Haskap Canada is seeking information on how this year's unusual weather effected Haskap. Some parts of Canada recieved extrordinary amounts of rain. Other areas experience extreme heat. Many crops suffered with complete loss in some cases.
What was the weather like in your area and how did it effect your Haskap production? Did your plants suffer any damage? Did you notice any difference among the varieties you cultivate?
Please post a comment describing how the weather effect your Haskap.
We had a cool wet spring in Western Manitoba this year. The weather and the associated lack of insect pollinators was likely the cause of a smaller then expected crop on my 4 year old Blue Honeysuckle bushes. Moist levels were high but not excessive for our soil type. No irrigation was necessary. Weed growth was difficult to control because of the high moisture.
ReplyDeleteI have only recently discovered Honeyberries, but have been telling all of my landscape design clients that desire an edible about them. Since mine are only 1 year old, I haven't seen a noticeable affect from the weather. However, we too have been wet and cool this year. I do however really enjoy this shrub from a landscape beautification perspective.
ReplyDeleteThe overall affect here north of Saskatoon was probably more evident in the amount of plant growth. There was very little evidence that disease became more prevalent. Our experience with harvest was that the excessive growth made it very difficult to get at the berries and we had many fall to the ground. Since we harvest mostly for our own use, I finally gave up on harvesting (many plants I pruned as I picked) and went to pruning for the sake of next years crop. Fruit set was quite variable (3 to 5 year old plants)from 1 or 2 berries to a 3 year old kamchatika line which yielded about 6 liters. My observation of pollinators in spring was verified by this as there seemed not to be a great number of bees around but there were some of the smaller insects which seemed more prevalent. I did not identify them but likely some of the mason bees or their relatives. I felt flavours were probably stronger than previous years due to the cool and damp weather and even ripening was slowed down or did not take place evenly. Not a bad year but not the best either.
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