it's any good!

[Mrs Bee]

I wait to choose which branches to cut out after leaf fall as I can better see what I am doing 

Going with the thread title

Has anyone ever used one of those plastic dustpan-like toothed creations that say they are for harvesting blackcurrants etc?

I have seen them and been tempted but I have several kitchen gadgets unused in drawers and think that those dustpan thingies may be the same so kept my money in my pocket.   I find picking blackcurrants by hand quite theraputic and peaceful.

[New shoot]

Thuink the dustpan things are a version of a very traditional Swedish berry picking tool.  I saw the Wild Food episode where Ray Mears used the modern version and it was very effective    They are out of stock on his site - berry season has cleaned them out I reckon 

http://www.raymears.com/Bushcraft_Product/549-Jonas-Swedish-Berry-Picker/

[JayG]

One of my summer vacation jobs as a student was picking blackcurrants on a farm in Kent, and we certainly weren't encouraged to remove anything other than the berries, and there were no tools of any description to help with the task.

(It was also one of my shortest lived jobs - up at 0530, walk a mile down to Hastings town centre for the minibus at 0630 for a back-breaking day of hard labour under the blazing sun for not much money. I think that one lasted for about 4 days!)

[Kleftiwallah]

By far the hardest job has to be tatty pickin', (with wattle swills) while at school (early 60s) I joined a gang of disposessed Polish people (mainly women).  Now that was back breaking work.  I couldn't keep up with them and I saw them moving the 'pitch sticks' inwards so I had a little less to pick!

Part of the pay at the end of each day was that you could carry away as many spuds in a bag as you could carry.  Many a farmer could not believe how big a bag of spuds I could carry - even with a back bent throughout the day!

Cheers,   Tony.

[dmg]

There are loads on ebay.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.Xberry+picker&_nkw=berry+picker&_sacat=0&_from=R40

I will have to get something for next year as I pick my aunt's and she has over 25ft of bushes

[compostqueen]

I just pick the berries.  I find it a restful, peaceful job.  When I picked them the first time it was so hot that I actually got under the bush    When I picked the other day I used a stool to save my back. 

[BobE]

I sit on a stool and put a big plastic bowl on an upside down garden big bucket thing.  Then I can focus on the berries and just drop them into the bowl.  It is weirdly theraputic, a bit like chanting Howw Howw I suspect.  Stops your brain as you do need to concentrate on the berries long enough to stop your mind wandering.

[Nufan182]

Hello all,

I have one of the little claw-like dustpan scoops. They are not too bad. You get a fair few leaves with each scoop, but maybe I am doing it wrong.

Does anyone recommend freezing the Blackcurrants whole? I have so many that I have no idea what to do with them. Most of my office will be making Blackcurrant jam with the amount I have given away  I have made about as much jam as I dare yet still left with an abundance.

Nufan

[BobE]

Hello all,

I have one of the little claw-like dustpan scoops. They are not too bad. You get a fair few leaves with each scoop, but maybe I am doing it wrong.

Does anyone recommend freezing the Blackcurrants whole? I have so many that I have no idea what to do with them. Most of my office will be making Blackcurrant jam with the amount I have given away  I have made about as much jam as I dare yet still left with an abundance.

Nufan

I just bag them to make 1kg bags and freeze them.

[Nufan182]

Thank you BobE