# My Wine Garden



## Wade E (Apr 10, 2010)

Thanks to Grapeman here is my wine garden which is flourishing this year despite the harsh move last fall from upstate NY to my yard which was a 5 hour ride each way. There are 18 of them and everyone of them is doing good and flowering like crazy. Hopefully in 2-3 years it will be supplying my Black Currant wine consumption. Here is a pic of all of them and the flowers close up on one of them.


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## arcticsid (Apr 10, 2010)

Looking good man.


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## grapeman (Apr 10, 2010)

Those are waking up nicely Wade. You should get a few of them this year and then lookout next year! Remember you can split them up in the fall and get even more going if you want!


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## deboard (Apr 10, 2010)

Looking nice, I didn't realize the currant was such a nice looking plant. I was planning on getting 10 or so this year, maybe I'll get more.


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## Wade E (Apr 10, 2010)

I will do just that and will probably give a few to a friend so he wont be eying up my supply!


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## jeepingchick (Apr 10, 2010)

very nice!! we want to put some raspberrys and blackberrys in....never had a currant though. is it simaler in taste to either of those??


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## Wade E (Apr 10, 2010)

No, it is a very strong flavored fruit sort of similar to an elderberry. Try and find some Black Currant juice in a grocery store and try it. I really havent found anyone who didnt like it and the wine is just as awesome. The Vintners Harvest wine base is very good and makes an awesome wine and its about the only base that doesnt have any fruit in it so you dont need a fermentation bag. beware that raspberries can spread pretty fast like strawberries so you have to keep them under control.


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## Racer (Apr 10, 2010)

Very nice Wade! We'll turn you into a farmer yet.


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## Wade E (Apr 10, 2010)

Id do alot more but the only area that gets any sun at my house is that side yard and my deck. Thats why I dont have a garden for vegetables. Id love to go cutting down some serious amounts of trees in my woods but a neighbor a few houses down owns that land and they are not into that!


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## Mud (Apr 10, 2010)

Looks good, Wade. Are currants susceptible to frost damage? This nice weather has got things moving, but we're not out of the woods yet.


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## Runningwolf (Apr 10, 2010)

Very nice Wade!


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## Wade E (Apr 10, 2010)

Mud, I would imagine they are and dont jinx it!


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## Racer (Apr 10, 2010)

Wade, I've learned to let my fingernails grow long before we get to march. That way I have something to chew on besides my fingers worrying about that nasty F word!


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## grapeman (Apr 11, 2010)

Currants can take a bit of frost. They are one of the first plants to push in the spring and they have evolved that way, so it is indicative of their frost resistance. Even grapes can take temps down to 28 without major damage. Neither are like tomatoes or peppers which will freeze very easily.


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## Wade E (Apr 11, 2010)

Thanks for the info, takes a little of the nervousness of me everytime it gets a little chilly!


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## Wade E (May 9, 2010)

Weather has been very good to my wine garden so far this year and the bushes are looking good. Here are some pics of the berries growing on them which looks like I will be able to amke s decent batch for its first year. My wifes bush is flowering like crazy this year also which really hasnt done much the past few.


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## RMT (May 9, 2010)

Looking good Wade, yum, Cassis (in other words Black Current). Just keep an eye out for the aphids & spider mites, they love all types of current leaves. By the way the leaves make great tea.
_________________
Randy


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## Wade E (May 9, 2010)

Huh, Ive never heard of that, how many leaves approx to a cup of tea? I would be inclined to try it as long as the taste isnt like the smell when you rub up against a plant as it smells like cat urine when done.


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## RMT (May 10, 2010)

Use mature leaves, the young leaves all you get is chlorophyll, and make sure there has been no cats spraying the bushes??

Use about 2 Tsp chopped leaves to a cup, steap for a few minutes, it's not a strong tea and it's more for ailments, or you can dry some of the berries and use 1 tsp of berries in 1 cup of water in a pot, bring to a boil then turn off heat, let soak for about 25 min 
put 2 tsp chopped leaves, soak another 5 min
strain add sugar or honey to taste. 
Drinking black currant tea may be helpful in treating and preventing several diseases and conditions including cardiovascular disease, diarrhea, dysentery, cancer, allergies, and asthma. The leaves of the black currant bush may be beneficial for people suffering from kidney disorders due to their diuretic properties. You can also blend with black tea.


