Saskatoon Berry Institute

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Wildlife Damage Survey

Looking for commercial crop growers with experience in wildlife crop damage. This online survey will help develop a picture of where and how Read More...
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What is on these leaves?

POSTED IN For Growers, For Members ON 5/28/2013

Brad Reddekopp, of Hazelton BC, sent the picture shown below, reporting:

Subject: White fuzzy growths on Saskatoon leaves

This has to do with wild Saskatoon berry bushes in north-west British Columbia. This year, I’ve noticed some strange, fuzzy white growths on the leaves and I’m wondering what they are.

Discussion ensued on Facebook before his submission to the Institute, suggesting spider mites or larval cocoons.

Our resident specialist, Erwin “Duke” Elsner, Small Fruit Educator with Michigan State University Extension, responded with:

Hi Brad,

I can’t tell for sure what you are seeing on the Saskatoon leaves, especially since I am only familiar with what infests them in Michigan, but…

Based on many years of investigating leaf deformities on many types of plants, I suspect the causal organism to be a small gall midge or gall wasp.  My hunch is a gall midge, because the growths look to have a natural opening which will later allow the insects to escape from the gall (gall wasps can chew their way out of galls, so they usually do not have a pre-made escape route).

These sorts of insects are often just curiosities, often having no significance to the growth of the plant.

–Duke Elsner

If anyone else has a good idea what this is, please let us all know.

Thank you for asking Brad. We do support wild varieties too.

Screen Shot 2013-05-28 at 10.21.43 AM

We Are Starting To See Saskatoon Berry Formation!

POSTED IN For Consumers, For Growers, For Members ON 5/28/2013

photoJacque’s Orchard is seeing berries start to develop!

 

Edible berries are still probably a couple of weeks away, but we will try to keep you posted.

Making Saskatoon Berry Crisp

POSTED IN For Consumers, For Growers ON 5/24/2013

Leah West shows us how to make saskatoon berry crisp.

Fresh berries are only a few weeks away!

Pork Tenderloin with Saskatoon Sauce

POSTED IN For Consumers ON 5/18/2013

Today was primarily dedicated to school fundraisers, so we were challenged with dinner prep. This morning we started thawing a frozen pork tenderloin with lemon/garlic marinade. This evening we made up a quick saskatoon berry sauce, and then steamed green bean almondine. What a simple way to enjoy an awesome dinner! Notice how well the saskatoons held their shape…

Pork Tenderloin

The recipe for the saskatoon sauce, from Kelly Rossiter, and based on one pound of pork tenderloin, is as follows:

1 Cup saskatoon berries
1/4 C red wine (we used a local cabernet sauvignon)
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp corn starch (optional)

In a small pot place the berries, sugar, 1/4 cup red wine and lemon juice and heat until boiling. Lower heat and let cook for 15 minutes or so, until berries are tender. If you are using corn starch, mix the starch with a bit of water and pour into the berry mixture, stirring constantly. Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring. If the consistency is too thick, you can add a bit of water.

Thanks Kelly!

Field of Flowering Saskatoons

POSTED IN For Consumers, For Growers ON 5/17/2013

Rows of flowering saskatoons smaller

This field, at Saskatoon Michigan Farm and Nursery (Williamsburg, MI), was in full flower yesterday. It is beautiful to see, and makes ones mouth water in anticipation of the berries to follow in about a month.

Saskatoon Berry Butter Tarts Recipe

POSTED IN For Consumers ON 5/16/2013

Screen Shot 2013-05-16 at 1.12.11 PM

 

Ingredients
Fresh or frozen Saskatoon berries
Pie pastry or store bought tart shells
1/2 cup melted butter
1/4 packed brown sugar
1 pinch salt
1 cup corn syrup
2 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla

Tart Shells
Prepare muffin pans by rolling out pie dough and cutting circles slightly larger than the muffing cups. Fit dough circles into muffin cups; set aside in fridge until ready to fill. If using store bought tart shells, place shells into the muffin tins

Butter Mixture
In a small bowl, mix the melted butter, brown sugar, salt and corn syrup. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.

Assemble
Place a few Saskatoon berries in each tart shell. Pour the butter mixture into all tarts. Make sure that you only fill mixture about 3/4 full otherwise filling will overflow when baking.

It’s time to be preparing soil for this year’s crop!

POSTED IN For Growers ON 5/8/2013

If you need information on pest and disease management, contact us soon.

May 2013 Meeting

POSTED IN For Members ON 5/8/2013

This is a reminder for members that we will meet on Thursday, May 9th at Noon. We will enjoy lunch together and discuss new developments with promotion and plant maintenance.

The Saskatoons Are Here!

POSTED IN For Consumers, For Growers ON 5/8/2013

Here is an article by Neil Moran, published May 1st, regarding the growing interest in saskatoon plants: The Saskatoons Are Here!

