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hmmm – no expert but as someone operating a complicated netting this and take the risk with that system I have always taken the risk with blackcurrants on the condition there are no bullfinches around. I have no idea what a bullfinch looks like so I continue to relax and mindfully leave my bc to fruit as they choose.
I recall the advice as bullfinches love bc buds but a quick scurry through the authors most likely to offer that sort of writing has not produced the writing in my book collection. If I find it I will post.
If the damage looks insect driven try straying the bush with soapy water. If it is something that looks as if it might spread prune the affected branches out and bin them before it rains -or you spray has just suggested in case a virus spreads. I am seeing pigeons and blackbirds in my orchard garden at the moment but no damage to leaves. I do not know if there is a blackcurrant equivilent to the gooseberry sawfly but as you say there is no sign of caterpillars/moths/larvae that does not seem to be your problem.
I pinched the tops off my overwintering beans last week and those that survived the winter are loaded with pods. No sign of black fly – touch wood. Those are the beans growing in a sheltered spot between a greenhouse and hedge.
The beans in an open, sunny position finally gave up the good fight in April. The rain has just bought on my spring sowing so I hope they will catch up but at their previous rate of growth I would have been lucky to get a harvest before September.
Thanks for the rapid reply Neilfrazerm. I get a binbag a week from woodturning, mostly oak along with other hardwoods. I have always been a bit nervous about liberally spreading it around because I have seen so many references to such sources “depleting the soil”. Logically I should have more concerns about using horse manure but ideas like manure good, free stuff bad seem to get ingrained into my thinking.
The thunder and lightning are just edging away now so the soil will be wet, warm and ready for a good mulch. I currently have 1.75 dalek compost bins full of sawdust and will be pleased to free the space for my next batch of comfrey compost. So Win win all round.
That sounds good. Do I need to add anything to the sawdust before mulching the raspberries? I have mulched my blueberies with sawdust and they seem to like it although I am not sure they have produced 50% more fruit has suggested by John Bond in his book.
I have only given the raspberries blackjack and compost mulches. Per my lottie neighbour my raspberries have been growing in the same place for around 20 years so it will be good to give them a boost although they are still productive. It is a wilderness of canes intermingled with chard, strawberries and couch but my plans for a new fruit garden have been thwarted until I get and prepare another suitable plot.
Not module trays but I find these make my transplanting easy and I rarely damage them (pot or plantlet) http://www.inthegardenshed.co.uk/acatalog/Pots.html
I do prop the small ones up in poundland cat litter trays (purchased some years ago). I just swish the emptied pots in a bucket of water to clean them and store them in pots/boxes. The larger pots do need a few rinses to get them clean.
Before you invest a lot of effort into this plot have a chat with the committee and decide whether they are likely to support site improvement and maintenance going forward. I took on a plot in 2012 and every year the plot floods. We were led to believe 2012 was a one off so we carried on gardening, built a shed and invested time and money. We trenched the beds and the perimeter of the plot lifting the soil to raise the beds on the higher ground.
Currently we can grow non root crops on the upper third and have fruit bushes and containers on the middle third. The bottom third is dead. It is a sunny plot so we view and treat it has a garden. Our back garden is very shady so OK and we retain it for as long as no one mentions cultivation rules.
There is one plot on lower ground than me that has not been cultivated during my time on site. It is let regularly but the new tenants give up after a couple of weeks allowing the committee to relet it.
The original committee has now retired and we there is a new committee chairman who has, in the last year, allowed the site landlords onto site and I understand that they are now drawing up a drainage plan for the site. Why the landlords had nothing to do with the site before 2017 I do not know.
I could suggest if you are on a local authority site it could be worth your while contacting them to find out if they have a record of your sites drainage issues for remedial work if budgets ever allow. It is certainly worth discovering if your committee have any interest in keeping the site well maintained. If they are they will probably offer you a better located plot when one becomes available. From bitter experience I suggest it is far better to cut your losses early and get your name down on another site. Do strongly consider retaining the plot until next rent day though. It will give you time to understand the sites topography and wind patterns. Container growing can be your friend and give you opportunity to get some fruit bushes established ready to transplant into your next plot.
The ground on the neighbouring plot has flooded so much the ground level is as much has a foot lower than the surrounding paths. No dig would be the only way to go but the committee still prefers to burn the oak leaves I do not manage to squirrel away before they can get them.