Ribes nigrum
Giant Boskoop Blackcurrant, blackcurrant bush: selected in the Netherlands in the nursery town of Boskoop, this variety produces longer trusses and larger berries than the common blackcurrant. Its fragrance, however, remains unmistakable—the very one that made Burgundy’s liqueurs and jellies famous.
Characteristics:
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Large berries: larger than average, with tender skins, gathered in long trusses.
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Early harvest: from the beginning of July.
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Highly aromatic foliage: when crushed, its leaves release the characteristic smell of blackcurrant.
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Dense shrub: it can be grown in the ground or in a container on a balcony.
Sowing advice:
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Exposure: sunny but not scorching, or partial shade in hot regions. Blackcurrants are plants suited to cool climates; heatwaves cause them to suffer.
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Soil: cool, deep, rich in humus, and well drained, preferably neutral to slightly acidic. Its shallow roots are as sensitive to drying out as they are to stagnant water—mulching is highly beneficial.
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Method: 6 to 12 weeks of cold stratification is necessary to break dormancy. Then sow in spring in pots, covering the seeds lightly. Germination is slow and staggered. See how to sow your seeds.
Planting advice:
- Transplant with 1.50 metres between plants. In containers, choose a wide, deep pot and mulch the surface.
- Good to know: blackcurrants are partially self-fertile, but having two plants greatly improves fruit set and berry size.
Care advice:
- Keep the soil cool in summer, without excess moisture. An application of compost around the base each autumn is sufficient to maintain it.
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Pruning: unlike redcurrants, blackcurrants fruit mainly on the previous year’s wood. Prune more severely: each winter, remove one third of the oldest branches at ground level to encourage new shoots.
- Without this pruning, production collapses after a few years—this is the most common mistake made with blackcurrant bushes.
Harvesting advice:
- Harvest the entire truss when all the berries are black and slightly soft. Picked too early, they remain astringent.
- This variety’s tender-skinned berries bruise easily: handle them gently and process them quickly.
Beneficial companions:
Benefits for biodiversity:
- Its early flowering, from April onward, provides food for bees and bumblebees at a time when resources are still scarce.
- Its black berries are highly sought after by blackbirds and warblers.
Uses:
- For jelly, jam, syrup, coulis, and sorbet. The berries freeze very well and retain all their fragrance.
- Its leaves can be dried for herbal tea, a traditional rural use.
Harvesting your own seeds:
Crush very ripe berries in a little water, rinse them to separate the seeds from the pulp, then dry them flat before winter stratification. Blackcurrants can also be propagated very easily from hardwood cuttings in winter. See how to store your seeds.
Our commitment to Quality: at SemiSauvage - Permaculture, we grow and select our seeds with respect for all living things as our guiding principle. Based near the Auvergne volcanoes, we choose open-pollinated, non-hybrid varieties, tested for their germination rate, carefully sorted and packaged, with no chemical treatments. Our belief: to give gardeners back the ability to sow, year after year, seeds that truly belong to them.
Large berries from July onward, with a fragrance nothing can replace.
