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nafex - [NAFEX] Bill's choices, was Re: aronia

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  • From: dwoodard@becon.org
  • To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [NAFEX] Bill's choices, was Re: aronia
  • Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2007 22:16:18 -0500 (EST)

Bill, if you don't like to cook and you are space-limited, you probably
made the right choice to grow something other than Aronia and black
currants.

If you haven't planted a gooseberry yet, I notice that Hinnomaki Red seems
to be very well liked.

It is possible to make fruit sauces without much trouble, in an open pot
(I would favour stainless steel) on top of the stove. They go well with
yogurt and ice cream. I chop up the fruit in small pieces, cook with 1/8
cup of sugar per cup of fruit and 5% bottled lemon juice, cook until soft,
stirring frequently. I freeze the sauce in 1 litre (about 1 quart)
containers. I've done mostly peaches and plums.

It might be worth your while to inquire further about the experience of
others with hardy kiwis on the Great Plains. Actinidia kolomikta is tasty,
keeps 2 or 3 months, and is very high in Vitamin C (300 plus milligrams
per 100 grams of fruit). It has been grown in southern manitoba but I'm
not sure how long it lasts there.

St. Lawrence Nurseries' "Bala" sour cherry (known as "Evans" in Canada)
is reputed good to eat fresh when fully ripe. It's said to bloom well
after the normal sour cherry date, like "Michurin," and it is hardy to
zone 3, grows well at Edmonton Alberta. It makes a small tree around 8-10
feet according to what I've read. I suspect it might suit a north wall or
a northern exposure. I've read it is a morello (dark juice, small trees)
and Robert Nitschke reported that at Detroit, English Morello did very
well trained against a north wall.

If your house has a sunny south wall, espaliers might be a possibility for
apples. Cordons might be another.

There is a wide variety of Amelanchiers. In Ontario we have a dwarf
species suited to limstone soils and droughty situations, and another
dwarf species that likes acid soils, as well as some larger species. There
will likely be a native plant association in Nebraska or a neighbour state
which could help with choices and sources.

Doug Woodard
St. Catharines, Ontario


>
> I agree! I'm new to the list (and perhaps starting to wear out my
> welcome), but it's been very interesting so far!
>
>
> Unfortunately, I've never had the opportunity to try black currants, or
> any of the other unusual fruits we've been talking about. My local
> grocery store certainly doesn't carry them. So I pretty well have to go
> by comments from those who HAVE tried them.
>
> It's interesting that you mention black currants, because I didn't plant
> any of those (except for the native species, the clove or buffalo
> currant) due to the almost universal description that they would not
> appeal to "American tastes." When it comes to food, I eat - and I enjoy
> - just about anything, but there's no sense in planting fruit that's not
> especially tasty when there's so much fruit that IS.
>
>
> I'm perfectly willing to eat cooked fruit,... but someone else is going
> to have to cook it for me! I live alone and I don't cook (OK, I can
> microwave a TV dinner). Yeah, maybe I could learn to cook, but the last
> thing I want to do is to start making myself fruit pies! Heh, heh.
>
> Seriously, that's the only reason I'm looking for fruit that is good
> eating fresh.
>
> Bill
> Lincoln, NE (Zone 5)






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