Anyone Have Any Odd Fruits?

[Shellyann36]

I am thinking of ordering some Goji berries, Elderberries and Honeyberry vines/bushes for our yard. The Elderberries have many medicinal purposes and the honeyberry and goji berries are packed with Vitamin C and other nutrients. I was wondering if anyone else has these plants and what is your take on them?

How do you use the berries. What do they taste like? Are the plants eye pleasing?

Any info is appreciated.

Also please feel free to share what other odd fruits you may have in your garden!

 

[firelily99]

I don't grow any fruit other than a few blueberries. Generally I just eat any berries that I grow or buy, I occasionally will freeze some but at this time of year its not really necessary.

 

[Rosyrain]

Are Elderberries similar to blackberries? It seems as though my parents pick them wild and make pies with them...if I remember correctly.

We have crab apples, but there is not much you can do with those except make a chutney or eat them as is if you want a really sour treat!

 

[gata montes]

All the berry plants that you mention Shellyann are attractive and very pleasing to the eye - in fact so much so that they are often used as ornamentals as well as edible landscaping but if I had to choose between the three - then I would have to say that the Goji Berry is the one that I find the most attractive of them all.

As for what kind of odd fruits I have in my garden - thats a difficult one for me to answer - as apart from many of the berrying plants - I grow just about every other type of fruit imaginable and what I may think is normal - is possibly not to other people - so apart from the regular varieties of strawberries, apricots, peaches, plums, cherries, apples, pears, melons, grapes, figs and every type of citrus available - the only fruits that I can think of that may be a little more unusual and out of the ordinary are

Pomegranate
Loquat
Morello Cherries
Persimmon
Yellow Strawberries
Membrillo - which I think is called Quince in English
Medlar
Yellow Watermelon - some of which I hope will be square shaped
Several varieties of Red Pear
and
Paraguayan Peach - which I think some people know as a " Doughnut Peach "

 

[Trellum]

Good luck with those, Shelly Ann. For some reason I'm having a hard time believing I could grow something like that with this climate. I find the honeyberries the most attractive, as well as the goji because of their red color. Btw, Goji berries over here are very expensive! They make all sorts of supplements with it over here.

 

[Shellyann36]

I don't grow any fruit other than a few blueberries. Generally I just eat any berries that I grow or buy, I occasionally will freeze some but at this time of year its not really necessary.

I love blueberries. They are very good. You are lucky to have your own bushes.

Are Elderberries similar to blackberries? It seems as though my parents pick them wild and make pies with them...if I remember correctly.

We have crab apples, but there is not much you can do with those except make a chutney or eat them as is if you want a really sour treat!

Elderberries are small round berries that grow on a large bush. I have no idea how they taste though.
My mama always made crabapple jelly from the trees we had.

All the berry plants that you mention Shellyann are attractive and very pleasing to the eye - in fact so much so that they are often used as ornamentals as well as edible landscaping but if I had to choose between the three - then I would have to say that the Goji Berry is the one that I find the most attractive of them all.

As for what kind of odd fruits I have in my garden - thats a difficult one for me to answer - as apart from many of the berrying plants - I grow just about every other type of fruit imaginable and what I may think is normal - is possibly not to other people - so apart from the regular varieties of strawberries, apricots, peaches, plums, cherries, apples, pears, melons, grapes, figs and every type of citrus available - the only fruits that I can think of that may be a little more unusual and out of the ordinary are

Pomegranate
Loquat
Morello Cherries
Persimmon
Yellow Strawberries
Membrillo - which I think is called Quince in English
Medlar
Yellow Watermelon - some of which I hope will be square shaped
Several varieties of Red Pear
and
Paraguayan Peach - which I think some people know as a " Doughnut Peach "

Ahh it sounds as if you have the kind of fruit/berry oasis that I want to have! Hubby wants a pomegranate tree. His grandma had 3 and they loved eating them. I want almost every berry vine/cane fruit tree and nut tree that is sold on the market but I cannot afford all of them. We are trying to build one step at a time.

Good luck with those, Shelly Ann. For some reason I'm having a hard time believing I could grow something like that with this climate. I find the honeyberries the most attractive, as well as the goji because of their red color. Btw, Goji berries over here are very expensive! They make all sorts of supplements with it over here.

Trellum I have noticed that there are lots of Goji berry supplements and juices on the market. I see them on sale once in a while. When the Spring time rolls around again I am going to order me a pair.

