BLACKCURRANT PLANTING

It’s a busy time on White Heron Estate, and the sunshine is making the farm jobs seem far more pleasurable than in the recent bitterly cold weather.  Amongst other tasks this week, we’ve set up a new blackcurrant plantation: it was ploughed on Tuesday and planted on Thursday – covering 6 acres with a total of 21,000 plants. By plants, we mean twigs – literally!   Remarkably, the plants are just 15 cm sticks which will be mature bushes in 3 years, ready to harvest for Ribena berries and of course our own award-winning British Cassis.  

Blackcurrant growing is as far as possible automated for efficiency.  We use a slimline fruit tractor allowing two rows to be planted simultaneously, but the process is still very hands on with 4 people needed – 2 to fill the spring loaded planting wheels, one to fill the trays with bundles of twigs, and of course a driver.