The currant is a seldom-grown fruit, partly because its berries are too tart to eat fresh; they do, however, make excellent jams. Like the gooseberry the currant spreads white-pine blister rust, a fungus disease that causes extensive damage to pine forests. Because of this, cultivation of currants is prohibited in parts of the country where white pines grow. Check with your county agricultural extension service to find out if this affects your area.
Currants are cold-climate fruit and grow. The bushes usually grow about 3 to 4 feet tall and spread to an equal distance. The red or white berries, borne in clusters in midsummer, are about 1/4 inch in diameter.
Mulch around newly planted trees with a 2- to 4-inch layer of wood chips or ground bark. The area under older trees can be planted with grass.
Fig, trees seldom need fertilizing, but if the leaves are pale or yellow-green, scatter a few handfuls of lawn fertilizer beneath them in winter or early spring. Young trees should be pruned during the dormant winter season only enough to train them to the desired shape; old trees seldom need pruning.
Figs are seldom bothered by insects or diseases in borne gardens, but as birds are very fond of figs, it may be necessary to cover the trees with plastic netting to protect the ripening fruit. Figs should be picked when the necks of the fruit shrivel so that the fruit hang straight down; if white sap appears when a fruit is picked, it has been picked too soon. Figs for drying should be allowed to fall from the tree, at which time they will be partly dehydrated; finish drying them by spreading them on trays in the sun.
Harvest currants when they are firm and their color is developed but before they become fully ripe; they then have the highest pectin content and are best for jam making. To pick them, grasp the stems at the tops of the cluster, twist the clusters off, then strip the berries from the clusters. To propagate new plants, set 8- to 10-inch pieces of one-year- old stems directly into the ground in the fall, burying all but two buds on each cutting.
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