Huckleberries? What to do with?

[October2110]

I have grown a good row of huckleberries for thefirst time. They are blackening nicely (ripening) (its now 31/08/06) but they still taste awful. When should they be harvested ? and what can i do with them. There's no mention of them in the RHS encyclopedia. I'm based in Woodcote village on Chilterns at 800 feet (allotments)

[Nicos]

I grew a wonderful crop a couple years ago and read that they should be left to sweeten in the frost (unless likely to be eaten by roaming bears )
I left them and left them...and left them ..until spring ..when they were still sour ( even the birds left them!) and decided by March I'd make a crumble with them and put in tons of sugar.....still sour!!!(and inediable)
Would love to know where I went wrong as they produced a fantastic amount of fruit.
Hope you have better luck than I did!

Welcome to the Vine by the way!!

[iainhawk]

Hi there

My huckleberries are the same and were last year.

They will hardly ever go sweet..you just have to use them in pies and add sugar- the flavour is still there and they go great mixed with apples in a pie or crumble. I would not make a pie or crumble just of huckleberries but would always add apples or rhubarb or something bulky and then throw a few handfuls of berries in.

They might sweeten a bit if the sun comes out for the next couple of weeks, but i would just accept that they need added sugar.

I just use mine for wine making and for putting in Gin or vodka ( 1/3rd berries, 2/3rds vodka with about 100g sugar). It gives the spirit a great taste after 6 months or so.

[Nicos]

Oh why didn't I think of booze!!
What a waste!!!
Tell you what though...the following year there were hundreds of seedlings growing in little clumps where the odd berry had fallen onto the ground, so they are easy to germinate ( peat soil)
My plants died off so I don't know if they are perennial.

[Shortie]

Nicos, I'm surprised at you.... you were after all in the origional rhubarb schnapps clan

[dexterdoglancashire]

Whats a huckleberry? dexterdog

[iainhawk]

have a look at this and it will tell you all.

http://www.seedsavers.org/prodinfo.asp?number=622(OG)

they are commonly grown in the US, but places like Nickyseeds do sell them.

very easy to grow and crop heavily. ready in about 100 days from sowing.

[iainhawk]

But beware, some shops sell huckleberry (chiltern seeds etc) but there are actually bilberry- Huckleberry that we refer to here is the american version (well i hope so - or i have got the wrong end of the stick here). I assume this is correct as bilberries are delicious and hardly ever that sour.

[nick the grief]

if they are sour thats what make you Finn. Geddit, Hucleberry Finn .... oh well please yourselves.

They are members of the nightshade family (& look alarmingly like them) & are supposed to be good for sauces. I think the Native Americans make a sort of paste & sun dry it, but I may be getting mixed up with something else.

Wheres Ray Mears when you need him

[Nicos]

Oh yes- am still the rhubarb schnapps fan... you just gotta do it!!! - was in anticipation ..but now know it's wonderful...(even my mates who hate rhubarb love it!!)

Huckleberries..boy oh boy..never knew sour like it!!
Good idea to mix it with apples etc..could cope with that on a 1:20 basis!!

Am prepared to try again though OH frowning at me due to use of space
Rhubarb schnapps ....WONDERFUL...competition anyone?????

[Earthbabe]

I've added them to jams with pears and such and yes they self seed like nothing else (apart from my bronze fennel which is making a bid for world domination) That's world ntg .

Mine never sweetened and I've dug up all the seedlings this year as I can think of better things to grow. Am venturing instead into blueberries and bush fruits. Bit more mainstream but more useful.

[JazzDuke]

I'm growing them for the first time and they have been a marvellous surprise. Dead easy to grow. I had read that they often needed a lot of sugar but mine are now very sweet. I used some as one quarter of a summer pudding and will probably just make a simple compote with rest and put it on a lemon tart or somesuch. The aphids and ants love them but don't seem to affect the ripening or the quality of the fruit.

[GardenFan]

Does anyone know a UK seed supplier for the true huckleberry (Solanum melanocerasum)? I am guessing they germinate ok, I was after a Saskatoon (NA fruit tree like the huckleberry) for months but it's very, very hard to germinate and in the end I finally found a UK fruit nursery that sells cuttings but sadly not the huckleberry).

[dexterdoglancashire]

Ah! had a look at the website - now I know. Thanks dexterdog

[October2110]

Huckleberries

I have grown a good row of huckleberries for thefirst time. They are blackening nicely (ripening) (its now 31/08/06) but they still taste awful. When should they be harvested ? and what can i do with them. There's no mention of them in the RHS encyclopedia. I'm based in Woodcote village on Chilterns at 800 feet (allotments)

Good news folks, they are still growing , but no frost yet. They have ripened well and we have loads in the freezer, but more to the point they seem to go well with Apples so 'she who must be obeyed' stews them up with a couple of Bramleys and a little sugar and they're great. The mix goes quite firm after cooling so i expect they'd be good for jam as they probably contain pectin< or is that the apples?