It’s sweeter than Indigo Treat, Let those suckers hang till the inside at most is 1/4 green. No green is fully ripe. Easy to tell that way. They are sweeter when fully ripe.
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good to know. the aurora are quite a bit bigger than the indigos. didnt think id get any berries because the snow last winter split the bush in half. i taped it up and its healed nicely and still managed to put on good growth and fruit. my blueberries werent so lucky. reason why i planted bruinswick low bush blue berries and a half doz. wild ones. at least ill get fruit from them when my bigger bushes get damaged.
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Anyone know what could cause cupping / canoeing / upward leave curl in currants?
It’s unlikely that its underwatering because these are planted in grow bags so I think its one of the following:
- Heat stress / too much sun - its been in the 90’s for about two weeks now with very little rain
- Micro nutrient deficiency - NPK should be fine as these are planted in compost with slow release fertilizer, I’m getting blossom end rot on my tomatoes planed in a similar mix so I think either the pH is off or some nutrient lacking
Any ideas?
is it just the top leaves or are they all like that? looks like heat stress. its in the mid 90’s here but it the 1st 90 day so far. mine are wilting some but no cupping like that. currants don’t like 90’s.
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They are all like that. Just before I read your comment I looked up the growing zones for the currants and gooseberries showing cupping and I saw that it was USDA 3 - 7. I definitely agree with you that they are cooler weather plants and are just not liking this heat wave. Might move them to a more shaded area of my lawn until the weather starts to cool down.
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Agreed
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I’m getting blackberries for the past 2 weeks.
First was Columbia Star. They are very big and I like that the vines are thornless. I’m not crazy about the flavor, but if they are dead-ripe, they start to be sweeter and more complex.
Now I’m getting Ebony King. They are round, compared to the oblong Columbia Star, and not nearly as big. But the flavor is much more complex and rich. The vines are thorny and vigorous. They are sold as thornless or reduced thorns, but tell that to my scratched arms.
Now the Prime Ark Freedom have started. They are big juicy berries. The berry size is similar now to the Columbia Star. I think they taste better than Columbia Star, but maybe not as good as Ebony King. Of course, the Prime Ark Freedom is nice because of being thornless and primocane bearing. The current crop on those is floricane, the primocanes are just starting to bloom.
I also have new plants (one year) of Arapaho and Triple Crown. Those have blooming floricanes now.
I am in Zone 8a in Southwest Washington State. That may affect flavor and yield dates.
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This is my first year getting blackberries. They are almost ripe but the canes are still flowering. Are they everbearing?
What variety are they? Maybe they’re floricanes and aren’t done fruiting yet. Are the fruit on the tips of canes or lower down? Unless they’re PrimeArk 45, Traveler or Freedom, they’ll only produce on the floricanes.
Navaho. Still producing buds on the floricane tips. It’s been flowering for at least a month.
OK. Navaho is a summer bearing floricane variety, so no fall crop. According to the UofA, each variety can ripen over a month span, this one being one of the latest ones to fruit, peaking in early July (in Arkansas), so yours is probably on time. It’s supposed to be one of the tastier thornless varieties.
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My Ouchita is producing a whole new crop right now. After a full early crop. I pruned back all the old canes and the new big ones are loaded with green berries again.
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Blackberries can ripen for a long time. Usually about three weeks. Probably taking longer as they adapt to your area
I had ripe berries from Siskiyou, new berry and Marion. All three are fantastic rich berries. They do not taste alike. So a nice range of flavors. I used to grow Navajo and the berries are excellent.
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today i learned what high temperatures do to developing blackberries. 
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What happened? Did you get some berries with white druplets?
Is is true that it was over 100 in L.A. a few days ago?
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Are those three thorny, and which have the worst ones? Is Newberry a western berry like the other two?
got up to the 90s where i live. some of the exposed green berries shriveled and turned ugly brown, and i don’t think they’ll go back to developing properly. another one of their brethren, just a couple inches away, was shaded by a leaf and looks quite hale.
the reddish berries blanched in places. i wonder how they’ll do in the coming days.
on the bright side, i harvested 20 berries so far this year! you guys count your harvest by the quarts and gallons, and that’s awesome; i’ll have to be content this year counting individual berries.
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New Berry is thorny. Not to bad, yes its western too. Very trailing, not very upright. Columbia Star is thornless. Columbia Giant I have not tried.
You will be counting by the quart eventually! I picked three quarts yesterday.
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i hope! gardening is 1/2 patience and 1/2. . . um, something. 
is it ok to eat a blackberry with blanched drupes? the rest of the berry is transitioning from red to black.