In praise of honey suckle

Well certainly, one could write a great deal on the negatives, but it does have a few pluses that I have found and would like to share.

The main one has to do with goats. My goats can't seem to get enough of it, they take it just as well as anything else. It's easy to cut from off the farm and drag the short distance to it, loads of it. In fact four trips back and forth with a great deal of it on my back is almost all the food my eleven goats need for a whole day!

It leaves out much earlier than most, about 2 weeks before willow!

this means lots of green food in my goats more early, which also means sooner to cut the hay bill!

actually the reason I decided to write this is because if it were not for honey suckle I would be in a situation that no one wants to be in... not having enough food for the animals you are caring for.

plus like we all did as kids, it makes a refreshing sweet treat when it is in flower, the white flowers aren't quite ready, as they turn yellow they get more sweet. Oh and i still suck on them.

in other news, anyone have any experience with the truly useful honey suckle, honey berry?

thanks!

i also love my honeysuckles..both the vine and the bush types..i wonder if you can make honeysuckle jelly like they do with violets and dandilions?

hmmmmm a thought.

i have some honeysuckle called Freedom and occasionally they will bloom twice in a good year..spring and again in the fall.

i also have been considerinig buying the honeyberry as they  say they are seedless and taste like blueberries..my  husband has digestive problems with seeds and nuts so this would be specifically to help him .

they also  seem to be very hardy

one other good thing is honeysuckle do really  great when they are pruned a lot..so great for your goats..

i have one honeysuckle that gets these really wierd witchy things at the ends of the branches every year..not sure what  causes it..i end up having to cut them all off as they are ugly..but it doesn't seem to affecdt any of my other honeysucklesand so it must be in the genes..

I've got a few honeyberries (Lonicera caerulea) bushes.  they're pretty new, so I haven't gotten a lot of fruit yet, but the few berries I tried last year were tasty.

there are both late- and early-blooming varieties, with climate determining the best choice.  I've got two late bloomers because early bloomers would flower too early around here for the insects to be out and about and spreading pollen.

two varieties are necessary for fruit, but I got a little bit of fruit with just one variety last year.  with two varieties this year, I expect a lot more fruit.  I've noticed that several plants that require a pollenizer will produce a little bit of fruit planted alone, then a lot more when I get around to planting another variety.

I've seen honeyberry suggested as an alternative for folks who have trouble growing blueberries.  our blueberries are getting along fine, but I do think the honeyberries are less touchy.  they're good-looking plants and they've been maintenance-free so far.

I have lots of honey suckle but it does not grow much sprouts everywhere but does not grow maybe deer eat it, wha tdoes it need to grow well?
  brenda groth said in another forum that it saves her fruit the birds prefer its brries to her fruit. i think thats worth talking about lots of times. agri rose macaskie.

Just got a coral honeysuckle, need to plant it somewhere. That type is a native, non-invasive species, and it is favored by the hummingbirds.

rose macaskie wrote:
I have lots of honey suckle but it does not grow much sprouts everywhere but does not grow maybe deer eat it, wha tdoes it need to grow well?
   brenda groth said in another forum that it saves her fruit the birds prefer its brries to her fruit. i think thats worth talking about lots of times. agri rose macaskie.

you live in spain no? The really rampant Suckles that I know of, grow in high rainfall areas, most often half shaded and half in sun.
These things are rank, practically like small trees.

When they make new growth in the spring, the new branches are extremely tender and up to three feet long are still green and succulent. I call it Goat Spaghetti!

yeah the birds do love the honeysuckle berries, i'm wondering since the honeyberries are so good to eat that maybe the honeysuckle berries might be edible in some form as well?

i have heard on another forum that the honeysuckle flowers make a great jelly, so i thought i might try that this year.

they say fill a pint jar with the blossoms and then make an infusion by steeping them in boiling water for about an hour or so..strain and then make jelly with pectin, a little lemon juice and about 4 cups of sugar following the directions on the pectin..

they say you can do that with about any flower type..some are good and some aren't i guess..and you can also use herbs for the same type of jelly recipe.

i thought i might try it with the honeysuckle blossoms some year..as i have an awful lot of the bushes..but it takes a lot of plants.

also  they say for roses cut off all the white parts and for dandiliions cut off all of the green parts for the jelly

We have the Cape Honeysuckle here. I am thrilled with this plant. Rampant and so useful....

Living fences
Basketry
I believe it is good forage for livestock

Chelle

that is beutiful