A few weeks ago, our colleague Luigi, responsible for fruit and vegetable production, transplanted the first small fruit seedlings in our synergic vegetable garden...
and he wanted to amaze us by discovering really special plants as the aim was to create a perennial area that crosses the entire garden in the longitudinal direction and will act as a "home" for many species of insects and of birds attracted to the berries! Among the species of small fruits we have: Siberian blueberry, strawberry raspberry, beach plum...
Some choices have fallen on "classic" fruits such as raspberry and blackcurrant (the latter still in some ways not used too much); for other varieties, Luigi, at the suggestion of the trusted nurseryman, decided to indulge and buy particular species to get to know them and experiment, in addition to the fact that they resist soil with basic PH, which is not common for small fruits. Like the white currant, which produces the classic cascade of berries which in this variety are however almost transparent. And the yellow raspberry, identical in shape to the more common red one, but you immediately notice the different shade: a lightly orange pastel yellow. Then the red gooseberry, which looks like a smaller grape and with a slightly transparent peel that reveals the seeds inside; on its branches there are a lot of thorns that defend it from too greedy consumers...
But here are the strangest fruits: first of all the strawberry raspberry (scientific name: Rubus illecebrosus), a bramble that generates red fruits that look like a raspberry and a strawberry... not to be believed. In fact, if you look closely you see the small dots typical of the raspberry, but if you look from a distance, the light that these dots reflect makes them look like the outer seeds of a strawberry. Moreover it is more elongated compared to a raspberry. It is native to Japan and is very cultivated and consumed in the Baltic countries (especially in Lithuania). As you can imagine, this fruit has a taste all its own: it has the typical acidity of raspberry, but then comes a pleasant strawberry aftertaste that leaves a soft sweetness in the mouth ... perfect!
Then the Siberian blueberry seedling appears: it is violet-blue in color and is velvety to the touch like the classic blueberry, but it has an unusual, almost alienating shape: a pretty and funny parallelepiped. It is a plant that adapts well even to cold climates, in fact it is native to the Asian peninsula of Kamchatka, in the extreme north east of Siberia, near the Bering Sea, and for this reason it can withstand even a temperature of -30 °! The flavor of this fruit is also particular: it is a mix of currants, blueberries and raspberries, difficult to define for our palates, and that’s why we can’t wait to taste it!
Last, but not in order of importance, is the beach plum (scientific name: Prunus maritima), a singular appellation for a fruit. But there is a reason: the European settlers sighted this plant, unknown to them, on the banks of some rivers of North America. It is a shrub that grows well in sandy soil, withstands strong winds and does not fear salinity. It produces berries of reddish-violet color with a spherical shape, which are mostly used to prepare preserves and jams. We still have to discover its flavor, but we do not doubt that it is special.
So we wait patiently for the seedlings of small fruits to grow and give their precious berries, excellent for preparing tasty snacks!
