Honey Bee Haskap Harvest 2017-07-16

Planted in 2012 this 5 year old Honey Bee yielded 9 lbs of berries at The Honeyberry Farm in northern Minnesota. Honey Bee blossoms early in zone 3, later in warmer zones, and requires more time to ripen than other early varieties. It holds its berries well until they are ripe. More information at www.honeyberryusa.com.

[@FarmhouseTeas]

What an interesting way to harvest them!!

[@AdmiralBirdy]

My aunt she would use a bed sheet to collect fruit on when she was harvesting. That was before sheet plastic was available.

[@dieterditrich7520]

Nice harvest. Have 5 varieties from University of Saskatchewan come this spring, very tasty berries, but they are all Haskap, no Honeyberries.

[@plips71755]

Well dummy me...and don’t I feel foolish! I got so caught up in your videos- and wanting to be helpful for those who might be unfamiliar with them, etc . Anyway - I didn’t see you are the Honeyberry USA I was giving a plug to in my comment below.....hey, this is what happens when you starting approaching 70. Can’t believe that’s just a couple years. Where did the time all go! But to anyone seeing the below....Honey Berry USA has a lot more than 8 varieties...a lot more! The 8 was just the early and mid/season ones. Then they have the late seasons, the pure Japanese, and the Russian/Japanese ones. I didn’t see where they had any of the Polish, nor the Berries Unlimited varieties that Agri-Forest Biotech has ....but they have plenty if just buying retail. I got confused on HoneyBerry USA and was only looking at the “early-mid season ones. I needed to click on the others or have to keep scrolling - I thought it was just more info on the first ones listed. A suggestion would be to have a general info page listing all the varieties offered with general Honey Berry information. Then have a “click here” etc to go to each type - Early, Mid, Late, Japanese, Russian, etc. where you find all the great details, pictures, prices, etc. Hate to say it, but all that scrolling back and forth gets confusing. Plus I didn’t even see the equipment until the 3rd look-see - just too far down the page. And they have a “wholesale” offer too...check their site out. Don’t miss their other types of berries, along with fresh berries and jelly! It’s worth the visit. I’m sure there are other sites selling but this certainly gets you started whether you want to buy a couple or 100. PS - Agri Forest Bio-Technologies Inc says it sells rose liners, nut and shade trees, other berries along with the large number of honey berry varieties. I found them looking for tissue cultured (virus free) clean own root rose liners.. Make sure you go to their menu to read the overview page or click the link www.agriforestbiotech.com/products/haskaps-honeyberries/. I hadn’t realized that the honey berries require around 1,000 to 1,200 chilling hours per season. I’m in Virginia Zone 7 and zone 6 may be the limit for the USA. AgriForest describes on their map the Goldilocks zones as 6 and above. But it seems growing these berries in the lower (most of the upper too) USA is pretty new - I haven’t ever seen them in the store or a farmer’s market either. So unless you live in Canada or the very upper US, most people have never seen them. My worry is here our weather may get too hot and humid. Last year (2018) we had a very wet year - some counties recorded 65-97” - we got 64” rainfall here Richmond. Our highest statewide rainfall per 24 hours was 9”. Our highest statewide snowfall in 24 hours was 24”. In 2017 - our highest annual rainfall total was 58”. But wind and heat is an issue too..already this year (2019) we have been over 100 with a heat index over 110 just in the last few days. Never in my life have I been trying to figure out how to get a temporary cover over the tomatoes. In 2 days, their leaves curled so badly but the soil was moist. They just couldn’t take the real 100F, with the index at 110F, with humidity between 35-45% and hot wind. Normally we have 90-95 F (a week or two of the 95-100 some years) with humidity at 75-85%. This year we have been much lower humidity, a big difference for Richmond-that most visitors in the summer call - the armpit capital. I grow orchids and they are outside in the summer and are usually very happy. Not so this year..it is just too dry and too hot at least here anyway. I may still try a couple and see how they do.

[@honeyberryusa]

Thanks for your input. Yes, a revamp of some pages on our site www.honeyberryusa.com is in order during our down season. Plus we keep learning as the bushes mature.

[@roccoconte2960]

Looks like a pain in the ass.