Thursday 10 March 2011

Blackcurrant

We called in to Lidl at the weekend, a shop I rarely go to, but I know they sell fruit bushes at very reasonable prices so we thought we'd have a look. At the moment, the only fruit we have at the allotment are strawberries, though as we only have half a plot I don't want to give too much space over to fruit. There were various currants and a gooseberry to choose from and we came away with a blackcurrant bush for the princely sum of £1.49, bargain. I've also got my two rhubarb crowns, which are at present in containers, to plant at the allotment, and also my two blueberry bushes which will stay in containers in the garden, so that will do us for now.

After a sunny start to the week, the weather yesterday and today has been dreadful. We had rain and wind yesterday, and though it's quite sunny today, the wind is really bad. Half of my greenhouse is missing so I'll have to go and hunt that down. I think I'll wait for the wind to drop though first otherwise I'll be repeating the exercise within the hour.

21 comments:

  1. Wow, a Blackcurrant bush for £1.49 sounds like a real bargain! How big was it?

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  2. Oh, lovely and what a bargain - hope you get some lovely crops.

    Hope you find your missing greenhouse pieces and get it back together, you'll be needing it soon x

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  3. We are back to strong winds too..I think you have blown them my way!!

    I say to myself very year that I will pop into Lidl and see what gardening bargains they have in but I never quite get there.

    Oh well, I have all the fruit I think I want on my plot now...all it has to do now is give more and more produce each year!!

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  4. I can't resist a bargain, and that really was one. Hope you get your greenhouse back!

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  5. I have several black currant bushes in my garden, but if I ask my neighbors or friends about this plant, they won't have any idea. I'd call it a European plant.

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  6. What a bargain...I got a gooseberry bush from poundland 2 years ago and is going from strength to strength!!

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  7. I LOVE black currants! I want one!

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  8. I wish that we had a Lidl in striking distance Jo. It's always hard to fit in everything you want to grow :) I have rhubarb, strawberries, raspberries, goosegogs and since last year three currant bushes. This year I have a Japanese wineberry to plant. I hope that you have pieced your greenhouse back together and that no damage was done.

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  9. I have 4 blackcurrant bushes on my plot. They are so generous at fruiting time and there's nothing quite like blackcurrant pie and ice-cream!

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  10. It has been horrendous hasn't it? Hope you find your greenhouse.

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  11. We just think Spring has arrived and then we go back two steps :-) Today seems better here but still a bit windy. Great bargain!

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  12. I bought a few rasberry canes from Lidl a couple of years ago and they fruited nicely last year. Now you've reminded me I think I'll have a look in there at the weekend and see what they have this year too... :)

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  13. Bargain! Hope it does well :)
    We had the winds too but our greenhouse stayed in one piece this time. It was weird being in the polytunnel whilst it was buffeted though.

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  14. It's about a foot high and buds are already bursting, Mark. It looks great for the price, I just hope it does well.

    I've managed to find all the pieces of my greenhouse, Dawn. It won't be long before it's filled with plants.

    Sorry to hear you've got the winds too, Tanya. They're so destructive but at least the roof stayed put this time. You should get some great fruit harvests this year with everything you've got on your plot.

    I've got all the bits of the greenhouse, it just needs putting back together now, Su. Luckily, it's easy enough to do.

    That's interesting, Tatyana. It never occurs to me that a plant I have may be unusual in another country.

    It's great to get something at such a bargain price, Nellilou. I don't have a Poundland nearby, but I often hear about bargains which can be picked up there.

    Thanks for visiting, Linda. I hope I get a decent crop from it, only then will I know it's been a real bargain.

    We've got a couple of Lidls close by, Anna. It's quite rare that we venture there though, but perhaps I should visit more often, I might find more bargains. The Japanese Wineberry sounds interesting, I look forward to hearing more about that.

    Blackcurrant pie and ice cream sounds delicious, kath. I hope I get a good enough harvest to make a pie.

    I did manage to track down all the pieces of my greenhouse, Sue. One piece was in next door's garden. The winds have died down again now, thank goodness, it frightens me to death.

    I don't think spring has quite sprung, Scented Sweetpeas. Some parts of the country have been forcast snow tonight, I hope it stays away from here.

    Glad to hear that your raspberries did well, Paul. It's good to be able to pick up plants at such a good price, they're so expensive in garden centres.

    Thanks, Mo. Glad to hear that your greenhouse stood up to the winds. I bet it's great having the polytunnel, being able to get out there whatever the weather.

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  15. I've only a half plot but wouldn't be without the blackberry, raspberries and strawberries!
    I hope that the weekend is good there and you manage to do some plotting. Flighty xx

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  16. Thats a really good price Jo - Lidl are brillaint for that sort of thing.
    Rhubarb cowrns are so worthwhile - i bought 3 crowns last year and they are thriving already with lots of stalks already quite advanced.
    Blueberries seem to do quite well in pots too - I was given one for Mothers day a couple of eyars ago and its still doing really well, plenty of fruit last year.
    Hope the wind drops for you.
    Have a good weekend,
    Gill x

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  17. Dear Jo, I love blackcurrants, and really miss blackcurrant jam, but they don't grow in this part of the world. I hope yours does well for you. P x

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  18. When we moved in two years ago we had a 7 metre row of fruit bushes all fruiting at the end of summer. Unsure with how to look after it we were reduced to two shoots with hardly any fruit on it last year and so far this year not alot going on so i think our fruit growing will be on hold for now. Hope you get a great yield from it :)

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  19. Hope you managed to get your greenhouse back into one piece Jo. We had one really windy day and then yesterday was beautiful so we visited a favourite nursery armed with a long list of must-buys, but our plans were thwarted .... a post will be on my blog soon but suffice to say it involved MIL and a funny turn!

    Great bargain there with your blackcurrant.

    Jeanne
    x

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  20. Definite bargain there!! Our blackcurrant bushes just produce more and more every year, so I hope yours do well.

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  21. We had a bit of a mixed weekend weatherwise, Flighty, but hubby managed to get a bit more digging done. Fruit is so expensive in the shops that it does make sense to grow what you can yourself.

    I have two blueberries in pots, Gill. I had a great harvest two years ago, but last year the flowers got frosted and I lost nearly all the berries. I'm hoping for a better year this year.

    What a shame that blackcurrants don't grow there, Pam, especially as you like them so much. I hadn't thought about blackcurrant jam, I'm hoping for an even bigger harvest now.

    I think that looking after fruit can be quite daunting, Chef. It's something which you do need to read up on so that you know it's requirements.

    Oh dear, I hope your MIL is ok, Jeanne. I shall watch your blog for further details. The greenhouse is all back together again now, until the next time.

    That sounds encouraging, Mark. I'm not expecting too much with it being it's first year, but I hope it does well in the years to come.

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