 

[gata montes]

Ahh it sounds as if you have the kind of fruit/berry oasis that I want to have! Hubby wants a pomegranate tree. His grandma had 3 and they loved eating them. I want almost every berry vine/cane fruit tree and nut tree that is sold on the market but I cannot afford all of them. We are trying to build one step at a time.

Oh I so hope that you too manage to get your very own fruit paradise - as although achieving it can take some considerable time and does entail a fair amount of work to maintain it - the rewards far outweigh the effort.

As you mentioned that your Hubby wants a pomegranate tree - I thought that I would just mention that if you are planning to grow one for its fruit - they can be a real pain - as they tend to attract every variety of insect known to man and need constant attention in order to protect the fruits and keep them bug free and although pomegranates are a very common site in peoples gardens where I live - they are not generally grown for their fruit - but used as a way of keeping unwanted pests off the more useful varieties of fruit and vegetables

 

[Trellum]

I love blueberries. They are very good. You are lucky to have your own bushes.



Elderberries are small round berries that grow on a large bush. I have no idea how they taste though.
My mama always made crabapple jelly from the trees we had.



Ahh it sounds as if you have the kind of fruit/berry oasis that I want to have! Hubby wants a pomegranate tree. His grandma had 3 and they loved eating them. I want almost every berry vine/cane fruit tree and nut tree that is sold on the market but I cannot afford all of them. We are trying to build one step at a time.



Trellum I have noticed that there are lots of Goji berry supplements and juices on the market. I see them on sale once in a while. When the Spring time rolls around again I am going to order me a pair.

Same here, Shelly. thought goji berries were very hard to grow over here (for some odd reason, since they make those berries sound super exotic). I have tried the Goji berry juice, but I guess I needed to drink it for a bit longer before being able to tell if I felt a difference or not. That juice was tasty tho

 

[Shellyann36]

Oh I so hope that you too manage to get your very own fruit paradise - as although achieving it can take some considerable time and does entail a fair amount of work to maintain it - the rewards far outweigh the effort.

As you mentioned that your Hubby wants a pomegranate tree - I thought that I would just mention that if you are planning to grow one for its fruit - they can be a real pain - as they tend to attract every variety of insect known to man and need constant attention in order to protect the fruits and keep them bug free and although pomegranates are a very common site in peoples gardens where I live - they are not generally grown for their fruit - but used as a way of keeping unwanted pests off the more useful varieties of fruit and vegetables

I did not know this about pomegranate's. I wonder if hubby does? I will research this more. Thank you very much for letting me know.

Same here, Shelly. thought goji berries were very hard to grow over here (for some odd reason, since they make those berries sound super exotic). I have tried the Goji berry juice, but I guess I needed to drink it for a bit longer before being able to tell if I felt a difference or not. That juice was tasty tho

I have never tried the juice but it is advertised so much. Let me know how it all turns out!

 

[MindyT]

I don't think I have the climate to grow all those yummy fruits. My spring season can be rainy. My summers are hot, hot and humid. My winters are freezing. There would not be enough time to grow all of them. I wish!

 

[Shellyann36]

I don't think I have the climate to grow all those yummy fruits. My spring season can be rainy. My summers are hot, hot and humid. My winters are freezing. There would not be enough time to grow all of them. I wish!

Hubby is bound and determined to build us a green house this year. I really wish he would get it done already. I live in the SE United States and normally we have a hot summer a fairly mild winter and a nice spring. Last winter was a doozy though and it got super cold. Our summers are normally very hot and humid. I think I could grow quite a few things if I had the money and patience.

 

[MindyT]

Shellyann36, I live in Indiana. So, we get all the seasons. I live very close to the Indiana-Kentucky border so I kinda live in a valley. The seasons are drastic and so are the allergies!

 

[Shellyann36]

Shellyann36, I live in Indiana. So, we get all the seasons. I live very close to the Indiana-Kentucky border so I kinda live in a valley. The seasons are drastic and so are the allergies!

Yes we get all of the seasons too but it sounds as if you have little micro climates in that valley! I do not envy you the allergies. We have enough of those around here.

 

[Geegee]

We have a kumquat tree that we just put in this year. It only produced a few fruits, but my neighbor has a huge, old tree, and it produces profusely, pretty much all year long. We're in SoCal, though, so no freezes. Kumquats are an odd, but delicious, fruit. My neighbor told me you have to twist them in your fingers before eating, until you feel an "oily" feeling, and this brings out the sweetness. So when you first bite in, it's crazy sour, and then the sweet kicks in too, for a very sweet-sour combo. I can only eat about 6 at a time though.