I really enjoy Joan J. I think I like it as much as Nova. It’s better than Prelude and Polka in my opinion. Prelude is a bit acidic, and would probably be better for preserves. I still eat Prelude fresh or grind them into smoothies to avoid added sugars. Joan J also has the advantage of being my earliest raspberry. It’s marketed as a fall bearing raspberry but produces an abundant floricane crop too.
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I have been sampling a few Prelude berries the last couple days. Trying to get a few before the birds discover them. Like Andrew says, they’re a bit tart, but not sweet, but I haven’t picked any at full ripeness. @PharmerDrewee do you get any fall berries of your Prelude primocanes?
My rasp canes are growing like crazy, some are now almost 4ft tall now. So, next year’s crop ought to be an even better one.
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thats good to know. i have polka also but i find it too sweet for my taste. autumn britten is my fav but isn’t a heavy producer. early is good as our frosts start killing vegetation in mid sept. here.
Joan J starts ripening a week ahead of Prelude’s floricane crop at my location (end of May or beginning of June for me). It starts ripening a 2nd, more abundant crop at the beginning of August and continues on until a hard freeze. The 2nd crop is more abundant for me because it can drag on for up to 3 months. The only issue I have is SWD can get the 2nd crop here.
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My mixture of strawberries with a few honeyberries sprinkled in. That is about the ratio, hoping to get more honeyberries in the coming years.
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put in 2 honeybee haskaps to bring my total to 6. indigo gem / treat, 2 aurora and 2 honeybee. the one honeybee i got from HBUSA bloomed already and has a doz berries on it so ill get to taste them this summer. came as a good sized 18in. plant that took right off. the other from jung was a tiny thing put has put on a lot of new growth as well.
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Most of these White D strawberries never last long enough to take a picture. They turn more pink when exposed to sunlight. Very sweet yet tangy!
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my pineberries should give me a crop this summer. i also grow several white alpines strawberries and they are very good. almost pineapple like flavor and the birds leave them alone.
It’s still early here. But it’s looking to be a decent year
I’m getting about a cup a day of strawberries. It will increase.
Indigo treat honeyberries have been harvested but Aurora are still half green. I’ll start harvesting when they start falling. Maybe a few weeks. Some will never fall.
The birds are pissed at me. they want some, they get none!
I had to cover my blueberries too as it’s getting close. Eight blueberry plants are under this net. A bunch of strawberries and currants. One net over 6 PVC frames. 30x30 net.
The black raspberries look great. Here is a new unnamed cultivar under evaluation still.
White D in pots have ripened but in ground they are a couple weeks behind.
Raspberries look decent too. A good year despite some set backs. What’s great is I know what I did wrong, and will correct in future years.
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Honeybee honeyberry harvest, my first time having enough to make jam with. This bush is four feet tall and approx 3 yrs old.
The jam is fabulous! Tastes like blueberry but fruitier if that makes any sense.
Haskaps are full of pectin so the recipe couldn’t be simpler: equal parts berries to sugar, and a little water. Bring to boil until it thickens a bit. Let set. Done.
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Those look like the super small but fragrant flavor explosion type strawberries
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Can you show your growing bed/space? I’m wondering about the size of the bed and #plants for a decent harvest of MdB
Tippy, need any help eating them?
@californicus,
Don’t laugh. I made a raise bed and planted all 8-10 MdB plants in the fall of 2018, a gift from @galinas.
Last year, it produced fruit for the first time but small berries. Right or wrong, I also planted garlic right in the middle of the bed last fall.
The bed has other strawberries in it, too.
@aap, that first batch went to my wonderful mother-in-law.
How about strawberries trade with Rojo Brillante? It is a fair trade if you ask me 
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