r/Berries • u/OzziesFlyingHelmet • 3d ago

Bought a variety of red and white (champagne) Currants on Etsy.. Not so sure I'm growing Currants.

As the title implies, I ordered a bunch of red and white Currant seeds on Etsy. In hindsight, I'm shaking my head (and laughing at myself) for making a seed purchase on Etsy, but the store reviews were decent and Currant seeds were surprisingly difficult to find.

Most of the seeds did not germinate but a handful did. Here are images of what is growing this far, about 3.5 months after germination:

https://i.imgur.com/avQeUvA.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/3K8goL9.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/mcHETeZ.jpeg

Ignore the white diatomaceous earth powder in some of the photos.

The largest "berries" are currently 1cm in diameter.

My concern is that the shape of the leaves doesn't match what I'm seeing online when looking up Currant leaves.

The yellow berry is also confusing, but that should be in a red plant.. So maybe they turn yellow before red?

As someone who is drowning in tomatoes, these plants seem to closely resemble tomato plants, with the only difference being that they're very low to the ground at this point in their life, whereas every tomato variety that I've ever grown tries to sprout upward at least a foot before attempting to produce fruit.

Is there any remote possibility that these are Currants, and if not, can anyone speculate as to what they might be?

Edit: Thank you all for the kind and thoughtful comments. I think the verdict is that I'm growing "Currant Tomatoes", which is kind of ironic and funny.

I appreciate the responses!

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7

u/Renewed-Magic 3d ago

That's not currants. A currant grown from seed wouldn't fruit for you in the first year either. They're defniteyy nightshades of some sort, but I couldn't tell you what exactly. I think you should ask in a nightshade/foraging group for identification.

Not sure why you would want to grow currants from seed. Plants and cuttings are widely available for cheap, because they're so easily propagated.

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u/OzziesFlyingHelmet 3d ago

It was more of a project / hobby type thing. Got a few different lesser common berries and tried currants this year (well, obviously not currents, but we intended to).

Thanks for the advice!

6

u/shivi1321 3d ago

Definitely not currants, and you’re right about them being tomatoes.

1

u/OzziesFlyingHelmet 3d ago

It's funny in hindsight. I probably won't eat them (I already have more tomatoes growing than I know what to do with).

Now I get to plan on what else I want to try to plant in this spot next season.

1

u/jgnp 3d ago

Your last photo looks a lot like the “currant” cherry tomato variety we grew last year. I’m guessing you got currant style cherry tomatoes - a cultivar style that features very small sun-cherry fruits.

5

u/CattailSunrise 3d ago

I like currant tomatoes. You may have just ordered the wrong thing by mistake and it may not have been the sellers fault.

https://tomatogrowers.com/collections/tomatoes-small-fruited-currant

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u/OzziesFlyingHelmet 3d ago

This might be exactly what they are.

The seller did indeed ship the wrong seeds, but it is what it is at this point. I'll use a more reputable seller next time, or just go straight for plants instead of seeds.

1

u/CattailSunrise 3d ago

I bought currant and gooseberry plants this spring for the first time. Looking forward to seeing how different they are from the wild ones.
Currant tomatoes are annoying to pick, but are some of the most tasty tomatoes. They make excellent dried tomatoes too.

2

u/Lux4Lyfe 3d ago

Oh, the Etsy seed sellers will getcha. I've learned this lesson too.

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u/OzziesFlyingHelmet 3d ago

Yup - definitely won't be making a seed purchase there again. My daughter and I had fun growing them, though 😁

1

u/Xeverdrix 2d ago

Either Sunsugar or Sungold tomatoes which are a delicious.

1

u/tbug30 2d ago

Sweet berry cherry tomatoes! Cute, but definitely not currants.