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Post by MikeH on Aug 2, 2013 4:36:30 GMT -5
I use the sheers from the thrift shop as well, but on my blueberries . My honeyberries are about 3 years old, did not produce this year, maybe too damp and cool during pollination time as some things flourished this year like the grapes , kiwi and apples and others like the cherries did nothing . Do you know what varieties of honeyberry you have?
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Post by MikeH on Aug 21, 2013 2:11:35 GMT -5
Nicely done. They obviously like it in NZ. Here, the primary pollinator that I see on haskap is the bumblebee. Honeybees don't seem to be able to open the flower. Hopefully you'll get good pollination.
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Post by raymondo on Aug 21, 2013 7:19:33 GMT -5
Hmmm...we don't have bumblebees on mainland Australia, only in Tasmania where they escaped from a research station (oops, sorry, left the door open). We do have a local bee that has very similar habits though it isn't as big. If any of my seeds germinate (none yet) I'll have to hope that our local native bee is up to the job!
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Post by raymondo on Aug 29, 2013 6:09:21 GMT -5
Impressive growth indeed.
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Post by MikeH on Aug 29, 2013 9:50:16 GMT -5
Hmmmmm. That's extremely, extremely vigorous. I don't get that kind of early season new growth. I've never heard of haskap/honeyberry being invasive but NZ is a new environment for it. As a precaution since you have a closed, island ecology, Richard, I'd net the entire lot and not let the birds get any fruit. And any fruit that you do get, I'd wild sow them, perhaps after a mild acid bath to mimic bird gut acid, and mark the spots well so that you can find them. If you get any kind of germination at all in the wild, I think caution and study is called for. I wouldn't automatically pull it out unless you were getting extremely high germination and survival rates. I think you also need to see how it interacts with plants in the wild. Also, in different soil types, especially disturbed soils since that seems to be where aggressive introduced species seem to thrive. Is there growth underneath or do they retard or suppress growth? A challenging study especially if you like the fruit.
Regards, Mike
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Post by MikeH on Sept 13, 2013 15:48:31 GMT -5
Looks like you're going to be needing some recipes soon. Hehehe
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Post by raymondo on Sept 18, 2013 16:38:22 GMT -5
Excellent. Will you be selecting for flavour this season or waiting a year or two?
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Post by MikeH on Sept 18, 2013 19:31:27 GMT -5
Yes i think so,i noticed today the bumblebees are really keen on the flowers so there's going to be no worries about pollination. I planted out 21 bushes in to three rows today,ive got them 2m apart and 3m between the rows,that spacing ok Mike?? Yep, that's plenty of spacing. They don't like grass competition - the grass roots are right in their root zone. We use a thick mulch to keep the grass and weeds down and to retain moisture.
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Post by MikeH on Oct 18, 2013 18:03:02 GMT -5
The first fruit is turning colour,not long now and i;ll be trying my first Haskaps,rather exciting. Don't be in too much of a rush. They may look ripe but they aren't until they are a bit soft. They're tart if you eat them too early.
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Post by MikeH on Oct 27, 2013 4:41:30 GMT -5
It's hard to tell from the picture but I don't think that's ripe yet. The ripe colour should be more blue than purple. If you squeeze it and it's soft, it's ripe. If it's not soft, it may or may not be ripe.
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Post by MikeH on Oct 27, 2013 14:53:59 GMT -5
Before the birds get it which means that some of what we pick is not completely ripe and thus tart. But that's not a problem for us since all of what we pick goes to jam, jelly, or juice.
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