I am sorry to report that this article is not referring to the fruit. As of today, it’s still too early. Check in with us again come mid-late June to see who has berries ready to pick and/or purchase.

Saskatoons: A small fruit with big ambitions

POSTED IN For Consumers, For Growers ON 5/8/2013

Check out Duke Elsner’s April 4 article about growing saskatoons at:Saskatoons: A small fruit with big ambitions

 

Wildlife Damage Survey

POSTED IN Uncategorized ON 9/13/2019

Looking for commercial crop growers with experience in wildlife crop damage.

This online survey will help develop a picture of where and how the damage is occurring, and seek to find ways to reduce and/or prevent damage in future years.

You can read more at: https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/msu-seeks-farmer-input-on-wildlife-damage-to-crops

And you can take the survey at: https://msu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bxRIhLjhPa5EkuN

The PM who Promoted Saskatoon Berries

POSTED IN Uncategorized ON 7/24/2019

This Institute is not a political organization. As a group we do not promote any party or candidate.

Now that one campaign is over, we thought you might like to know that the newly sworn in Prime Minister of Great Britain played a key role in the future of saskatoons in the previous decade.  You can learn more here: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/saskatoon-berries-boris-johnson-1.5222637

Saska-whats?

POSTED IN Uncategorized ON 7/17/2019

The attached news story, from Elk Rapids News, is about  saskatoons, and then about two of the founding members of the Institute, and how they continue to introduce people to this wonderful tasting superfruit.

This is the time to get out there and pick some.  In a few weeks the worldwide fresh saskatoon supply will be exhausted.  

Take the family!  Take your friends! Join the adventure!

Saska-whats?

 

Stone Fruit IPM for Beginners

POSTED IN Uncategorized ON 6/29/2019

Have you developed a Integrate Pest Management program for your orchard?

If not, this resource is likely to be helpful in thinking through the various considerations: https://www.canr.msu.edu/ipm/agriculture/fruit/stone-fruit-ipm-for-beginners

Many saskatoon growers also grow a variety of other fruits and vegetables, and attempt to juggle the common challenges, as well as the unique challenges of each crop. In this environment, understanding which pests will spread from their ‘preferred’ diet to other crops, and which new arrivals will threaten which crops, can be quite complex.

While many call the fruit ‘saskatoon berries’, saskatoons are actually a pome fruit, like apples and pears. Stone fruits includes single pit fruit, such as peaches, plums, cherries, mangoes and almonds. Even with this difference, pome fruit and stone fruit have some common pests.

This referenced document is not a complete manual on how to handles pests, but whether you are new to this approach, or are still willing to learn more, a review of the document is likely to provide some seeds for further thought.

Bird Damage Management

POSTED IN Uncategorized ON 6/29/2019

Here are a couple of recommendations from saskatoon growers to help reduce bird damage to otherwise harvestable saskatoon crops:

  1. Netting: After  few years of significant bird loss, Jacques Orchards did a trial plot of bird netting last year. They were so pleased that they covered the orchard this year (adding the lesson learned about making sure that the netting touched the ground all the way around). This year things are looking very good. The photo below shows what they netting looks like.  It can be removed for partial harvest, and then the bushes can be covered again until later in the season.
Net Over Saskatoon Bushes

2. Helpful Birds: Encouraging Kingbirds can be a great option.  Kingbirds eat insects, but not much fruit, and they are scrappy, so often scare off other birds, including flocking birds, that want your saskatoons as their entree, over and over again.

There are 2 identified types of Kingbirds: western and eastern.

Learn more about Kingbirds at: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Western_Kingbird/overview

Kestrel Hawks are another option: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Kestrel

By providing an appropriate habitat, you may be able to entice these preferred neighbors.

Industry Survey Deadline Quickly Approaches

POSTED IN For Consumers, For Growers, For Members ON 6/6/2019

The Saskatoon Berry Institute of North America is reaching out to nearly 300 farms that grow saskatoons for sale. These farms are located throughout Canada and the United States. With the results of this survey the Institute expects to identify: 1) industry wide production expectations for 2019, 2) existing distribution options for harvested saskatoons, 3) issues that most challenge growers, and 4) changes regarding industry players and production since our last survey in 2015. The outcome will be a report entitled The State of the Saskatoon Berry Industry, 2019. 

Each grower that completes and submits their survey will receive a copy of the complied report.

The deadline for farms to participate in the Saskatoon Growers Survey is Saturday, June 8, 2019.

2019 is shaping up to be a bumper crop for saskatoons. We have not yet received any reports of crop loss due to weather or other naturally occurring conditions.

If you are a grower, and have not yet received the survey, please click on Contact Us and request a copy of the survey. Please be sure to include your e-mail address in your communication.

