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Snargboz
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Joined: August 16th, 2019, 8:09 am

Just signed up. Pleased to be here

Post by Snargboz » August 16th, 2019, 8:12 am

Greetings!

Thanks for having this forum. I'm a neophyte when it comes to going into wild places and trails and I hope I can learn a lot here.

My primary objective this summer is to find edible wild berries. I am having great difficulty locating some of them. Is this forum an appropriate venue to ask for locations where people have located specific berries? I don't want to violate the rules of decorum accidentally.

Thank you.

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retired jerry
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Post by retired jerry » August 16th, 2019, 8:19 am

welcome

you can ask where berries are, some people are selfish about revealing :)

I think this is about time for huckleberries.

I think there are good places around Mt Adams, Goat Rocks. Like the Killen Creek trail up to High Camp. Indian Heaven (AKA mosquito heaven).

Mt Hood, Top Spur TH, go up to the 5 way junction and turn right on the PCT. Or the Timberline trail below Paradise Park. Or the Timberline Trail south from Timberline Lodge

Snargboz
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Joined: August 16th, 2019, 8:09 am

Re: Just signed up. Pleased to be here

Post by Snargboz » August 16th, 2019, 9:08 am

Is it permissible if I just post in the general forum with berry questions? There are many species I am looking for. I am hoping to take cuttings and gather seed to see if I can grow my own at some point. And I am looking for some semi-unusual ones like black crowberry, salal, elderberry, and chokecherry. And huckleberries too, of course.

Thanks.

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retired jerry
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Post by retired jerry » August 16th, 2019, 10:55 am

you can post wherever you want

I suspect you might get pushback on taking cuttings, although if you're just taking a few from an area that has plenty so you're not threatening them it seems like it would be harmless

I think you're supposed to get permits and things

Maybe better to ask forgiveness than permission?

Snargboz
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Joined: August 16th, 2019, 8:09 am

Re: Just signed up. Pleased to be here

Post by Snargboz » August 19th, 2019, 4:00 am

Thank you. I will post in the general forum. To be clear: I am only interested in taking a stem cutting or two. I don't want to damage a plant or dig it up or wreck the ecology. I want to grow them at home I have a berry harvest permit for Mt. Hood National Forest. I can collect up to three gallons and so far I have only found 0.25 gallons worth of berries. I'm a gardener and I am doing this for personal curiosity, not commercial purposes. I am happy to get whatever permits are needed. And, obviously, if a plant is endangered or protected I will leave it alone. And any advice on propagation will be very much welcomed.

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retired jerry
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Post by retired jerry » August 19th, 2019, 5:19 am

That sounds reasonable to me. I just don't like to recommend to people on the internet that they violate rules :)

I've taken plants from the wild before.

Seeds are difficult. Get mature berry, like one that's all dried up. Dry it thoroughly. Some seeds like to be put into the freezer for a few weeks. Do many of them with the hope that a few will actually germinate.

Cuttings are difficult. cut off a stem. cut off a branch leaving the node - the roots will grow out of that node. dip in hormone. put in glass until it starts making roots. Do many with the hope that one or a few will actually take.

google it - https://homeguides.sfgate.com/start-blu ... 57053.html

If you were away form where any humans go, and if there are a bunch of plants, then if you dig one up it won't matter, the rest of the plants will fill in. If you get enough roots it will probably survive. I took a couple Douglas Fir from a patch of them. Only a few were going to survive anyway so it didn't matter I took a couple.

Maybe go to a nursery or a nursery that specializes in native plants.

I have some blueberry plants. They said to get several different varieties to get good pollination. A few plants only produce a few berries so I sort of lost interest in them. I let the birds eat them, which is a good thing. I just buy berries now, or u-pick.

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retired jerry
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Post by retired jerry » August 19th, 2019, 5:21 am

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible ... anting.htm

the said put in freezer for 90 days

Snargboz
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Re: Just signed up. Pleased to be here

Post by Snargboz » August 19th, 2019, 8:43 pm

Thank you. I've had bad luck with cuttings but from what I've read you really need a greenhouse with a misting system on an electronic timer to get reliably good results from cuttings. I have none of that equipment and won't be getting it any time soon. I'm using pots with plastic bags over them.

I don't intend to break any rules. If it's prohibited to take fruit or cuttings I won't take them. Fortunately the berries I am looking for are not endangered or even particularly rare. I just don't know where to find them. Or at least not in enough quantity to make something tasty.

I don't want to dig plants primarily because I don't want to accidentally transfer a soil disease or pest. Yes, diseases can transfer from cuttings or even sometimes from seed.

I've read about the fridge thing. I have some thimbleberry seed in the fridge now. I am planning to let mother nature do the stratification work for me by sowing seed now and allowing it to over winter. If I can get enough seed I may try both that and the fridge.

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