The blackcurrant ‘Ben Conan’ (Ribes nigrum) fights diseases and produces a bountiful harvest of huge, shiny fruits that burst under the tooth, releasing an intensely aromatic syrupy juice. Blackcurrant can make you wince when eaten fresh. The aromatic complexity of blackcurrant, tannic, woody, wild, acidic, very sweet and very fruity with a hint of bitterness characterizes a whole range of glorious products including crème de cassis and kir, syrups and sorbets, even perfumes, and keeps well dehydrated. The association with small red fruits is classic. Rich in calcium and iron. Twice as much vitamin C as kiwi, three times as much as orange. On thornless stems, the fragrant leaves to the touch make excellent herbal teas and help to preserve the crunch of lacto-fermented fruits and vegetables.

The ribes family kicks off, eager to bud, an exciting green expected in spring. They need humidity to irrigate their fruits, refreshing in summer. Sometimes fearing the heat that can harm the fruit setting, they find a balance in a shaded environment, preferring a rich and very fresh soil, minimally covered with a biodegradable mulch that will limit evaporation and retain the runoff rains.

For those whose production of stone fruits and pomes, or vegetable growing occupies every sunny plot, what luck to grow such delicious fruits in the shade, thus optimizing every square meter of land! Powerful antioxidants.

The blackcurrant ‘Ben Conan’ is partially self-fertile.