Gardening for wines

[madscientist451]

Starks online has some nice varieties, just need to find ones that work for your climate. The problem is lots of stuff are out of stock right now, and will likely be taking orders for fall planting.

I have a large property and have been planting fruit trees, blueberry bushes and all kinds of soft fruits for more than 20 years.
I've ordered from on-line suppliers, including Stark's and have had success with their offerings, but some of the best varieties I've planted have come from local growers.
Diseases are a big problem and constant spraying is a PITA, so my first choice is disease resistance.
Maine has some pretty harsh winters and soft fruits like berries will freeze down to the ground. Adding straw or other protection on the top of your raised beds may be necessary for the plants to survive the winter.
Primocane berries bear fruit on first year growth and so those are a good choice for your area, but they may not be winter hardy in your climate.
Here's a hardy blackberry from Maine:
https://www.fedcoseeds.com/trees/nelson-blackberry-394 Here are some suppliers in Maine/New Hampshire you may want to check out:
https://wintercovefarm.com/product-category/shrubs_vines_other_fruits/
http://www.waysidefarm.com/great_northern_berries/berry_plants/honeyberries.php
Also, check Facebook marketplace and craigslist for plants.

Edit: You should consider honeyberry bushes. They are suited for cold weather, are resistant to diseases, have high yields for a small amount of space, and some varieties are being used by small wineries. Some varieties are better than others for wine and you need at least two for good pollination, so do your research before you order anything.
The downside is after the fruit is ripe they will go into dormancy in the summer, the leaves drop off and look like they're dead. Not the best look for a small yard. If you have very cool summers this may not occur.

 

[Seamonkey84]

I looked at Honeyberry, sounds like it would be good in a mead, but I have never tasted one.
A new strain of blackberries was released by the Arkansas university, the Ponca thornless. it’s said to be the sweetest, most flavorful blackberry out there. They are talking about aromatics that aren’t present in other blackberries, and lowest acid yet. So something I’ve got to look for next season.
https://fruitgrowersnews.com/news/n...sity-of-arkansas-achieves-pinnacle-of-flavor/

 

[Kent88]

You have access to thimbleberry?

 

[Seamonkey84]

Never even heard of it lol

 

[Kent88]

It's been awhile since I had thimbleberry. It's pretty much a thornless raspberry that grows in a few spots in the northern US (probably also in Canada), and residents like to sell to tourists. From what I understand they're tricky to grow commercially.

 

[Seamonkey84]

Yea I looked it up, seems more of a west coast thing. It’s interesting, just limited space. I’m kind of narrowing down which type of the selected fruits to grow.
On that note, we may have to re-pave the entire driveway soon. Things have settled and cracked over the decades. I’m going to request a section that isn’t used for cars (at all) be torn up and left dirt.

 

[madscientist451]

A new strain of blackberries was released by the Arkansas university, the Ponca thornless. it’s said to be the sweetest, most flavorful blackberry out there. They are talking about aromatics that aren’t present in other blackberries, and lowest acid yet. So something I’ve got to look for next season.

Thanks for posting, I never head of that variety.
They reportedly have the same cold tolerance as ouachita thornless blackberry, which is USDA zone 5-9. So depending where you are located, they may be ok.

 

[Seamonkey84]

It’s brand new this year, they only just released it to cultivators to start growing and selling them. They released Caddo last year, and I had heard nothing about it until I first read about Ponca. Of course I’ve only been looking into these for the past couple months. I have the black gems (Exclusive to Starks) on order, supposed to be similar but the berries are too fragile for commercial farming/shipping

 

[madscientist451]

If you have very limited space, experimenting with new varieties that haven't been tried in your area might be a waste of time and money. In addition, great tasting berries might not be the best for wine making. Note that table grapes aren't used for wine making and although wine grapes don't taste bad, they wouldn't be anyone's first choice as an eating grape.
How much space will be available?

 

[Seamonkey84]

2-3 2x6 raised beds and a 2x5 plot of dirt . I thought about the table grape vs wine grape issue. But with these berries, the acid contend is my main concern. I’ve used store bought Frozen fruits and made fruit bomb BOMMs (mead) with them, I love it but they need lots of sweetness (1.030 FG) to be drinkable. If I can find stains that are more flavorful and less acid, even better.

 

[madscientist451]

That's a pretty small space, putting up a high trellis is one of your options.

