Re: [nafex] Non-apple inquiry

[Ginda Fisher <ginda@concentric.net>]

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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