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## Wade E (Jun 14, 2010)

Missed that tea post RMT, thanks. The currants are doing very well and are at 12 Brix right now as I just used my new refractometer for the 1st time.


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## grapeman (Jun 14, 2010)

They will hang for a while yet. Those purple ones will turn black. You have been feeding them a lot of nitrogen- back off a bit before fall so they can harden off good. (The dark green color is telling me this- may just be from lawn fertilizer). Looking good! Looks like they settled in their new home alright.


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## Wade E (Jun 14, 2010)

I havent fed them anything, I didnt even have the money this year to spend on fertizing the yard. My neihbor never does his yard either.


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## deboard (Jun 14, 2010)

They are looking great! I hope mine can produce some for me in a couple of years. Wade, what kind of fertilizer do you use on them? and how often? I have fertilized mine once in the spring, but I don't know if I should do it more often. 

Also, do you have problems with birds? I was told that birds don't like black currants and generally leave them alone. My bushes only have 5-10 berries per bush this year since it's the first year, but the birds here seem to like them just fine, they have stripped two out of six of the bushes of their berries.


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## Wade E (Jun 14, 2010)

I havent given them anything, I havent even watered them! So far the birds have not touched them a bit b ut I have been watching and if they do start to dissapear I have n agricultural store right around the corner where Ill run and grab some cheescloth to cover them all.


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## grapeman (Jun 14, 2010)

Just good fertile soil- that's great Wade. You sure don't need to worry about fertilizing them then. Are all the bushes bearing, or just the bigger ones? Tell them Dad says "Hi"


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## Wade E (Jun 14, 2010)

Everyone but 2 which were really just branches that or root balls that I just stuck in the ground to see what would happen. I will do some trimming this year and grow some more from the branches and also transplant some elderberry bushes this fall that are growing wild and just perfect size for up rooting without killing me. Do you think they work the same way with the branches? They said they miss there daddy but dont miss the weather!


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## deboard (Jun 14, 2010)

OK good, I don't have wonderful soil here, but I've only added a bit of nitrogen in the spring. I'll just leave them alone.


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## Wade E (Jun 14, 2010)

I sure dont have a green thumb and my grass doesnt do very well either so these doing as good as they are is a blessing.


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## Runningwolf (Jun 14, 2010)

Nice berries Wade I think he gave you the Dingo's though which are self fertilizing.


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## Wade E (Jan 30, 2011)

I hope my Currants do ok this year. Right now you wouldnt even know I had any as they are buried under snow!!! Im a little worried as its not all normal snow fall as some of it is snow blown snow from my neighbors driveway. He doesnt use salt on his driveway so thats good and we had a lot of normal snow so that is probably supporting most of that blown snow from just knocking over my bushes and I do know that the snow is probably protecting the plants from any really really cold temps if we get any of that again. I can not even see any of the tips of these and most were 3-4' tall. I believe we are going get another 1-2' of snow on Wednesday.


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## WVMountaineerJack (Jan 30, 2011)

Wade, mine have been completely buried under snow before, I think you are right, that blanket protects them from the drying winds. So have you gone out and made any cuttings to do some propogating and expanding your patch? Did you get any red currants yet? We just opened a bottle from a gallon we made from some overipe berries we got at the supermarket, I had to toss 20% of the berries before getting started, I think we drank the last bottle from that 2006 batch, it got much better with age just like the black currants do. Crackedcork


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## Wade E (Jan 30, 2011)

I havent done any propagating yet and was told by the person I got the plants from to do that this year. I havent gotten any red and probably wont unless they sping up somewhere for free as my budget is just so freakin tight right now its not funny!


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## gird123 (Jan 30, 2011)

Would you post the final brix and the recipe?


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## Wade E (Jan 31, 2011)

My recipe is in the recipe section. The final brix on my black currants was like 22.5


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