Jackie Palmer

I was intrigued by the Solanum Melanocerasum when I saw it on Seed Savers Exchange website. I grow flowers and veggies for market. I experiment with certain ornamental food plants and thought this dark blue/black fruit would be good in bouquets and wanted to experiment with drying them. They're not interesting dried. They shrivel beyond a form and look like dusty raisins. But I think they have potential as their vase life is long, color is rare, and I found the plant to be attractive in my tunnel, where I planted a half dozen plants. I used some of the berries in green for boutonnieres for a wedding and they looked great.

I harvested the rest which is indeed a PITA as the berries like to stay on the stem. But the color is as potent as blueberries and that holds my attention. I agree the taste is a liability and I don't like to just add sugar to stuff. So I experimented with a quick stew of 15 minutes, added 1/3 c sugar to 4 cups berries (according to Mother Earth News article). I tried some with Stevia powder too. I froze it.

I kept some of the juice they produced from stewing and use it in my dairy kefir for the heck of it. The color is dazzling.

The thing that might redeem them is if the pigment holds some nutritive properties. I can't find anything referring to that. I was hoping for antioxidant data but no one would probably bother.

No they don't seem to hold much potential for market gardening, but in the right place they are more of a novelty perhaps? I think I will keep working with them for the ornamental potential and then see how the frozen ones perform in baked goods with alternative sweeteners.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to weigh in on this plant.

Good ideas! Last year, by accident, I saw the benefit of planting buckwheat in a high tunnel. By the time my arugula and other leafy greens were starting to take off, the buckwheat was blooming some. I saw aphids all over the arugula and decided to ignore it, but only because I didn't feel like dealing with it. A week later, I revisited the arugula which had ample new growth and no aphids. But TONS of ladybug larvae! All summer I found lacewings and their dainty eggs in the tunnel. The syrphid fly http://www.beneficialbugs.org/bugs/Hover_flies/Syrphid_Fly/syrphid_flies.htm also had a steady presence due to flowers of multiple kinds.

Good reading, all. I have found some success with soil blocks. They allow transplants to not get root bound, but there is a learning curve to the methods. Some seeds to well in the 3/4" blocks, some require bigger blocks. I try the smallest so I can save space on the limited transplant shelves I have. https://www.johnnyseeds.com/tools-supplies/seed-starting-supplies/soil-block-makers/

Welcome Dr Sharol. I just recently made marshmallows for the first time. I know the plant althaea officinalis is probably in your book. Some people hot steep and some cold steep the plant for maximum extraction of beneficial properties. I was using it to treat a chest cold and general inflammation. What is your recommendation for steep temperature? Looking forward to learning more about your book!

It is so exciting to be in that place where people are receptive to inquiry. I am a newbie flower/vegetable grower, graced with an open-minded community of buyers and growers. There are good examples of organic and beyond organic growing practices around here, but at some point I realized I have to take the time to get my head wrapped around my piece of land and how to embody my ideals and interests into my operation, rather than just seeing how others are doing things. After reading some of what Wheaton Labs teaches, I want to head more toward that wild meandering composition, rather than the straight rows of kale where I fight the cabbage leaf moth larvae, notorious to growers around here. Looking forward to being a part of this conversation.

Hello Darrell. Thanks for taking the time to participate in this community. I am presently a market gardener on a very small scale. Am interested in how to make it more "Perma-".