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tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45674
Location: Essex

Posted: Tue Jul 05, 16 3:08 pm Post subject: Jam Lady
I can get named varieties, are they worth it or am I better off with other berries?

Jam Lady

Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2571
Location: New Jersey, USA

Posted: Tue Jul 05, 16 3:35 pm Post subject:

Umm, what kind of berry Tahir? If you are referring to blueberries then yes, named cultivars are better than random bushes. Larger berries, excellent fruit set. Also better berry set if you have two cultivars for cross pollination. Especially as blueberries are not native to the UK so are not something you can go dig up in the wild.

Here I must proudly let you know that cultivation of blueberries was developed here in New Jersey by Miss Elizabeth White whose family owned White's Bog cranberry growing company. She wanted to develop something they could grow for income at another time of year than cranberry harvest in fall.

There are some entries on my BelleWood Gardens web site about caging blueberries to protect the berries from birds.

And should you get tired of eating them fresh, blueberry conserve - blueberries, finely cut oranges - peel and all, and sugar - is a wonderful sweet preserve.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45674
Location: Essex

Posted: Tue Jul 05, 16 4:27 pm Post subject:
Sorry JL, I wrote saskatoon I''m sure Blueberries will definitely be added, just not sure whether saskatoons are worth the bother as a fresh berry, or are they like gooseberries; I'm the only person in our family that eats them.

Jam Lady

Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2571
Location: New Jersey, USA

Posted: Tue Jul 05, 16 7:49 pm Post subject:

Maybe you did, Tahir, but not in your original posting. I've only foraged for wild ones. Tasty, but competition with the birds means share and share alike (with the birds getting more than do I.) Similar in flavor to blueberries.

Amelanchier alnifolia, saskatoon or Juneberry, is a very handsome multistem small tree. Lovely in the garden at all seasons, with white flowers in Spring, blue berries in summer, excellent fall foliage color, and attractive winter appearance with smooth gray bark on multiple stems. Several cultivars available at specialty nurseries here in the USA include

MARTIN- An early blooming variety that reaches 10 feet. A large fruited selection, with excellent flavor and uniform ripening. Zones 2-5.

NORTHLINE- A free suckering variety that reaches 6-8 feet at maturity. heavy producer of large 16mm berries that have an excellent sweet taste. Zones 2-5.

SMOKY- The most popular Saskatoon variety and the full-flavor standard against which other cultivars are judged. A prolific producer of large 14mm sweet berries that have the highest sugar/acid ratio. Reaches 8 feet at maturity. Zones 2-5.

THIESSEN- A vigorous, moderately suckering variety. A large 15 foot shrub that produces the largest berries of all varieties. 17mm berries are pleasant and full flavored. Zones 2-5.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45674
Location: Essex

Posted: Tue Jul 05, 16 8:49 pm Post subject:
Thanks, I might give them a go

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6612
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Tue Jul 05, 16 10:56 pm Post subject:
I also like any ol' service berry (I thought it was mostly just the Canadians that call them saskatoons!), but the named varieties really are the most pleasing to the widest array of people. They can be VERY blueberry like, and even fool people if you don't show them the tree they came off of. 'Regent' is the eating variety I'm most familiar with

Jam Lady

Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2571
Location: New Jersey, USA

Posted: Wed Jul 06, 16 1:37 am Post subject:
Did you not (if you have children) read them "Under the Saskatoon Tree" when they were small?

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45674
Location: Essex

Posted: Wed Jul 06, 16 4:46 am Post subject:
Not one I've heard of.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15985

Posted: Wed Jul 06, 16 6:39 am Post subject:
I haven't heard of the story either Jam Lady. Perhaps like the tree, it hasn't made it to this side of the pond. I do remember reading a book called 'Thimble Summer' which was an American book I think, and that had a lot of American terms in it that we didn't know here in the 1950s.

Jam Lady

Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2571
Location: New Jersey, USA

Posted: Wed Jul 06, 16 12:44 pm Post subject:
Published in 1966, cost 19 cents at the time, now selling on e-Bay for $12 and up. Charming story with delightful illustrations, something to read when the little ones are snuggled up close to you. Today supposed to reach 33.3 degrees C, tomorrow a smidge higher. Feel better, Mistress Rose. And Cassandra, you can always expect a (virtual) hug from me.

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6612
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Wed Jul 06, 16 1:36 pm Post subject:

Jam Lady wrote:

Did you not (if you have children) read them "Under the Saskatoon Tree" when they were small?

Don't have kids, but also never heard of the book. SO may have, as she's a preschool teacher....

My father always liked to point out that colonists called them serviceberries because you know the ground is thawed enough to bury your dead from the winter when they are blooming.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Wed Jul 06, 16 7:05 pm Post subject:
Thanks Tahir, that's yet another fruit tree for our list.

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6612
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Wed Jul 06, 16 7:13 pm Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

Thanks Tahir, that's yet another fruit tree for our list.

They're fantastic. Flowers in the spring, berries, and then red fall foliage.

I wouldn't shy away from taller varieties as they make fantastic landscape plantings, they're just more work to get the berries down from (or leave them just for the birds if you'd rather)

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Wed Jul 06, 16 7:40 pm Post subject:
We now have plenty of room but I expect they'd need protecting from deer damage as well as possibly netting from birds if you want a good ripe crop?

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6612
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Wed Jul 06, 16 9:03 pm Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

We now have plenty of room but I expect they'd need protecting from deer damage as well as possibly netting from birds if you want a good ripe crop?

They get a "B" grade on deer resistance

https://njaes.rutgers.edu/deerresistance/

But I would net if you have birds about

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