Cranberries & blueberries

[veggiechicken]

The supermarkets are overflowing with cranberries and blueberries, often sold off cheaply after Christmas. Has anyone tried growing plants from supermarket fruit? Thought I'd give it a try as the plants are so expensive. I have 4 blueberry bushes which had their first fruit this year and would like more.

[Piggle]

Can't say I have to be honest - I get all my bushes from the mecca that is reighton nurseries in reighton near Bridlington as they are only a couple of quid.

Are you thinking about growing them from seed?

[veggiechicken]

Yes, growing them from supermarket fruit! One of my blueberry bushes came from Lidl but it is a tiny little thing. I think they sell cranberry bushes too. However, the temptation of growing a punnetful of blueberries and cranberries for about £1 is starting to look irresistible!

[BroadRipple]

good idea veggiechicken - as your partner in dimness i don't know if it'll work, but damn it's a good idea. can't get a blueberry bush anywhere locally for under a tenner, yes, gasp, so anything that might poss work...
also, am i alone in secretly liking the germinating more than any other stage?

[northepaul]

Its worth a shot - and would be interesting to see how they come out!

[veggiechicken]

Update: I did try blueberries and kiwiberries - so far nothing but I didn't try very hard!!
Having just bought a punnet of cranberries for 50p I'm going to try growing those. Anyone else going to give it a shot?

[FB.]

Give the pips/seeds a winter chill - either outside for a couple of months during winter or in the fridge for a couple of months.
Make sure the pips are separated from the fruit or they may be inhibited from germinating by chemicals in the fruit.

[veggiechicken]

Thanks FB I've been picking through the cranberries and I'm amazed at the differences. Some are very ripe and squishy - but its really hard to find any seeds inside. Others are like bullets with very obvious seeds. Could a cranberry be seedless - or are they just lost in the pulp?

[FB.]

Could a cranberry be seedless - or are they just lost in the pulp?

I'm not sure about cranberries, but blueberries have pips about half the size of those in blackberries or raspberries (about 1mm for blueberries and 1-2mm for raspberries/blackberries). There usually seems to be a couple per blueberry fruit, sometimes several.
I would think cranberries would be similar.

Maybe the plant producing your cranberries was a triploid (sorry, I don't know enough about cranberries and whether triploid forms exist) - triploids and other genetic abnormalities often dont produce many (if any) pips, or produce worthless tiny specks of pips which never developed properly.

[Feral007]

Well that's depressing! I guess I should pop over the road to the pumping site and dig up a couple more blackberry canes before they come out and spray them. Have lost about 4 so far, but one out of 5 is not bad odds when they are free!
No wild cranberries unfortunately

[veggiechicken]

Cranberry seed update! I quartered some yesterday and left them to soak overnight. This morning, squidging the now soft cranberries through my fingers, I could isolate some of the seeds. Straining the pulp through a tea strainer, left some seeds clinging to the side of the bowl! They'll be left to air-dry and then in the fridge for a while as FB advised

[mikedigitales]

Good luck VC, really interested in how you do as I'd love a few more cranberry bushes on the cheap!

[veggiechicken]

Give it a go, Mike. 50p a punnet - what's there to lose? You can also propagate cranberries from cuttings, I believe!
I'm chuffed today because a Kiwiberry that I sowed last year has germinated - another supermarket sell-off.

[Alison]

I'm chuffed today because a Kiwiberry that I sowed last year has germinated - another supermarket sell-off.

Dim question, is a Kiwiberrry any different from a normal kiwi? Wondered if they were those smaller one bite ones I've seen for sale.

[veggiechicken]

They're about the size of grapes - not furry either!!