I mean, if you want to, I guess? I am. The most important thing to know about jostaberry plants is that they can carry a disease that can kill White Pine trees (Pinus strobus). So, I suggest you try to identify any pine tree species on and near your property before buying a jostaberry plant, or related plants like currants and gooseberry plants.
In fact, they’re so closely related that the jostaberry plant is actually a cross of gooseberry and currant. I’ve ordered a Jostaberry plant along with currant and gooseberry, so hopefully I’ll have a vigorous shady berry patch. Jostaberries look similar to currant berries, but they are larger. They are also typically easier to grow because they’ve been bred for disease resistance. Though when I received my bareroot jostaberry plant from Gurney’s it looked very dried out, but it has started to leaf out after about 3 weeks of being outside.
Honestly, I’m kind of surprised that Jostaberries are not more commonly grown. They are not a particularly new variety. They were developed in the 1970s and 1980s, though I guess, like every other plant, they’re still being developed and evolving. In addition to the jostaberry plant I ordered from Gurney’s, I also ordered a Pixwell Gooseberry plant. I hope they will cross-pollinate and generate a larger yield, or maybe even a second generation hybrid if I plant the seeds. The black currant seeds I mentioned earlier are from Homestead Culture. I also ordered a few other things like fava beans from them.
Why A Jostaberry Plant?
I think these 3 types of berries will be good food sources for my homestead. The main reason that I’m planning to grow these plants is because they should produce a decent amount of berries in a partial sun region of the food forest. It’s pretty easy to find fruit-producing trees and shrubs for locations with full sun exposure. However, since I live in a forest, there’s a lot of partial sun locations and I want to maximize my food production.
Clearly, a partial sun location that doesn’t produce food is not a waste. I can grow native flowers there, like Sweet Joe Pye Weed (regular Joe Pye Weed likes full sun) and Poke Milkweed. Poke Milkweed is the only milkweed that seems to like the shade. It still provides all the pollinator benefits of other native milkweeds.
Gooseberry and black currant should also do well in the partial sun regions. However, I guess we’ll just have to see. There is also the possibility of pruning up some of the trees that are creating the shade. I’ve done this with pretty good success in a spot where low holly tree branches were crowding out some serviceberry trees and shrubs. The thing is, when creating a permaculture food forest, I need light. But I also need the leaves that fall from the trees to create nutritious soil. I don’t want to buy any type of fertilization product, whether organic or synthetic. I want to make sure my food forest is self-sufficient. To do that, I need to make sure that the natural forest cycle is maintained.