– Christine Gelley, Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Noble County OSU Extension
If you’d like to have currants ready for future 4ths, start planning now.
We recently made a visit back to our hometown for some family business and were able to enjoy my late mother-in-law Rosie’s garden in all its summer glory. Rosie passed away this spring just before Easter. Her favorite hobby was gardening. She spent all her free time selecting, planting, and tending the specimens in her care. Seeing the plants she cared for so lovingly thriving is a sweet reminder of her, both emotionally and literally. The baby and I picked black raspberries in the warm breeze. Naomi couldn’t get enough. We smelled the roses. We were delighted and surprised to find vibrant clusters of red berries in abundance in the garden too. We had forgotten about these fruits. They were currants.
I have never grown currants myself. But after seeing them at their peak, I had to learn more. I looked up one of our OSU fruit fact sheets and discovered that currants have an interesting history.
According to Small Fruit Specialist- Dr. Gary Gao, currants and gooseberries were very popular in the 1800s. Unfortunately, in the early 1900s, white pine blister rust (WPBR) became a serious disease that threatened valuable timber stands across the nation and could be passed by these berries. As a result, the federal government and state governments in the United States banned propagation, planting and cultivation of currants and gooseberries around 1912. The federal ban was lifted in 1966, but little interest in growing them remained. As consumer’s demand for nutritious local foods increases, there is a renewed interest in growing gooseberries and currants today due to their high vitamin and antioxidant contents and many uses. Currants are mostly used in North America for making jellies, relishes, and juices.
In Ohio, the current Ohio law (Regulation AG-71-85.01) to suppress and control White Pine Blister Rust Disease is as follows:
(A) The European black currant, Ribes nigrum L. or any variety of this species is hereby declared to be a public nuisance, and it shall be unlawful for any person to possess, transport, plant, propagate, sell, or offer for sale, plants, roots, scions, seeds, or cuttings of these plants in this state.
(B) Recognized varieties, e.g., “Consort” produced by the hybridization of Ribes nigrum L. or a variety thereof with a resistant or immune species, known to be immune or highly resistant to the White Pine Blister Rust fungus, (Cronartium ribicola, Fischer) are exempt from the restrictions imposed by paragraph (A) above.
Seven varieties (Consort, Coronet, Crusader, Titania, Lowes Auslese, Polar and Willoughby) have been shown to be immune and can be shipped into Ohio. All other varieties of black currant are prohibited. In addition, Ohio law does not prohibit the planting of red currants or gooseberries within the state.
I am not sure what variety of currants Rosie chose to plant in her garden, but they are delicious. I can see why the interest in this fruit is picking up again. We will have to do what we can to preserve the fruit to enjoy out of season and continue to care for them in Rosie’s absence.
The scarlet red color of these berries is splendid and seems patriotic. Timely for the Independence Day holiday. If you would like to have currants ready for future 4ths, start planning now to find a variety that suits you!
The information in this article was sourced from: https://southcenters.osu.edu/horticulture/fruits/currants-and-gooseberries