To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: [NAFEX] Vaccinium ovatum
Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 05:52:37 -0800
I have been growing Vaccinium ovatum, the evergreen huckleberry, for the
past 3 years. It is starting to produce bunches of berries now. I tried
them last September when they looked ripe, but they had little flavor
then and were sour. They are still hanging on the branches now in
February. They have been exposed to freezing weather all winter. The
cold has improved the quality of the fruit. Now they are sweet and
fruity. They are the only fruit I am picking now in the garden. I do
have some lingonberries hanging on the bush, but they are past their
prime. It will be a few months until any other berry is ready to pick. A
strange thing about Vaccinium ovatum is that it is also currently in
bloom. I was giving a friend a tour of my garden a few weeks ago, and
she pointed out the fact that Vaccinium ovatum requires a whole year to
develop fruit. That's what I call slow food. The only plant I grow that
can top this feat is my Italian Stone tree. It takes two years to
develop pinenuts.
-Mark Lee, Edmonds
[NAFEX] Vaccinium ovatum,
Mark and Piper, 02/13/2008