When I saw some birds attempting to steal our berries, I sprang into action and collected all the ripe berries from our nine Saskatoon bushes. This type of berry is relatively easy to pick. A gentle tug releases the ripe ones, but leaves the others behind. Also, the color stands out well against the foliage of the bush. In a short time, I completed the task.
“Saskatoon” is the locally-favored name for the bush which is also called “Juneberry” or “Serviceberry.” It grows wild in the Fairbanks area, but we have two of the domestic versions that give a better yield. We chose it because it is one of the few fruiting plants that survives the -40F winter temperatures without damage.
Our Saskatoon bushes made a great improvement in yield this season. In the past, we have only gotten enough to provide us with a taste of them and renew our hope for more in the future. The main reason for their slow maturation is, undoubtedly, the soil in which the bushes were planted. These bushes line the edge of our yard where the soil is composed mostly of fill dirt. We have added compost to improve the growing conditions, but our efforts have been neither significant nor consistent. Last year, we had a handful of berries and thought that the bushes might finally be approaching maturity. That optimism now appears to have been warranted.
The berries weighed out to 1.5 pounds and occupied 4 cups in volume. In the adjacent image, there is a size comparison for the benefit of those in areas without these berries. The berries shown here are of average-size. It would probably require only 5 of the biggest berries to fill the same area.
Taste-wise, Sakatoons could be described as a watery blueberry with a hint of pear. In appearance, they resemble a domestic blueberry. They are more spherical and have a similar color, but don’t have the lighter-colored bloom that rubs away. Their juice stains my fingers equally well.
Conveniently, 4 cups of berries is about the volume necessary to make one batch of jelly or jam with our standard recipe. So, we will soon get our first clues about how to best use this type of berry.
Please cross your fingers for us!
