Group buy of haskap trees

[mr x]

thanks!!

[EBH]

looking at their site, it sounds like 2 cultivars would be needed - "berry smart blue" for pollination, and one of the other ones for the fruit.

If we can confirm this, I guess I'll go for 2 of each (pollinator & the fruity kind).

Because the USask haskap varieties have very, very similar genetics, a different variety is needed for good pollination - http://ediblebluehoneysuckle.wordpress. ... owing-ebh/. A ratio of one pollinator to 8 USask plants is recommended. BTW, you get fruit from the pollinator as well.

For more info, see http://ediblebluehoneysuckle.wordpress.com/

[mr x]

I don't see Borealis on the NS site. Isn't that the best type?

2012 order form

[akr71]

Because the USask haskap varieties have very, very similar genetics, a different variety is needed for good pollination - http://ediblebluehoneysuckle.wordpress. ... owing-ebh/. A ratio of one pollinator to 8 USask plants is recommended. BTW, you get fruit from the pollinator as well.

For more info, see http://ediblebluehoneysuckle.wordpress.com/

This site seems to suggest a ratio of 1:3

Hello,

The Haskap Growers' Association of Nova Scotia has a new website with lots of information on the Haskap, varieties of berry, how to grow it, recipes etc at http://www.haskapnovascotia.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Liam

Haskap requires cross-pollination between unrelated varieties blooming at the same time for fruit production. The ideal planting ratio when using the ‘Smart Berry Blue’ as the pollinator is 1:3. In a garden environment, mixing the varieties within the row is recommended, whereas in a commercial environment the rows themselves can be mixed.

I assume we're looking at a spring order now?

[EBH]

This site seems to suggest a ratio of 1:3

Hello,

The Haskap Growers' Association of Nova Scotia has a new website with lots of information on the Haskap, varieties of berry, how to grow it, recipes etc at http://www.haskapnovascotia.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Liam

Haskap requires cross-pollination between unrelated varieties blooming at the same time for fruit production. The ideal planting ratio when using the ‘Smart Berry Blue’ as the pollinator is 1:3. In a garden environment, mixing the varieties within the row is recommended, whereas in a commercial environment the rows themselves can be mixed.

That may be but the information I referenced comes from one of the plants licensed propagators. For a more detailed answer to the question, the plant breeder, Bob Bors of the University of Saskatchewan provides this.

[mr x]

Do either of you guys work with these berries?

[Jayme]

I've finally made a 2min spreadsheet for ordering the local Haskaps. Is there still interest in that I can post it. I think ultimately ordering from there is cheaper - price per plant is lower plus they wouldn't have to be shipped.

[mr x]

Yeah, post it. I'm still interested.

[Liam_Tayler]

Hi There,

Haskap Nova Scotia is closing its 2012 orders next week, there is no minimum order so if you are interested in planting, I would get in touch as soon as possible!

For more information check out http://www.haskapnovascotia.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Liam

[mr x]

I'm in for 10.

[akr71]

Put me down for 5 (2 tundra, 2 indigo gem, 1 smart berry blue)

[mr x]

I'm not sure how/if this worked out as a group buy, but I contacted Liam directly.

[mr x]

A note from the supplier:

As we mentioned in the last mailing, we have now received orders for 50000 plants for 2012 and we are looking forward to making Nova Scotia the Haskap capital of North America.

[Jimmy]

That's not 50000 in Nova Scotia is it?

[mr x]

yup

[mr x]

Maybe we should buy a field and start making haskap beers - sours/wheat/stout .

Producer expects explosive growth

BRIDGEWATER — When LaHave Forests sent samples of its Lunenburg County haskap berry juice to some major manufacturers in the United States and Canada, the response was immediate and enthusiastic.

"They wanted 30,000 litres of it yesterday to do testing," said company spokesman Liam Tayler. "They’re clamouring for it."

Unfortunately, LaHave Forests doesn’t have enough berries at the moment, though that will change early this summer when the plants bear their third and most bountiful crop of berries to date.

"We haven’t got much supply but we’ve got huge demand," said managing director Logie Cassells. That’s why the company is rolling out the haskap berry in a systematic way, starting with markets in its own backyard.

"I think it’s nearly impossible to drive this new industry without letting Nova Scotians taste the berries or the juice," Cassells said.

So, in keeping with the company’s philosophy of sustainable production, it is gradually rolling out haskap berry products through local companies.

