New Blackcurrant Patch

I take great pleasure in making something from nothing, and being on a very tight budget and physically less able than I'd like, I had to think creatively when I wanted to make a new blackcurrant patch.


I cleared the land of the tall grass, stones and weeds with a battery strimmer (no laughing - it works, and I can't pull start the petrol one any more). I then aquired a load of used car tyres from a local tyre place (for free) and placed them about 4 feet apart in a grid. This means that the bushes will be about 5 or 6 feet apart.


I then weeded as best as I could inside each tyre, added a layer of well rotted donkey manure, then added soil from an old heap created when land was cleared for my polytunnel.


I planted the blackcurrants (pot grown from pruning trimmings from a friend's bushes) one into each tyre, sprinkled some organic chicken manure pellets around them and then watered them well.


You may wonder why I didn't plant them straight into the ground.


I'm no longer as physically able as I would like and have to make everything super easy to maintain. All I have to do is strim all around the tyres now, and weed the soil inside the tyres now and then when seedlings appear.


As a PS - If anyone would like free used tyres (car or tractor etc) my local tyre fitter is very willing to let anyone have what they want for free. The tyre recycling company actually charge him £1,500 to take away an artic's worth of used tyres ! And they then go and make a profit on them when recycled !


I'm happy to give his address/location to anyone interested.


Here is a quick snap of the new blackcurrant patch. As you can see I still have my work cut out with a load more clearing etc ! But it's way cheaper than a gym membership...