From our friend Joe Culbreth who is a huckleberry grower in Rathdrum, Idaho. This is the email I received from Joe last spring:
We here at Berry & Nut Farm are not a research center for huckleberries, but are are growing huckleberries. We started our huckleberry field in 2010, which now, consist of about 1 acre and about 1200 plants.
We purchased our plants from 4 different sources. Our oldest plants are now 4 years old and we hope to see some flowers any day.
My grandsons and I visited Dr Barney in 2009 or 2010 to learn about growing huckleberries and nut trees. We should have had a few more sessions as Dr Barney had lots of knowledge, more than we could take-in in a 2 hour visit.
A few days ago, I received the following correspondence with the pictures attached:
You can’t tell from the attached photos, but plants have recovered from last winter’s, winter kill. That sounds better than, I lost a years growth.
As for providing shade protection for huckleberries, (we have planted) blackberries and apple trees behind the huckleberry plants ….
Will be adding a lot more sawdust this fall, will not be tucking-in each plant with pine needles as I have the past 4 winters. I will be crossing my fingers…
We wish Joe the best success with his huckleberry crop. For more information on his Berry & Nut Farm, check out his website
