Last winter while sitting in my jammies wearing my sheepie slippers, I paged through the stack of seed catalogs.
I came upon Garden Huckleberries (Solanum nigrum).
What? I didn’t have to order a bush or bare roots?
It was described as being an annual that would yield fruit in it’s first season…..duh, it’s only season! So I ordered them.
I didn’t know what to expect, so I sowed them directly in the garden while planting my late spring seeds. And sure enough, up they sprouted. I wasn’t sure if they would be vigorous seed or spotty. They proved to be vigorous and from there it was still guess work. I thinned them about 6″ apart and since I only had a tiny spot for them, I ended up with just 3 mature plants.
They grew to about 4 ft and bushed out nicely. Into the summer I still had my doubts.
But come late summer, sure enough berries were ripening into a deep dark purple.
Photo Credit: used with permission from Providence Acres
Then I came upon another blogger who posted on Garden Huckleberries! Since then Providence Acres and I have swapped howdies and done a little trading!
I was thrilled. Because I really had no clue what to do with these berries or when to pick them. Providence Acres gave me enough info that I was set.
I only harvested 1 Qt since my 3 little plants were not pampered and encouraged with our difficult month of September. But I’m happy with my 1 little Qt.
I cooked them with sugar (you can use any kind of sweetener) as I would to make a jam and added 1 Tbsp of Lemon Juice. I brought them to a boil and stopped short of jam stage. It thickened up quite a bit and I made turnovers just as Providence Acres did. YUM!
They were a hit! The flavor is nothing like a blueberry. They have a completely different and distinctive taste all their own that is enhanced with cooking!!! The flavor is delicious and Honey, loved these little wonders! He loves anything with sugar! But these were a small package with a huge return!
I just washed off my seeds for next year. They are tiny little things that pack a wonderful punch.
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Thanks for that tip Milton.
Check out Samuel Thayer’s “Nature’s Garden” for a really in depth chapter on the Garden Huckleberry.
Does your wild nigtshade have purple or red berries? We have both types. Anyway, I would love to try them…thank you.:)
Mike, we too have wild nightshade, but it is NOT edible. This variety of garden huckleberry are an edible variety. Don’t you worry….it’s coming your way! Providence Acres (Canada) started hers indoors early and had fruit much sooner than I did with direct sowing. I would think your climate is closer to hers. I’ll get them off to you soon!
I think these are growing wild in our garden but we have been afraid to try them…I will have to do little more research on them. You sure make them look tasty.:)
Yes, very purple!
Wow, amazing colour.