It's Pickin' Time!!!!

[KDM]

Already started our harvest of home grown goodness. Our honey berries and our strawberries are in full production so the Mrs. and I put on the "Gatherer" portion of our "Hunter/Gatherer" hats and hit the fruit patches. Here is 8 cups of honey berries and 4 cups of strawberries in the pot getting ready to be made into jam or syrup or whatever. Makes my mouth cry just looking at it.

 

[martinslanding]

Toast plate !!!!!

 

[Kurtr]

my garden is behind i cant wait that looks so good

 

[Davy Crockett]

Thumbs Up Looking good. As dry as it was (until last evening) It's looking like a good year for berries.

 

[johnr]

Whats a honey berry? is it blueberryish? or more huckleberry like.

 

[SDMF]

When is it time for cherries? (grin)

 

[KDM]

Whats a honey berry? is it blueberryish? or more huckleberry like.

Blueberry looks but they have a sweet/tart flavor with an almost pepper-like tinge which in unlike anything else I've tried. We eat them raw off the plant or in vanilla ice cream and they make a wonderful jam/jelly/syrup that is sweet, but has a nice tart ending. They are rated for zone 2 which is -50 below so we gave them a try and LOVE'EM. The last two years we have picked a half a gallon off our 16 plants which is a pretty good return considering each plant is the size of a basketball.

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When is it time for cherries? (grin)

Should have a good crop of those as well if only a fraction of the cherries on the trees finish growing to say nothing about the apples. Mama's already planning her fruit canning repertoire for this fall.

 

[Petras]

Finally seeing some berries on our honey berry bushes. How does one know when they are ripe for the picking? Both of our honey berry bushes are beach ball size or bigger.

 

[KDM]

Yeah, ours are beach ball sized as well for the most part. We pick ours when they get that deep blue/purple color and they are squishy full like a blueberry. If you pick them earlier they are REALLY tart. Which isn't bad if you're prepared for it. We learned to flip over the branches to find the fruit as these bushes seem to hide the berries from normal viewing, which is good as the birds don't strip them before we can get some. Mama's doing jelly, Jam, AND syrup with these. The house smells great!!!!

 

[Zogman]

KDM

Honey Berry? I had to look it up.

The flavor of honeyberries is very hard to describe, so it may be best to just say it's a "mystery berry" flavor, reminding some people of blackberry, cherry and even grape or kiwi. With a very thin skin, the zesty berries melt in your mouth! These healthy berries can be eaten fresh off the bush, or used fresh or frozen in your favorite blueberry recipe.

[h=4][SIZE=+1] Interesting Features [/SIZE][/h]

[h=2] * Cold hardy to -55 F, blossoms withstand 20 F [/h] [h=2] * First fruit of spring (early blooming cultivars bear prior to strawberries, late blooming selections bear a few weeks later) [/h] [h=2] * Higher level of antioxidants than blueberries [/h] [h=2] * Grows in most soils in wide range of pH levels (4.5 - 8.5) though 5-8 is preferred. May perform better in clay soils than sandy soils. [/h] [h=2] * USDA zone 2. Fruiting depends on availability of pollinators when plants are blooming. Late blooming varieties may be more suitable for warmer climates. Testing of U of S bred cultivars currently taking place in zone 8. [/h] [h=2] * Some varieties produce 10+ lbs of berries after 5 years, others produce 1-2 lbs [/h] [h=2] * 50+ year lifespan [/h] [h=2] * Honeyberries do not sucker [/h] [h=2] * Grows in sunny or shady locations. Bears best in sun in the North, needs some protection from sun in the South. [/h] [h=2] * Disease and pest resistant, great for organic gardening[/h] [h=2] * Many honeyberries require proximity to another unrelated honeyberry plant for pollinization by bees and other insects. Some varieties will produce some fruit alone. [/h]

 

[Maddog]

Thumbs Up

 

[Lycanthrope]

Last night I picked some Indigo Gem HB's and made a cake for my parents anniversary today. Lemon cake with honeyberries and whipped white frosting should be good. This is the first year Ive had any significant production from them. Ill harvest the rest of the IG's this weekend and give my Honey Bee's another week or two, they are a bit behind. Brix on the IG's is 15 to 17, doubt it will get much higher.

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Blueberry looks but they have a sweet/tart flavor with an almost pepper-like tinge which in unlike anything else I've tried. We eat them raw off the plant or in vanilla ice cream and they make a wonderful jam/jelly/syrup that is sweet, but has a nice tart ending. They are rated for zone 2 which is -50 below so we gave them a try and LOVE'EM. The last two years we have picked a half a gallon off our 16 plants which is a pretty good return considering each plant is the size of a basketball.

What variety you growing?

 

[KDM]

Good Lookin' Eats Lycan!! Wouldn't wait to pick that beautiful batch of berries if it were me. Ours turn to raisins pretty quick. Might have to look for some indigo gems as ours aren't that big. We have Cinderella, Borealis, and Tundra. We just planted the Tundra and decided to make that whole garden fruit bushes so getting more varieties of honey berries sounds like a good plan.

 

[Lycanthrope]

Good Lookin' Eats Lycan!! Wouldn't wait to pick that beautiful batch of berries if it were me. Ours turn to raisins pretty quick. Might have to look for some indigo gems as ours aren't that big. We have Cinderella, Borealis, and Tundra. We just planted the Tundra and decided to make that whole garden fruit bushes so getting more varieties of honey berries sounds like a good plan.

There is a lot of development going on with HB's still. I tossed most of my borealis last year as they didnt live up to expectations. Everyone loves Aurora from what I have read. I have one but its too small to produce this year, the few berries that were on it were donated to the birds. Next year should be better. Also berries unlimited has some varieties that seem interesting. I added Happy Giant, Blue Moose, Blue Jewel and Blue Banana this year, along with the new releases from UoS, Blizzard and Beauty. Im happy with IG except the bush shape kinda sucks, its low and wide, making it harder to net and harvest. Im going to prune it this fall to try to encourage a bit more upward growth.