First Taste of New Varieties of Honeyberries
Comments (24)
luv2gro
17 years agoechoes_or
17 years agoRelated Discussions
Best Way To Taste Test Varieties of Fruits?
Comments (20)The point has been well made here about not only the taste, but also the surviability of various fruit varieties in different locales. For ex, you CAN grow an Apricot near Atlanta, but would rarely ever get any blossoms to survive the late frosts. There are so many variables that impact flavor and survivability. If you try GA apples, then a Carolina apple, then a VA apple you will see the differnce both in flavor and in how long they will store. Some of the old regional varities such as the original Winesap are delicious, but many, such as the Ben Davis, taste like sawdust and were grown primarily because they were hard as a rock and could stand up to the earlier, longer shipping methods. Too, the climate changes as do pest problems...hence GA and South Carolina having really fallen in the number of peach orchards. Rootstocks that will succeed in one part of the country would never live in the heat, humidity, and soils of the south. Mosty fruits rioen in accordardance with the climate, hence California North Coast Grapes always making far better Zinfandels than any you will find in the SE. Pears are notorious for fireblight in the south, which is why you so often see the rock hard Keiffer. Other than the Warren pear, few will thrive here despite the best of efforts. In NC, Lee Calhoun is an excellent resource, as is Jim Lawson IN Ball Ground GA. There are others. Just because an apple is an old variety, doesn't mean it is superior, but there are many old U.S. AND European Varieties. One beautifully printed guide is the classic...Apples of NY. The fun is in the discovery and the occasional failure. I discovered scrumpy and real hard cider in the west country of England, Perry in Normandy, and Kreik in Belgium. BUT, also lost an entire orchard of hand grafted trees due to my absence another year when a little beatle in NC destroyed everything. Here in GA, dug up some six year old dwarfs only to discover that there were no roots thanks to the GA clay and resident pests. If you want successful fruit trees in the south, you do need to spray....See MoreHoneyberry and Aronia taste
Comments (15)Murky,..thanks for the correction! Do Chokeberries have large seeds like Chokecherries? I don't' think we have them here. Yesterday we picked some of the honey berries, mostly Blue Belle. I'm amazed how productive these plants are, picked about 8lb from 4 plants. Looks like these are perfect berries for the cold region when nothing much else grows. Supposedly have about 3X more antioxidant then blueberries. What's also nice about these is that you can't feel any seed in there because they're very tiny, I'm seeding some out for a test, I've been layering them and have increased production. Glenn, I have put a Borealis in also this year, they should be best tasting of all of them,..as they say?...See MoreCowpea variety tastes
Comments (20)I originally started out with the California Blackeye. I dug out the old seed packet from Seeds of Change and it is dated 1995. I have been growing them ever since, and saving the best seed faithfully every year. They are kind of like reliable old friends at this point. Zeedman, I grow cowpeas on a small but expanding scale. I harvested approx. six pounds of dry last season after harvesting a bunch for green beans and for shellies during the season. I have not been too thrilled about eating them as green beans but they are great as shellies and used in dishes from dry bean stock during the winter months. As I introduce family and friends to cowpeas I am getting more and more requests for them. Most have small gardens, just grow the regular stuff, or do not have the space so I am happy to oblige. I have seed stock for five cowpea varieties this year. Adding what you listed would make it seven varieties. Doable but straining my resources. The more strains of stuff I plant the harder it is to isolate for seed stock. I have local farmer friends who let me plant stuff in their gardens for growing out seed stock in return for seed or produce. A pretty slick arrangement that works well for me. I was unaware of the U of M breeding program for cowpeas. Thanks for that info zeedman. I am very interested and I will see if I can acquire the two varieties you mentioned for growing this season. A cursory internet search came up with information for MN13, MN150, and MN157 cowpeas but no retail seed sources. I will do a more in-depth search but zeedman maybe you could give me a lead if you know who sells the varieties you mentioned? It would be much appreciated and save me a little bit of research time so I can get them ordered. I am open to trying indoor cowpea starts but I am a bit overburdened already with so many other plant starts I would prefer to avoid adding a whole new segment - but it is helpful to know one can do this. I will try it this year and if it is as beneficial as you state I will probably add these to the yearly list. Thanks for the suggestion. Regarding other U of M developments - yes I always keep an eye open for new U of M stuff. I have Winona and Mesabi strawberries, Frontenac grapes, and several apple varieties including Honeycrisp and and some new Zestar trees that have not produced yet. I wish I could grow some of the U of M blueberries but ours is not the soil type. I have tried several times in the past with the soil amending thing with no luck so I put the issue to rest. I stick to what grows best in my soil and I am happy with that. I try to time camping in the Boundary Waters with the wild blueberry harvest time - talk about tasty - I pick for hours until my bad back drives me back to camp with my treasure. But that is off-topic and a story for another time and forum. Regards, -Tom...See MoreBest tasting extra early variety ?
