Growing Kamchatka berries

Other names: Edible honeysuckle, honeysuckle cyanosed (blue)-belongs to the family of drillings. It comes from the north-east Asia.

Shrubs are very resistant to frost; they survive the winter at temperatures to-45C.( -50F) Honeysuckle is a plant that lives a long time and it can fruit for 35 years. It grows up to 2 m(7 ft) high, has a thick, raised shape, the shrubs are well-branched and have lots of leaves.

It blooms in the first half of April. There are two hanging white and yellow flowers with a length of about 1.5 cm (6/10 inch) on a short stalk.

The fruit is fleshy, elongated with stones, in violet and blue color, covered with a waxy coating. Fruits reach a length of 2 - 3 cm(8/10 inch-1 2/10 inches) and a thickness of 1 cm( 4/10 inch). They are juicy and have a sweet-sour taste with a characteristic bitterness. They ripen very early - from mid-May. When full fruiting, you can collect 2-6 kg (4-12lbs) of fruit from one bush.

Requirements

The best place for cultivation is a sunny one with soils which should be moderately firm, fertile, sandy-clay and clay-sandy and a weakly acidic (pH 5,5-6,5) factor. Less fertile soils (sandy) should be enriched with organic matter like well-distributed manure, compost, or peat substrate in the quantity of 15-20l ( 4-6 gallons) per plant.

Kamchatka berry is not self-pollinating, so you should plant at least two varieties, preferably in autumn or early spring. The spacing between the planted plants should be 1 to 1.5 m.3-5ft)

It is best to cover the soil around the plant with the mulch material, such as sawdust, bark or chips.

Fertilizing with manure or organic compost (about 10-15l (3-4 gallons) per a plant) should be repeated in autumn every 2-3 years. You can also use multi-mineral fertilizers in quantities of 5 g (2/10 oz) in the first period and 15 g (1/2 oz) / plant in case of old bushes.

In the first years of cultivation, we only make the sanitary cut. Naturally thickening shrubs do not require a shaping cut in the first 5 years of cultivation. We start removing old shoots in the following years.

Uses of fruit:

First of all; to be consumed fresh. You can also make jams, juices, freeze and dry. The fruit contains many biologically active ingredients which have strengthening, antiseptic and anti-toxic qualities..