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nafex - [NAFEX] Fruit day U of Idaho Parma

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  • From: "Naomi Counides" <naomi@oznayim.us>
  • To: "'North American Fruit Explorers'" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [NAFEX] Fruit day U of Idaho Parma
  • Date: Thu, 3 Sep 2009 21:24:52 -0600

Today was the Fruit Field day at the Parma extension of the U of Idaho.  The facility and the program is under considerable threat of being shut down because U of I has to cut 3.2 million from their budget and cutting Parma would “save $600,000.   This is a place with over 20 years working on this site.  The irrigation system is amazing.. and the trees and vines on it even more so.

There was some major discussion of table grapes in Idaho.  This is really a coming thing seemingly.  We have hot days and cool nights.  It is basically dry here.  Nice for raising grapes.  And I tasted a lot of them.  Unfortunately my notes stink. Now since I am not a commercial grower I tasted looking for interesting flavor.. not just sugar water balls.  These are names I wrote down so I think that means I liked them though I no longer have any detail on flavor or texture.  Alborz (crunchy) This is one I already have planted thanks to Ron Mann who is in cahoots with Parma and is a friend who lives up the road and has pimped fruit trees and now grapes to me for years. Anahita also called Ralli is another I tasted and like and I already have planted. Ron Mann’s grape Sweet Shelly (NY47616), named after his wife was there and quite nice. Looked like a blueberry and maybe tasted a bit like one.  Here it can be useful to have a grape that tastes like a blueberry.  We have alkali soil and blueberries are tricky to grow but grapes are easy.  I saw a green seedless by Ron L there.  I really liked NY 65.0479.1.  I would like to know more about that one and I would like to plant it. I seem to have missed Ny65.483.2 but that one sounds very interesting also.  I like Muscat flavor.  And yes those are all seedless because my family is fussy about seeds and sometimes I make raisins.

http://efallahi.com/documents/Table%20Grape%20Production%20for%20Idaho%20and%20Pacific%20Northwest%20%28By%20Drs.%20Fallahi%20&%20Stark,%20not%20edited;%20not%20fordistribution%20yet%29.pdf

By the time I got to the tables of peaches there was not much left to taste and I was getting pretty full even going one grape at a time.  There were LOTS!!!  And there were plums, pluots, nectarines, apples Mulberries.  Very interesting presentation on size and soluables and how to do what by use of water and nutrients to apples.  BTW this irrigation system uses 60% less water than the sprinkler emitters.  It is 4 inches underground 1 foot either side of the tree or vine.  They do a really interesting thing watering one side of the apple tree fully for 2 weeks and starving the other side then alternating to increase sugars.

Saw figs, jujube, mulberry, Asian persimmon, Asian pears, quince, walnuts and almonds.  Oh and the way they are now growing the grapes is vey neat and shady to walk under.  I forget which varieties but they had huge bunches of grapes.  They showed a 9 pounder but said they had one that went 11 pounds.  Gorgeous.

Naomi

 

 

 

"Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment.  Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions."
 ..... Albert Einstein
 

 



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