Comments (6)Stupice and Matina are lookalikes but I prefer the taste of Matina. I highly suggest Moravsky Div which is ealier than the above two. And Sophie's Choice is good as well. Fact is Sungold F1 is almost always the first to ripen in my garden and it's about the only hybrid I do grow. Another one that should work well for you Tom is Kimberly. All I can say is good luck with your timing of putting out plants on April 15th, even though in North NJ you should be about maybe a zone 7 or so. ( smile) Carolyn...See MoreKonrad___far_north
17 years agozima
17 years agoKonrad___far_north
17 years agoIt seems they root very easily! All 4 layered from last year took, 3 of them have some berries on already!
This pic will show you how I did it, [you don't have to follow exactly] at the red tag, the branch is going into the ground, U shape, have broken the twig first a little by bending, have put a rock in the center to keep it down and another rock on the other side to push the plant up.
Yes, I leave it over winter, transplant as soon you can work the ground.
Konrad
New layered plant from last year with berries.
zima
17 years agosazzyrose
17 years agoKonrad___far_north
17 years agoLaurie_z3_MB
17 years agoKizmettime_yahoo_com
17 years agoluv2gro
17 years agosteve_digs
17 years agoleftwood
17 years agosunshine_amy
17 years agoArrowwind
11 years ago
Jeanie Mitchell
7 years ago
Konrad..just outside of Edmonton Alberta
7 years agohungryfrozencanuck
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoSee my review:
Briefly, if you want fresh eating go with Aurora but ideally the even newer varieties (although I have not tasted those yet) (Boreal Blizard, Boreal Beauty, Boreal Beast)
http://www.fruit.usask.ca/Documents/Haskap/Boreal%20Blizzard.pdf
http://www.fruit.usask.ca/Documents/Haskap/Boreal%20Beauty%20May%202016.pdf
http://www.fruit.usask.ca/Documents/Haskap/Boreal%20Beast%20May%202016.pdf
If you want preserves can probably go with any as you will add sugar but the above 4 are still good bets for size and flavor.
So far my yields have been slow to increase so depending on your flavor preference and yard size, I would actually lean towards Titania black currant if I had limited space and wanted jam/syrup.
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Haskasp – Tundra (Planted Fall 2013 from prairieplant.com) Survived. No dieback. Tons of flowers.
Haskasp – Aurora (Planted Fall 2014 from Whiffletree) Survived. No dieback. Tons of flowers.
Haskasp – Honeybee (Planted Fall 2013 from prairieplant.com) Survived. No dieback. Tons of flowers.
Haskasp – Borealis (Planted Fall 2013 from prairieplant.com) Survived. No dieback. Tons of flowers.
All the Haskasps were flowering around May 14 with Tundra perhaps a bit later. Aurora and Tundra seem to have the longest bloom time. The plants are still pretty small, about 18-24” tall. The new varieties Boreal Blizzart and Boreal Beauty seem to be amazing with much larger/sweeter fruit and flowering 2-4 weeks later! I just don’t have room!
Fruit was ripening June 15-20 but still tasted pretty sour. I heard leaving them on the bush made a difference so I left them longer. Well the day later the birds discovered them and took about 50%. I netted them quickly but will be sure to do so earlier next year. On July 1st I harvested the rest except for some Aurora's which were still ripening.
The ones labelled Honey Bee in my photos are actually Borealis. I also had Tundra and Aurora.
Aurora is by far the largest. Tundra and Borealis were similar in size. Taste test with my wife: For fresh eating Aurora won hands down the best. Borealis perhaps had a slight edge over Tundra. Measuring Brix Aurora (17, 14), Tundra (9, 9.8, 11.8), Borealis (12, 12, 11.2) so you can see why Aurora was more pleasant. In the end we ate the Aurora's fresh and I made a compote with the other 2 by mixing 1 part berries to 0.5 part sugar by weight and it was nice and tasty and acidic.
Yield post bird attack was tiny. Aurora 5 berries (8 grams), Tundra (41 grams), Borealis (32 grams). All are about 3 year old plants.
katie77q
6 years agohungryfrozencanuck
6 years agokatie77q
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agohungryfrozencanuck
6 years agokatie77q
6 years ago
Konrad..just outside of Edmonton Alberta