In farming the environment contributes probably more than 80% towards results of growing sea buckthorn here in the UK. By environment I mean, soil, weather, pests and diseases. The other 20% represents the amount of impact one’s management has on the end result.
Over the past five years, the 20% includes the compost spread, weed cutting , compost tea applications, pruning and all those actions that go towards creating a healthy environment for the plants to live in. Each arising from a problem identified and a solution tested.
The 80% however is a problem. Harvest 2017 promised to be good. Pollination worked well and all sea buckthorn plants presented berries. Berry ripening monitored from June indicated a steady week on week improvement through into July.
Colour change, firmness, Brix (soluable solids) figures provided guidance as to when each variety would ripen and in what order enough to create a plan. Etna, as in 2016 was the earliest. Chuiskaya, Augustina and Elizaveta looked as if they would be next in July, followed by Klaudia. Sudarushka, Altaiskaya and Inya would then come through in August as later varieties.
Added to the physical assessments tasting has been a key tool to assess ripeness. A process in which the whole family has participated. As the farm’s first crop there has been nothing to guide us from previous years, except for memories of the first time I tasted them in their native Siberia in 2009. The concept that Siberian berries are sweeter provided a broad guide but this only applies to some of them. Taste is part of the growing process. Again, the fact the plants are in an alien soil and climate might alter the end result.
In the back of my mind was the concept that the Siberian harvest extends through August and September. From last year I knew that Etna came early in July, so it is logical that our harvest should extend through July and August.
Reality has been a hard lesson.
Etna did ripen first, from June 28th. Klaudia, as unpredictable as ever developed from being unripe in the second week of July. Not only that, but the taste was still sharp and measuring a lower Brix. Chuiskaya and Augustina were developing well in this time and we started to pick them. Within a few days Klaudia rapidly ripened and its smaller berry made it difficult to pick. At this time there was still a concept that three varieties would ripen in August. They remained firm, although the colour was a uniform orange and Brix moving through 11. Some Inya berries looked as if they would develop into long and large berries of around 0.9gm or even bigger.
The inconvenient truth is that all the varieties at Devereux farm ripened very rapidly. With an expectation of berries to grow in size and taste to sweeten we waited. The majority of the berries did not grow and became over ripe in the process. Whether this is an issue of the plants being young, a problem of soil or weather we will have to ascertain during the year ahead. We have always known that hand picking is an problem that holds sea buckthorn back as a crop, but this becomes extreme if a berry is no bigger than 0.5g.
There has to be a solution to harvesting the smaller berried varieties. In Europe harvesting is often a process of cutting branches, then freezing them making the branches brittle. When shaken the berries and leaves fall off easily without damage. This works well with some, but not all varieties.
In the hope that this might work with some Siberian varieties we have selected four varieties for cutting trials – Etna, Altaiskaya, Sudarushka and Inya. All these we have observed as being stronger growers. Hopefully they will react to branch cutting by producing a biannual cycle of harvestable branches and a solution to cropping smaller berries.
Some of these small berried varieties have distinctive and attractive taste. In our tasting trials we have noticed the subtle differences between varieties. Tones of apricot, apple, pineapple have all been expressed. All have the promised sugar/acid flavour balance characterised by Lisavenko varieties, with this ratio varying between varieties. This will be useful in the future for blending when mixing for different product use.
This harvest is not over as there are still non-Siberian varieties still to pick. Picking the Siberian berries has provided the first opportunity to prove their taste is second to none. Delivering berry quality has always been the focus. This first harvest has provided the opportunity to understand the quality standards that we want to achieve. Some of these require technical solutions that will be be part of the on site processing facilities that we are having designed for installation this winter. Others are part of the process of developing growing techniques. For this we need to go back to the experts, so this means a trip to Siberia itself.
Growing any crop is a natural process and to get it right we just have to be patient – for one more year.
