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nafex - Re: [nafex] Non-apple inquiry

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  • From: Ginda Fisher <ginda@concentric.net>
  • To: nafex@egroups.com
  • Subject: Re: [nafex] Non-apple inquiry
  • Date: Sat, 14 Oct 2000 08:28:09 -0400

I would also suggest St. Cloud as a tasty, cold-hardy blueberry. Mine
aren't mature, and I've read different opinions of its ultimate height,
but they range from 2-4 feet. I think it gets taller in milder
climates. It's early, has a firm, medium sized berry, and (in my
opinion) tastes great.

I haven't tried it, but Patriot gets good press for flavor, and is
supposed to be very cold-hardy.

All short blueberry plants require rabbit protection in the winter. All
the ones suggested so far are short ("half-high", or hybrids of northern
highbush and lowbush berries, although Patriot is just a short plant
that is of mostly highbush parentage.)

Actually, zone 5 isn't that cold for blueberries, and you could probably
grow most of the northern highbush varieties with a little protection.

Ginda

Eastern Massachusetts, zone 6

fluffy bunny wrote:
>
> Gord Hawkes wrote:
>
> Thanks for your response Mr. Bunny.
>
> My reply:
>
> Wow...formality. : )
>
> Gord also wrote:
>
> We are located in eastern Ontario,
> Canada zone 5. I wish I could say that we receive consistently good snow
> coverage but unfortuneately our winters vary considerably from year to
> year - last year we had virtually no snow - very hard on our garlic. I
> guess you could say our planting would be of a commercial endeavour but
> small by commercial standards - we plan on both selling and processing
> the
> fruit. We plan on mulching everything that we plant. We also plan on
> planting in sheltered spots. I realize that blackberries will require
> the
> most winter protection and that all require acidic soil.
>
> My reply:
>
> A few thoughts.
>
> My experience with brambles is that the cold is not what really gets to
> them, but the desiccation cause by the polar winds. I was able to keep
> my berries going when others could not(I use to live in the center of
> about 15 square miles of corn fields, so the wind really got going in a
> U.S. zone 4b)by providing wind breaks of brush and a conifer tree line.
> Bearing this in mind, brambles are usually delineated along a few
> different lines. One of the ways the nurseries market the brambles to
> the growers is by contrasting the so called self supporting brambles from
> those that trail. IMHO, you want the trailing type. In this manner it
> should fairly easy to get them close to the ground, giving them more
> protection. The upright varieties tend to break when you try and force
> them down.
>
> Below are a few suggestions. Unfortunately I have no idea what is
> available through Canadian nurseries.
>
> For a winter hardy red raspberry fresh market variety try:
>
> Reville - (Early) It handles unstable winter temperatures, which is
> indicative of a variety that might not need snow over.
>
> Killarney -(Early) pretty good quality fruit and darn good winter
> hardiness
>
> For a winter hardy red raspberry processing variety try:
>
> Boyne - (Early) a very winter hardy raspberry. Boyne is usually
> considered a bit soft but it processes well.
>
> Another Red that is good for both the fresh market and for freezing as
> opposed to processing is a Nova Scotia variety called Nova. It is a
> late season variety.
>
> As a fail safe another Red from Nova Scotia is worth considering: K81-6.
> It is very winter hardy, and productive. The quality is mediocre,
> but it is dependable.
>
> Latham(mid to late) is an old stand-by and extremely winter hardy. It
> is susceptible to about everything but I think it actually enjoys the
> cold : )
>
> On the ever-bearing side try Autumn Bliss and its sister Autumn Britten.
> Britten ships extremely well and packs well and has great taste. I
> am growing it myself and am very pleased. You can grow these as an
> extremely early berry or play around with the fall crop. Redwing is
> another good option and can take the cold as well as Summit.
>
> You might also try Fall Gold and see if you can get it to take. If it
> makes it you will have no trouble selling them.
>
> On the blackberries Illinois Hardy is a thorny option of medium quality
> but good flavor.
>
> The blue berries are easy:
>
> Northland: 3 to 4 feet, small berry
> Northblue: 20-30 inches, large size berry
> Northcountry: 18-24 inches, medium size berry
> Northsky: 10-18 inches, small berry size
>
> All of them are great, although Northsky, Nothland, and Northblue have it
> over Northcountry for flavor.
>
> It is difficult to sell the Northsky and Northland unless you give out
> taste tests. They are fairly easy to sell to premium bakeries, delis,
> and specialty restaurants though.
>
> I haven't had any luck with lingonberries for some reason I have yet to
> get a handle on, and they seem to be expensive to experiment with.
>
> I hope this helps.
>
> Very truly yours in growing delicious things,
>
> the fluffy bunny
>
>
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