If you are a consumer, and hope to acquire some saskatoons of your own later this summer, please click on Calendar to find a listing, by date, of availability in your area. Please note that many of our Institute members will not post their status until about 2 weeks before their fruit is ripe, so you may need to check in every week or two until your region has ripening fruit. Ripening dates vary by geographic region, so it would be unusual to see all growers posted on the same dates. Generally fruit is available in more southern areas as soon as early July, and in more northerly climates as late as mid-August.

 

About Saskatoons (also called Juneberries or Pacific serviceberries in some locations): Saskatoons (sometimes with the addition of the word berries) are a fruit that comes from Amelanchier alnifolia plants. While some suggest that saskatoons look like blueberries, they are actually a unique fruit with a very dark purple color (high in antioxidants), more firm that many berries, with a tangier, almost nutty taste.  Saskatoons are part of the Rosaceae family. Its close relatives include many common fruits such as apples, plums, cherries, apricots and almonds. Saskatoons are great to eat fresh as well as baked. Some of the harvest is used to infuse wine and other alcoholic beverages. While hard to find in processed forms, they are also sought after in juice and powder forms. In some locations consumers buy find them frozen as well as dried.

 

About The Saskatoon Berry Institute of North America: SBINA is an educational organization, both for growers and consumers. We neither buy or sell fruit or plants. Our goal is to see greater crop availability leading to more saskatoons being enjoyed throughout North America.

The Annual Meeting is Upon Us

POSTED IN For Members, Uncategorized ON 1/16/2019

Our annual meeting is tomorrow – Thursday, January 17 (and all are welcome). Please be sure to RSVP to Dr. Elsner at elsner@msu.edu so he can plan accordingly.

By way of reminder:

Location is Grand Traverse County Michigan State University Extension Office, 520 West Front Street, Traverse City, MI, 49684.

Social time from 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM.

Official Annual Meeting begins at 7:00 PM.

Among other procedural items, the agenda will include our annual election of board members and a presentation by Duke Elsner entitled “Looking Back and Heading Forward- the MSU Connection”.

This is a great opportunity to meet growers, review lessons learned over the past year, and talk about what is coming up in 2019.

Northwest Michigan Orchard and Vineyard Show – 2019

POSTED IN Uncategorized ON 1/4/2019

The Northwest Michigan Orchard and Vineyard Show is coming up on January 15th & 16, 2019 at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Northern Michigan. Come see us at our trade show booth! Let’s talk saskatoons.

For more information on the show, go to: http://msue.anr.msu.edu/events/2019_northwest_michigan_orchard_and_vineyard_show

Annual Meeting Scheduled

POSTED IN Uncategorized ON 12/18/2018

Attention: Institute Members

Our annual meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 17th. 

This is not your official notification – just a head’s up.

We will meet at the conference room at Michigan State University Extension in Traverse City. 

Bring a saskatoon snack to share at 6:00 PM. The official meeting will comet to order at 7:00 PM with election of 2019 board members and a presentation on lessons learned over the last year.


Spotted Wing Drosophila Organic Managment Methods

POSTED IN For Growers, For Members ON 7/13/2018

Spotted Wing Drosophila (Male)

In this blog we have previously discussed Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD), an invasive, relatively new fruit fly overspreading North America.  While there are few reported cases of SWD affecting saskatoon berries, there is broader concern for many fruits. Therefore, we are sharing this article suggesting that there is good news regarding organic management methods for SWD. Rufus Isaacs has addressed Institute members on several other pests, but none that present such a fast growing threat to fruit crops as SWD.

While most fruit flies are only interested in fruit still hanging from bushes and trees, SWD seem content to continue their lifecycle in fallen and rotting fruit as well. So while some USDA practices call for allowing fruit to drop, this fiend uses such situations to its benefit.

It is our hope that our friends across both the US and Canada can take note of these new developments, and be encouraged as they pursue some of these methods.

You can read more at: New guide to organic management of spotted wing Drosophila released

or go directly to the full report at: Management Recommendations for Spotted Wing Drosophila in Organic Berry Crops

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Recent Posts

  • Wildlife Damage Survey
  • The PM who Promoted Saskatoon Berries
  • Saska-whats?
  • Stone Fruit IPM for Beginners
  • Bird Damage Management

Recent Comments

  • Chuck on 2018 Saskatoon Pesticide Recommendation and Use Restrictions for The State of Michigan
  • SANDRA VOLS on 2018 Saskatoon Pesticide Recommendation and Use Restrictions for The State of Michigan
  • Chuck on Saskatoons (Amelanchier alnifolia) at the Great Lakes Expo 2017
  • Todd Densmore on Saskatoons (Amelanchier alnifolia) at the Great Lakes Expo 2017
  • Ted on The fresh saskatoon berry season will be over soon in many areas

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