Red Currant Seeds - Ribes Rubrum - Delicious, Abundant, and Perennial
Quantity: 20 Seeds
Red Currant, aka Ribes Rubrum, is a delicious fruiting shrub in the Gooseberry family, Grossulariaceae. Red currants have been cultivated in Europe for centuries before becoming popular in gardens around the world. The translucent bright red berries are sweet, mildly tart, and exceptionally refreshing, making them excellent for eating fresh or using in jams, jellies, desserts, syrups, and baking. Their flavour is pleasantly tart with a rich, fruity aroma, making them especially prized for preserves and fresh eating. The shrubs grow into dense, productive bushes with sturdy branches that require little support, and they reliably produce abundant clusters of fruit each summer. Hardy to at least zone 4, Red Currants are long-lived perennials that provide generous harvests for many years with minimal care.
All seeds are organic and open pollinated.
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Growing Instructions
For the highest germination rates, it's best to start Red Currant seeds indoors about 6–8 weeks before the last frost; I start them here on the farm in mid March. It's good to sow them in a sterile growing medium; most available seed-starting soils should do the job nicely; I use Sunshine Mix (peat moss and perlite). The soil should be made moist, but not damp. Sow the seeds on the surface for best results and gently press them into the growing medium without burying them deeply. Store in a warm, bright area until tiny sprouts emerge from the soil. A heat mat greatly aids in this step but is not necessary. Once germinated and the first true leaf has formed, it's time to pot up into a larger container containing a good-quality potting soil. Transplant to their final location when the nighttime temperatures are consistently 10°C or higher; here at the farm, this is around mid May.