LaHave Forests is working with Lunenburg cranberry farm Terra Beata to produce dried berries and juice. The company plans to bring a small run of 4,000 bottles of juice on the market late this summer and do a test run through organic, locally sourced eateries such as the Wooden Monkey in Halifax and Pete’s Frootique markets.

LaHave Forests is also working with Elmwood Winery, run by a retired Lunenburg County pathologist, to produce its first batch of haskap wine.

"He’s a very good winemaker," Cassells said of Bruce Wright.

The wine will be combined with locally grown grapes to make a blend. Next year’s batch will likely be pure haskap berry wine.

This is all part of an effort to make Nova Scotia the haskap berry capital of the world.

"All our strategy is if we give berries, juice or whatever to creative people in Nova Scotia, they’ll come up with fantastic things," Cassells said.

The company has put two dozen plants in the ground at Pete Luckett’s Gaspereau Valley winery. Tangled Garden in Grand Pre created a blueberry-haskap liqueur last year and is making a pure haskap berry liqueur this year, as well as jellies and sauces. The Wooden Monkey developed a chili chutney, and the berries are on the menu at Chives in Halifax as well as at the Italian Market, which created a haskap berry cheesecake.

"The potential here is huge," said Tayler.

Juice manufacturers can’t wait to start blending and test-marketing a juice made from berries with three time the antioxidant levels of blueberries and higher levels of vitamin C than oranges or grapefruits.

The berries are made even more appealing because they’re grown without the use of chemicals or fertilizers on a biodynamic farm in which the soil is built up naturally, with a balance of minerals and nutrients designed to make for healthy, disease-resistant plants.

Japan is the main market for haskap berries, where they’re considered an ingredient of eternal youth, and sell for $30 per 500 grams.

It will be two years next month since LaHave Forests initiated the business through its farm in Northfield, just outside Bridgewater. It now has 20,000 plants in the ground, has sold 60,000 to be planted this spring, and expects to sell another 30,000 for fall planting.

Indeed, the phone rings as Cassells speaks with a reporter. A landowner in Antigonish County wants to plant four hectares of haskap berries. Cassells agrees to meet with him, essentially to screen him and see if he’ll accept LaHave Forests’ terms for sustainable growth.

LaHave Forests is also working with a breeding program at the University of Saskatchewan to introduce 4,000 seedlings of a new variety that will be more in tune to local weather. The Nova Scotia variety would be planted in 2014 and bear fruit from mid-July into August, about a month later than current crops, which would mean a longer season.

With so many people interested in the burgeoning haskap berry industry, LaHave Forests has applied to establish a community economic development investment fund — a share offering in which people from the community can invest in a local business by buying into a haskap orchard and get a 35 per cent tax break.

Just Us Coffee is such a fund, as are alternative energy companies such as Colchester-Cumberland Windfield and Northumberland Wind Field Inc.

In this case, investors would own the orchard and the plants, but LaHave Forests would manage it. Cassells hopes the offering will be issued this fall.

The fund would create capital, but Cassells said the main reason for starting it is that he’s constantly getting inquiries from small investors who would like to buy into the opportunity but either can’t afford or can’t look after an acreage.

The company’s goal is to have 202 hectares planted in Nova Scotia by 2016 — most of it owned by LaHave Forests, some of it managed by the company on behalf of the owners, and the rest owned by commercial growers. Cassells said they would all belong to a co-operative that shares costs and information.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia ... y-products" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[homebrewcrew]

If anyone has another group buy on these trees again let me know.

[mr x]

You could send Liam a message. I just wound up buying mine from him on my own.

[mr x]

Now up to almost 80,000 sold.

http://www.lahaveforests.com/lahave-blo ... -here.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[homebrewcrew]

What kind of plants have people been buying. Thinking I will get a mixed batch of trees?

[mr x]

I got some borealis I think. But the pollinators were a different strain (by necessity).

[mr x]

Off to get my plants today! Haskap beers are coming. I guarantee, somebody will be all over this.

[CorneliusAlphonse]

damn, i had forgotten i passed on this one. next year....

[Jayme]

Got mine today as well - I got 5 total, 3 different types. They had Haskap ice cream as well, very delicious. Robert, did you get a jar of honey before you left?
The plants I got were pretty scraggly looking but hopefully they spring to life when I put the in the ground later tonight. It's kind of crazy that the harvest season is so early - they had already picked all the berries at the farm about a week ago I believe.

[mr x]

They were out of honey when i went back.

The ice cream was awesome. The best berry ice cream I've had. From dee dee's for those interested.

My plants weren't rugged looking, but what was there was healthy.