Justin Michelson

Nicole Alderman wrote:I think it really depends on the bush, too! When I was a child, my parents had at least 12 huckleberry bushes on their property, and I noticed that the berries were really different depending on the bush. Some we big and sweet, about pea sized or bigger. That was my favorite bush! Others, bushes, however, were tiny and half the size of an eraser. Some were seedy. And some were less sweet. Some were tiny, seedy and not sweet, and also dry! It really depended on the bush.

I always wondered if it was the sun or the soil that made some bushes so much better. Now I also wonder if it was also genetic diversity. It would be wonderful, I think to breed the biggest, sweetest red huckleberry bushes. This would make picking so much easier, and the berries would be tastier and appeal to more people. I love red huckleberries and love that my property came with so many bushes, and I'm always excited about the first huckleberry of the season, but they sure do take a long time to pick a bowl of them!

I also wonder if there is a way to prune red hucklberries to encourage bigger berries. So far, most of my pruning attempts have resulted in the the bush sending up two foot tall shoots from where I pruned, all going straight up!

Great thoughts, Nicole.  There certainly is a lot of genetic variation out there, and a lot of different wild growing conditions.  From my experience, adequate sun makes the sweetest berries for most, if not all, of our native berries.  Soil is sure to play a part as well.  As for pruning...certainly you can increase overall productivity by removing the oldest and weakest canes, and any crossing or competing limbs.  But increase in fruit size is likely to be marginal, in my opinion.  

However, part of the long-term goal of this nursery is to begin intensively breeding certain species - exactly what you're saying!  We have a plan to start with the Evergreen Huckleberry, though, as we see it having the most potential for both food production and ornamental value.  Stay tuned!  
 

Kyrt Ryder wrote:

Justin Michelson wrote:Also, I'm actually propagating a number of other huckleberries besides V. ovatum and V. membranaceum which I think are far more delicious

Personal opinion there Justin. For myself, nothing beats Red Huckleberries in terms of flavor [though productivity certainly does get stomped by other species.]

The red sure are good, I agree.  But the black...mmmmm.  Haha - anyway - each to their own.!

Hi Kurt and Nicole.  Thanks for the responses.  

We love red huckleberry, but no, we don't grow red huckleberry at this time.  There are so many good vacciniums, and so many other great native edibles, that we had to limit our selection at about 75 species.  At least for now.  

Also, I'm actually propagating a number of other huckleberries besides V. ovatum and V. membranaceum which I think are far more delicious and productive than V. parvifolium:  Deliciosum, uliginosum, and cespitosum.  We'll let you know how that goes!

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