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Curled up leaves on red currant
nicky29
Posts: 10
in Fruit & veg
I have a newly planted fruit bed and have one or two questions. Chief of which is why are my red currant leaves curled up? The only thing I can find online that looks similar is the black currant gall midge, but the newly planted black currant doesn't appear to be suffering this.
Also any suggestions for keeping wasps off the strawberries (the only fruit I had this year)
Also - the autumn fruiting raspberries - they have only grown about 50cm this year since planting in December. Should I cut them down this year and if so when. The summer raspberries have got to the top wire and I have tied them all in.
0
Posts
It would be worth a careful look inside the curled leaves, Nicky, to make sure there are no aphids lurking there. You may have had aphids which have been eaten by blue tits or similar - if you don't find any pests I'd ignore the curling. The leaves are a healthy colour and there are lots of them... probably you won't have the same problem next year.
Once the fruit has set on your strawberry plants (but is still unripe), you could try covering the bed with fine insect mesh. Or some people swear by making an imitation wasp nest (a big inflated brown paper bag, for instance) and hanging it above the bed. Apparently wasps are scared of a rival nest and should stay away.
Your autumn-fruiting raspberries can be pruned down to the ground this winter, after the leaves have fallen and before February. Takes a bit of nerve but they should produce new canes next spring, which will bear fruits next autumn.
Yes, you could try washing the aphids off. Your bushes look healthy though.