We’ve been growing lingonberries for a few years now, and they’re a lovely addition to our berry garden. They grow well in our climate, and since they’re low maintenance, they do well in our permaculture garden. Living in Vermont, we are often limited due to our cold temperatures, but lingonberries are a cold-hardy plant. Unfortunately, you won’t find these berries growing wild here in the US, so with a bit of patience, learning how to grow lingonberries at home is easier than you imagine. In Sweden and Norway, lingonberries grow in the wilds, thriving in the woodlands and moorlands. Those chill hour requirements are the same for most blueberry varieties, which also require cool winters and a dormant period to thrive. The plants are known to survive in temperatures as low as -50℉, and they require a minimum 800 chill hours to produce berries. Unlike many other berries, lingonberries thrive in cold temperatures. These plants spread an average of 9 to 12 inches during the first few years after planting. They’re a low-growing perennial plant that grows on a woody shrub that grows 12-16 inches high, and spreads through underground runners or seeds. These berries are much sweeter and have virtually no astringency. These berries are closely related to cranberries and blueberries, producing large amounts of small red berries with a flavor similar to cranberries. Lingonberries are often called cowberries, lowbush cranberries, or whortleberries. Lingonberries, on the other hand, are really easy to grow! What are Lingonberries? I’m still looking for a source for crowberries and cloudberries, which have somewhat specific requirements and can’t really be cultivated. Not to be deterred, we’ve started growing and raising ingredients for Nordic recipes on our own. ![]() This year I’ll be curing lamb ribs for Pinnekjøtt, so that shows you I’m not afraid of a challenge. With her at the helm, I never really had to focus on Scandinavian delicacies because she kept us well supplied.Ī few years ago when she past, I started cooking more traditional Scandinavian food and found it really difficult to source specialty ingredients. My Norwegian grandmother was always the best baker in the family, and every year she’d decorate our holiday table with literally dozens of varieties of Norwegian Christmas Cookies. While they’re somewhat similar to cranberries, they taste much sweeter and are perfect for fresh eating right in the garden. It is a mid season bloomer.Lingonberries plants are easy to grow, hardy perennial fruiting shrubs that taste great fresh or in preserves. They are prized for fresh eating and cooking and make an aromatic bitter/sweet cider. The apples ripen in September, are tender and juicy with a great sweet/tart flavor. It is also called the snow apple because of its white flesh which is sometimes streaked with red. Famuese Apple M7 – “ This small orange-red apple has been an American favorite for more than 250 years.2-3′ tree.” This tree is a columnar variety, and cross pollinates with other mid-season pollinators such as the Famuese below. Golden Sentinel Columnar Apple on M7 Rootstock – “ A large flavorful yellow fruit that ripens in early October.Melrose is the official Ohio state apple.” As an added bonus, Raintree threw in an extra one of these with my order. A heavy crop of tart apples, great for cooking or eating fresh, ripens in late October. Properly stored in the garage, it can keep until May. Melrose M27 (2 of these)– “This flavorful red apple is top rated for reliability and keeping.All might have some fruit this year, but especially because of how late they’ll be planted, we’ll be removing the fruit and allowing the trees to focus their energy on healthy roots and growth. The columnar will grow tall and compact like the one in the picture. The Golden Sentinel and Famuese are on semi-dwarf M7 rootstock, so they will hopefully do OK in containers. The Melrose apple trees are on mini-dwarf M27 rootstocks, so they’ll be ideal as container plants. It’s mid-May, however, so I may have to baby them a little unless we have an exceptionally cool May & June. So, I just put in a last minute fruit order at Raintree Nursery, thinking I might still have a chance to get a few things in the ground before it gets too hot out. ![]() Most will not bear fruit this year, but giving them a full season to set roots and grow will mean a decent crop in 2012. One of my goals for year one was to have some basic fruit in place.
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