 

[Seamonkey84]

Eh, I’m choosing erect cane ones that done need trellising. But I’ll be putting up a cage around them anyways due to squirrels and birds

 

[Seamonkey84]

Here’s my container garden so far
Left to right: dwarf raspberry Shortcake, dwarf blueberry “perpetua”, fall gold raspberry, grape tomato (just because), temptation strawberry, then in the ground next to them (not pictures) are two blueberry bare roots that are sprouting, a blue crop and jersey.

Then here’s the newly arrived dwarf blackberry “baby cakes”. I had to transplant it right away, and I’m hardening it partial shade.

 

[Kent88]

Off topic... "China ___ Duck"?

 

[Seamonkey84]

Duck sauce my family owns a Chinese restaurant Lol.

 

[JJIVin]

I just have some Brunswick Strawberries in this year. I've been getting Rhubarb from a friend, and black raspberries grow prolifically near my house so I will try to pick enough of those for a batch later this summer.

 

[SirHC_]

I planted honeyberries/haskap this spring for the same thoughts. As well as bee balm, lemon verbena and excess basil for herb wine/mead. Made a really nice lemon lime basil wine a couple years ago.

 

[Kent88]

 

[SirHC_]

How many berries did you use per batch? Tasting video says 1lb 12oz, while the fermentation video says 2lb 12oz
Looking forward to trying this...in a couple years.
Maybe reduce the #berries per gallon on the borealis to get a more mild flavor? Mine are all borealis beauty and beast from Jung seed co.6

 

[Kent88]

Oh gosh, that is not me.

Do you mean you only have one variety of haskaps? They need cross-pollination, I think.

 

[SirHC_]

I have 2 varieties, I mistyped. Boreal beauty and Boreal beast.
Sorry for the misidentification x2!

 

[Seamonkey84]

For those that have ordered plants before, does fedex ground shipping for a week sound a bit extreme for a live potted okay?

 

[SirHC_]

For those that have ordered plants before, does fedex ground shipping for a week sound a bit extreme for a live potted okay?

Week sounds ok typically but given the hot temperatures and questionable planting time I'm a little surprised anyone is shipping now...
Dependent on where you live, of course.
May check shipping window, carrier, and refund policy just in case they arrive in lousy condition. I ordered my honeybMarch. And apple tree in December but they weren't shipped until the average frost free date for my area, end of march.

 

[Seamonkey84]

If a week is usually ok for the plant then I’m a bit less nervous. I’m in southern Maine, according to gurneys website, our shipping season for these plants ends at the end of this month. We’re still in the mid 70s most of the week, we had a couple hot days already but that’s low 80s

 

[Kent88]

One of the haskaps I thought I killed last year is still alive! Unfortunately I don't have anything to cross pollinate, if it accidentally flowers.

 

[Seamonkey84]

Well the plant, along with the Anne yellow bare root arrived yesterday, both looking ok. The polar berry plant was a bit pale and starting to yellow, plus had one cane that had a offshoot that grew and stretched while in the dark box. It looks like the pale yellow stalks at the center of a bunch of celery. Both have been put into 2gal pots for the time being, I may try to find to wider bins that are 6-10” deep to plant them in, so the roots can spread and maybe make some more canes instead of hitting sides and forming a ball so quickly.

 

[SirHC_]

Hb are pretty resilient I hear. Good luck!

 

[Seamonkey84]

Just ate my first fall gold raspberry today, very mild and sweet, no sour/tartness Can’t wait till I have enough to make a batch of wine/mead lol.

 

[SirHC_]

Haskap/honeyberries were doing so well I took some cuttings from them yesterday. Took four cuttings each from my two varieties, boreal beauty and boreal beast. I want two of each to take and ill transplant them out this fall or spring. Then I'll have 6 honeyberry plants!

 

[Seamonkey84]

Last night I “rescued” a blackberry plant that has been growing between the fence and my neighbors garage for close to a decade.
My new neighbors have redone the whole yard during this COVID thing, including cleaning and graveling around the garage and replacing the post and beam fence with a privacy fence. Some weeds have been growing up on a bit of dirt on my side of the fence, and I noticed that some of them looked very familiar. I looked over to my blackberry and raspberry plants, and realized what it was. It has survived the years of been treated as a weed, the winters, and growing in basically sand and gravel on the west side of a building. It was just mixed in with the weeds and brush, and I’d see a random berry over the years.
I figured it’s hardy enough, I might give it a chance. I dug up two spindly canes with a section of root and put it in a reused gallon pot to grow out. I gave it a trimming to reduce water loss since it no longer has the whole root system. At the least, I’ll bring it up to my friends land when it’s grown, not sure if I want it in the long run since I have several cultivars planned already.