Unusual berries

[Gazeofslate]

Does any of you have a suggestion of cool, unusual berries that fruit in their first year or in a few months ?
I've been looking a Luther Burbank's wonderberries (looks just like s.nigrum but Luther was a fascinating man !), Jaltomatas and dwarf tamarillos. Any other idea ?

[pmcgrady]

Originally Posted by Gazeofslate

Does any of you have a suggestion of cool, unusual berries that fruit in their first year or in a few months ?
I've been looking a Luther Burbank's wonderberries (looks just like s.nigrum but Luther was a fascinating man !), Jaltomatas and dwarf tamarillos. Any other idea ?

How about Garden Huckleberry? I grew some last year they are very prolific, I still have jars of jelly from last year.

[NarnianGarden]

How about that orange version, orticoli? If you get them to germinate.. I tried twice, no avail... Wonderberry has germinated fine, however, and the berries were very tasty.

[NewWestGardener]

Wonderberries do not taste good at all to me, and they are invasive and self- seed well, unless that is a unique variety you mentioned there. I would not grow them myself.

[Gazeofslate]

I'm growing in containers so potentially invasive species would be a non-issue. As far as Garden Huckleberries are concerned, I've heard they were a bit bland compared to wonderberries.
Then again I've never grown or tasted either of these and reports on taste seem quite conflicting... Which is why I'm asking about berries in the first place ! I know these aren't going to be even close to blueberries for instance but I just have no patience for berries that grow on shrubs such as true huckleberries/gooseberries (Groseilles and Groseilles à maquereaux) or blueberries...

[pmcgrady]

Originally Posted by Gazeofslate

I'm growing in containers so potentially invasive species would be a non-issue. As far as Garden Huckleberries are concerned, I've heard they were a bit bland compared to wonderberries.
Then again I've never grown or tasted either of these and reports on taste seem quite conflicting... Which is why I'm asking about berries in the first place ! I know these aren't going to be even close to blueberries for instance but I just have no patience for berries that grow on shrubs such as true huckleberries/gooseberries (Groseilles and Groseilles à maquereaux) or blueberries...

Have to pick garden Huckleberries when they are ripe ( they turn from gloss purple to a flat purple/grey) they need to be cooked with lots of sugar.

[NarnianGarden]

Gazeofslate: If you get a couple of garden blueberry plants, don't they produce in their first year? It is possible to grow them in containers and get a good crop.

[Hunt-Grow-Cook]

Perhaps Pineberries?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pineberry

[Gazeofslate]

Originally Posted by Hunt-Grow-Cook

Perhaps Pineberries?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pineberry

Whoah what an interesting color ! I'm already growing some alpine strawberries in a container, I just repotted them because they're getting quite big. Haven't seen a single flower yet though.

The seeds took forever to sprout but the plant is looking healthy.

I'll probably try some garden huckleberry/wonderberry. Given they're solanaceaes/nightshades, I expect them to grow similarly to peppers or tomatoes. I tend to prefer solanaceaes, they're such interesting plants, lots of different edibles in this family. Well, you've got to be careful with ripeness and about which parts are edible because of alkaloids but they're also really pretty, they usually have nice flowers and interesting growing habits.

Anyways... Some nice suggestions. Did anyone of you grow Jaltomata in the past ? Any comment on growing habit/taste ?

The Morelle de Balbis looks like an interesting plant as well but I'm afraid it'd be too massive. And thorny. Looks like it's really a pretty plant though... The calyx makes me think of a physalis.

[luigiwu]

Honey Berries? Never grown them, always curious.

[Scooty]

Cool unusual berry? Probably cloudberry. Really hard to cultivate on any commercial scale much less get seeds to germinate.

[Gazeofslate]

Originally Posted by Scooty

Cool unusual berry? Probably cloudberry. Really hard to cultivate on any commercial scale much less get seeds to germinate.

Looks cool ! I wasn't aware that cloudberries were a thing. Seems like it's hard getting seeds for it though. And how do you know wether the plant is male or female ? I guess flowers are probably different looking... The fact that it's a perennial plant and frost hardy is pretty cool though.

[Elizabeth]

Fuchsias. Hardly anyone knows they are edible, but if you get the right kind they can be quite tasty. Any variety can be eaten, but some can be peppery. I have had some that tasted just like concord grapes. Some produce small berries, some are large like a blueberry. Unfortunately, I lost all of mine due to a landscape re-do and have had to start over so I don't have any good varieties to name for you. The way I started my collection was by going to my local nursery, seeing which ones had berries (they don't all set fruit), and tasting one. Any that tasted good I purchased.

[Elizabeth]

I found a fuchsia berry on one of my plants this morning. This is what they look like when ripe.

[Zeedman]

Ground cherries. A single plant will produce a lot of them, so it could be a good choice for containers.

But if it unusual that you want, try beetberries (a.k.a. strawberry spinach). Attractive & edible, but bland. The leaves are a vegetable too.