Let's visit on the Porch II (venues, commission, outage)

[Reziac]

Huh. I dunno why you can't see it; I see it in my post... anyway, here's a direct link:

http://doomgold.com/images/IMG_9914.jpg

Or if that's sideways,

http://doomgold.com/images/IMG_9914s.jpg

The mosquito net clothing is awesome. I have a full set.

[MTSilvertip]

Originally Posted by Reziac

Huh. I dunno why you can't see it; I see it in my post... anyway, here's a direct link:

http://doomgold.com/images/IMG_9914.jpg

Or if that's sideways,

http://doomgold.com/images/IMG_9914s.jpg

The mosquito net clothing is awesome. I have a full set.

Chokecherry

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by MTSilvertip

Chokecherry

No, it's not. They've got a bunch of chokecherries around there (so do I) and that's not it. These berries have more of a papery end on them, like a rose hip. It's probably related, tho.

Around here we have wild type chokecherries, the ones that grow as small trees, and a kind with dark red leaves. Birds love 'em all!

[MTSilvertip]

Originally Posted by Reziac

No, it's not. They've got a bunch of chokecherries around there (so do I) and that's not it. These berries have more of a papery end on them, like a rose hip. It's probably related, tho.

Around here we have wild type chokecherries, the ones that grow as small trees, and a kind with dark red leaves. Birds love 'em all!

The ones with dark red leaves are maydays. They're a hybrid from a greenhouse in Helena that's a chokecherry cross.

The ones in your picture is a chokecherry. The paper on the end is the remains of the flower. The berries don't ripen for another month and turn dark.

I've got a lot of them on my place.

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by MTSilvertip

The ones with dark red leaves are maydays. They're a hybrid from a greenhouse in Helena that's a chokecherry cross.

What did they cross it with? Does it still make edible fruit? (Mayday isn't the best name; that's another name for European bird cherries which are invasive, and are poisonous to ungulates.) I get them coming up here and there from a tree up the street; usually somewhere unwanted, but left one that's behind the garden. Some of the leaves are almost black.

Originally Posted by MTSilvertip

The ones in your picture is a chokecherry. The paper on the end is the remains of the flower. The berries don't ripen for another month and turn dark.

I've got a lot of them on my place.

So do I. The really astringent bushy wild type. Not much of a crop this year, except for the one out back that gets no water and chewed by deer, it has plenty coming. Wish I had some seeds from the tree type I had in Bozeman -- they were edible off the tree.

But this thing in the pics (on my sister's place) is not papery, it's leafy, like on a rose hip. Not the stuck-on bits of flower like on chokecherries. Well, we'll see what they look like when they're ripe... usually the elk eat this thing down so it doesn't usually get to make fruit.

[MTSilvertip]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...iulMn8hcY3qrax

I don't know what the original cross was, it was a secret only the guy at state nursery knew. When the business went, he didn't pass on the secret. There are a lot of them around Helena, especially at the Capitol, and the berries there are edible.

I see other nurseries have their own version, but I don't know if that fruit is ok or not. Chokecherry leaves, bark and pits all contain cyanide, so yeah they are poisonous.

[Reziac]

Huh. I wonder if it's since crossed with something else. The leaves on what we've got here are way darker and look more like a regular chokecherry. I'll have to check fruit on the parent down the road, when it has some. Most of the trees around here are volunteers, so there's a lot of who-knows.

There's a little upright chokecherry tree down the road, but I haven't seen it make any fruit.

Digging potatoes this fall will be fun... last year among the regular reds I had a few dark purple potatoes that my sister said were really good (she ate two, and I kept two to plant). You'd think planted from tubers they'd be purely clones of the parent but apparently not; all I can think is that some true potato seed made its way to the dirt and grew unnoticed among the rest. They're both growing well so we'll see what they produce. (The seeds stay viable for decades, so are good to save as a hedge against a failed crop.) They were also notably good keepers... still firm as fresh after 8 months in a bucket.

The VT100 cherry tomatoes are like weeds, they've completely taken over everywhere they haven't been hoed up. Anyone need some tomato starts? They're still small, but they'll soon catch up. And eat passing children.

[Reziac]

Now that the fruit is approaching mature, appears my sister's mystery bush is a Saskatoon serviceberry. It looks like this:

https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/arti...elanchier-spp/

[MTSilvertip]

Originally Posted by Reziac

Now that the fruit is approaching mature, appears my sister's mystery bush is a Saskatoon serviceberry. It looks like this:

https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/arti...elanchier-spp/

Wild serviceberry is one of my favorites. Excellent flavor, but they need a good water supply. There are a lot of them growing wild around Livingston.

Just an FYI Reziac, I'm going to be taking a break from city data for a while. I've got 2 books I need to finish and get to the publisher, and it appears I've attracted a stalker and I don't have time for a flame war.
I'll keep an eye on this board, but I've got a lot of work to get done so I know you'll keep the Montana board going strong.

TTFN.

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by MTSilvertip

Wild serviceberry is one of my favorites. Excellent flavor, but they need a good water supply. There are a lot of them growing wild around Livingston.

Just an FYI Reziac, I'm going to be taking a break from city data for a while. I've got 2 books I need to finish and get to the publisher, and it appears I've attracted a stalker and I don't have time for a flame war.
I'll keep an eye on this board, but I've got a lot of work to get done so I know you'll keep the Montana board going strong.

TTFN.

Ah, well, good luck. Didn't know you were writing books! Not much you can do with stalkers other than ignore 'em.

I'll be around. Check in when you get a chance.