Blueberry Look-A-Likes and Taste-A-Likes

If you love blueberries, but just can't grow them because of their acidity and other requirements, you might want to try juneberries.

Juneberries (Amelanchier spp.), also known as serviceberries and saskatoons, are one of the easiest berries you can ever plant and grow.

Unlike blueberries, they grow in any type of soil, so you can plant them just about anywhere as long as they get full sun.

Juneberries produce sweet berries that taste very similar to blueberries and can be eaten fresh right off the shrub, used in baked goods, cobblers, dried and stored, or made into jams and jellies.

Because they naturally contain quite a lot of pectin, you don't need much thickener when cooking them into jam. The Indians, who used them like blueberries, dried them and added them in stews and pemmican.

They have seeds like a blueberry, but they are softer and have a mild almond flavor. When they are cooked, the taste is so similar to blueberries they are hard to tell apart.

Another great aspect of these shrubs and small trees is that they are very disease resistant and not susceptible to any insects.

Juneberries are not only tasty, but they are very ornamental with showy white flowers in the spring and red leaves in the fall.

Depending upon what variety you plant, they can be grown as shrubs or small trees, and each plant will produce large quantities of fruit.

Here are two varieties that do very well:

1. Juneberry / Serviceberry - Regent Saskatoon
Amelanchier alnifolia 'Regent'

Regent Saskatoon Serviceberry, (Amelanchier alnifolia 'Regent'), is a multi-stemmed shrub that displays multitudes of white flowers in spring and produces small black-purple fruits that are sweet; excellent for fresh eating or making jelly. Birds love them too. Since it flowers early in spring, this plant provides food for many pollinating insects. The gray-green foliage turns yellow to red in fall and is attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds. Amelanchier 'Regent' is very winter hardy and has healthy foliage that is not bothered by insects or disease. It is drought tolerant but water regularly; do not over water.

Mature Height 4 - 6 feet (1.2 - 1.8 m)
Mature Spread 4 - 8 feet (1.2 - 2.4 m)
Soil Type Widely Adaptable
Moisture Widely Adaptable
Mature Form Mounding
Growth Rate Moderate
Sun Exposure Full Sun
Flower Color White
Fall Color Yellow to Red
Foliage Color Gray Green
Zones 2-7

2. Juneberry / Serviceberry - Shadblow
Amelanchier canadensis

Shadblow Serviceberry, (Amelanchier canadensis), is a large upright shrub that contains beautiful snowy white flowers in the spring before the foliage appears. The Shadblow produces sweet red-purple edible fruit that can be used in pies and jellies. This shrub spreads by sucker growth from the roots and the blue-green foliage turns yellow to red in the fall.

Mature Height 20 – 25 feet (6.0 - 7.6 m)
Mature Spread 10 – 15 feet (3.0 - 4.6 m)
Soil Type Widely Adaptable
Moisture Widely Adaptable
Mature Form Upright
Growth Rate Moderate
Sun Exposure Full Sun
Flower Color Snowy White
Fall Color Yellow to Red
Foliage Color Gray Green
Zones 4-8

Click Here: To purchase or get more information about Juneberries / Serviceberries

Other Helpful Articles:

How To Successfully Grow Wonderful Berries - Part 1

Successfully Grow Berries - Part 2

For more Gardening Tips and Gardening Advice visit our main gardening website at Weekend Gardener Monthly Web Magazine

Have great week!

Grow Melons In A Water Well

To grow the best, juiciest melons, one of the most important things you need to do is to make sure that they get enough water.

By growing them in a "water well" you will ensure that they will.

Here's what you do:

1. Make sure each "well" is 5 feet (1.5 m) apart.

2. Dig a hole that is at least 4 inches (10 cm) deep and 18 inches (45 cm) wide.

3. Fill each hole with compost or good rich, loamy soil.

4. Water the compost in thoroughly and let it sit for a day or two.

5. In each composted hole, plant 6 to 8 seeds.

6. When the seedlings begin to emerge, apply a surface mulch of compost and then thin the seedlings to 3 plants per hole.

The compost-rich hole that you have created is retaining moisture much better than regular garden soil and is providing the melon roots the moisture they require to produce juicy, delicious melons.

During hot, dry days, make sure you water the melons deeply when the compost begins to dry out, which could be every day, or every few days depending upon your area.

Either way, make sure the that the soil moisture remains high, which the composted "water well" will greatly help you do.

Other Articles of Interest:

Grow The Juiciest Melons Ever

The Wonders of Mulch
A Complete How To Use Mulch Guide

Mulching - How Much And How Deep?

For more Gardening Tips and Gardening Advice visit our main gardening website at Weekend Gardener Monthly Web Magazine

Have great week!

Persimmon Fruit Ideas and Uses

It's Thanksgiving next week and we always seem to use persimmons in the same old way - in puddding. So here are some new ways to use persimmons in your everday cooking.

1. Wash Fuyu persimmons, remove core and leaves, and slice or eat whole

2. Rinse Hachiya persimmons and slice in half. Remove seeds and spoon fruit out of skin

3. Add firm Fuyu persimmon slices to salads

4. Puree Hachiya persimmon flesh and add it to drinks, smoothies, or fresh fruit sauces. You can also use the puree to make cookies

5. Slice Fuyu and spread with lime juice, salt, and chili powder. Eat with a slice of low fat cheese

6. Mix cubed Fuyu with grapes, pomegranate seeds, cubed apple, and sliced kiwi for a colorful fall salad

7. Top hot or cold cereal with cubed pieces of bright orange Fuyu

8. Make salsa with a twist - add chopped Fuyu, onion, tomatillo, cilantro, and chili Serrano and mix together

9. Start your morning off right! Add chopped or blended Fuyu persimmons to your pancakes, waffles, and French toast

10. Have an instant persimmon sherbet! Simply cut off a piece of the pointed tip of the fruit, tightly wrap the fruit, and freeze for up to three months. Defrost the fruit in the refrigerator for about four hours, scoop the fruit, and enjoy!

Don't know the difference between the two varieties mentioned above? Here is a bit more information:

There are countless different varieties of persimmons, but these two are very popular and are distinguishable by their shape.

Hachiya:
This type of persimmon makes up approximately 90 percent of the available fruit. It is identifiable by its acorn like shape. This persimmon is tart until it becomes very soft and juicy.

Unripe Hachiya persimmons taste very bitter and will suck all the moisture from your mouth — not very pleasant. The tartness will go away as the fruit ripens.

Fuyu:
This persimmon is gaining popularity here as it is in Japan. Similar in color, but looking like a squashed tomato, this variety is smaller, sweeter, and is edible while still firm.