Or you can do what my Mother did ......instead of back breaking picking she
simply cut out the fruit bearing branches and picked the berries off indoors
Has same effect as cutting out 1/3rd or old wood

"Eur Ing John Rye" wrote in message
...
Hello Lynda

In article ,
Lynda Thornton wrote:
Hi

I've had quite a good crop from my 3 blackcurrant bushes this season and
having now picked the last of the berries I am wondering when is the
best time to prune the bushes and how to do it!

They are between 3-4 feet high and probably 3-4 years old and have done
well in my alkaline soil. So that I get it right can anyone advise me
on the best pruning technique and how far back I am supposed to cut
back. Do they fruit on the previous year's wood and if so how much of
the new growth do I chop off?

My technique is ridiculously simple, although I have forgotten who told me
about it.

With three bushes you simply slaughter one bush each year in sequence.
That
is you cut it back so that it is practically leafless. You leave the
others
alone. I have been doing this for 7 or 8 years now. This years yield was
15
lb off the bush pruned 3 years ago, 10 lb off the bush pruned two years
ago,
and none off the bush pruned last year.

John

--
EurIng J Rye CEng FIEE Electrical Engineering Consultant
18 Wentworth Close Hadleigh IPSWICH IP7 5SA England
Tel No 01473 827126 http://web.ukonline.co.uk/jrye/index.html
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