bushes and insects

[captainhastings]

Do my black and red currant bushes also gooseberry need to accessed by the insects ? The reason I ask is I want to net them but only have debris netting and did not want to spend on new. I really fancied using chick wire for cages but it is so pricey

[rustylady]

They do need bees etc for pollination of the flowers. I only net mine when the fruit is starting to ripen.

[Martin H]

The birds will keep after the caterpillars as well, so like Rusty says its best to wait until just before the birds turn their attention to the fruit. Then chuck the debris netting over, they will be fine.

[Two_Sheds]

I only net mine when the fruit is starting to ripen.

Same here, although it is quite fun watching the blackbirds bounce up & down trying to grab the currants

[captainhastings]

Ok thanks every one