Blackcurrant ‘Big Ben’

A fantastic Scottish-bred blackcurrant producing exceptionally large berries with a particularly sweet, juicy flavour. ‘Big Ben’ was developed with fresh eating in mind, so its fruits are perfect for picking straight from the bush, rather than using them for preserves!

• Fruiting months: July–August, with the main crop in July

• Height: 150cm/5ft

• Planting distance: 150cm apart

• Fruit colour: Glossy black

• Position: Full sun; tolerates light partial shade

• Pollination: Self-fertile

Hannah's Garden Diary: 

Being a mother to particularly helpful children in the garden, I always think in terms of my garden grazers and this has been an absolute winner for us! I don't often get a look in, because my daughter especially, who ever since she was small had loved all things lip-smackingly sour, will strip these of fruit in no time at all (then move on to the gooseberries!).

Blackcurrants produce their best crops on younger wood, so encouraging plenty of fresh growth will help keep your harvests up year after year. For many years, I didn't bother pruning mine, mostly because I'm just a bit lazy... I always wondered why the blinking things produced so poorly! Yearly pruning has revolutionised my blackcurrant harvests!

They also LOVE a good mulch (to keep their roots moist... of course!). They tolerate a richer mulch, like well-rotted farmyard or horse manure, but will also do well under a more neutral mulch, like bark mulch (not bark chips, they are different!!).