# Ogemaw/ Roscommon county berry report



## Anish (Mar 6, 2009)

Looks like another bumper year for berries!! 
Been out and about... Blueberry, huckleberry, service berry, and sand cherry bushes are LOADED with immature fruit! Last year was pretty good, but this year looks like its going to be fantastic!!!


----------



## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

Can't Wait, looking great .

I thought I was the only one that picks service berry


----------



## Radar420 (Oct 7, 2004)

swampbuck said:


> I thought I was the only one that picks service berry


Nope . Just made a pie with the last bit of last season's serviceberries.

Down here the serviceberry shrubs are loaded and the robin's are already picking them clean.


----------



## Radar420 (Oct 7, 2004)

I've been seeing quite a few elderberry flowers (I'm not a big fan though).

Hoping raspberry season is a little better this year. Gooseberry too. Currants did great last year and I hope for a repeat of the same.


----------



## Anish (Mar 6, 2009)

swampbuck said:


> Can't Wait, looking great .
> 
> I thought I was the only one that picks service berry


No way man! :lol: They are awesome! I have a nice productive stand of SB trees that I pick every year. I was kind concerned with as late as they bloomed, but it sure doesn't seem to have bothered them.


----------



## Anish (Mar 6, 2009)

Radar420 said:


> Nope . Just made a pie with the last bit of last season's serviceberries.
> 
> Down here the serviceberry shrubs are loaded and the robin's are already picking them clean.


You still had SB left from last year? Lol! I can barely keep them around long enough to get them in the freezer let alone do anything with them... :lol:


----------



## Anish (Mar 6, 2009)

Radar420 said:


> I've been seeing quite a few elderberry flowers (I'm not a big fan though).
> 
> Hoping raspberry season is a little better this year. Gooseberry too. Currants did great last year and I hope for a repeat of the same.


I'm not all that keen on elderberry either. They are ok, but definitely not my first choice. Raspberry was so/so for us last year. Blackberry's did great and looks good again this year. I wish I could get to currants before the birds!!!


----------



## hfitch (Apr 14, 2011)

My currants are looking real good this year!!

Sent from my XT907 using Ohub Campfire mobile app


----------



## Greenbush future (Sep 8, 2005)

I need to learn these tree's /bushes, never been around them. Where and when do I find these please?


----------



## Radar420 (Oct 7, 2004)

Anish said:


> You still had SB left from last year? Lol! I can barely keep them around long enough to get them in the freezer let alone do anything with them... :lol:


I do most of my picking on the family farm up north and there were wayyyy more SB than I could ever eat in a weekend :lol:. Froze a bunch of them and found a bag a couple weeks ago hiding in the freezer. 



Anish said:


> I wish I could get to currants before the birds!!!


I got lucky with the currants last year. We have a seasonally wet area on the property and it doesn't retain water like it used to and it is now LOADED with blackcurrant shrubs. It's so thick that the birds can't get to all the berries in the interior. I've got a small bag leftover from last year and was hoping to make some muffins or something but it's too hot to run the oven.


----------



## Radar420 (Oct 7, 2004)

Greenbush future said:


> I need to learn these tree's /bushes, never been around them. Where and when do I find these please?


Serviceberries are ripening right now in your area but you have to be quick to get them when they're ripe before the robins do. Used quite a bit as a landscape ornamental. White flowers in early spring. Grey bark with stretch marks. Usually a multi-stemmed trunk. Fruit looks a bit like a blueberry (similar taste as well) or a tiny crabapple.


----------



## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

I am going to try my blueberry rake on service berries this year. May need a modified one, but I would like to speed that harvest up a little.


----------



## Radar420 (Oct 7, 2004)

swampbuck said:


> I am going to try my blueberry rake on service berries this year. May need a modified one, but I would like to speed that harvest up a little.


Let us know how it goes, that rake looks quite efficient.

Last year I either picked by hand or backed the truck up under some branches and shook like hell :lol:. Hand picking was more time consuming but I got only ripe berries and very few stems, shaking into the truck resulted in more berries but I had to pick through un-ripened ones and many more stems.


----------



## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

Few ripe at west higgins


----------



## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

This is my favorite rake










This is an old hand made one, needs a paint job, I have a smaller one of these also. Works good, but not as good as the first









Turns out the both are supposed to be good for service berrys


----------



## Greenbush future (Sep 8, 2005)

swampbuck said:


> Few ripe at west higgins


Thanks for sharing the photos. They look just like Blue Berries


----------



## Anish (Mar 6, 2009)

Radar420 said:


> I do most of my picking on the family farm up north and there were wayyyy more SB than I could ever eat in a weekend :lol:. Froze a bunch of them and found a bag a couple weeks ago hiding in the freezer.
> 
> 
> 
> I got lucky with the currants last year. We have a seasonally wet area on the property and it doesn't retain water like it used to and it is now LOADED with blackcurrant shrubs. It's so thick that the birds can't get to all the berries in the interior. I've got a small bag leftover from last year and was hoping to make some muffins or something but it's too hot to run the oven.


:lol: I figured you froze them, but what I'm amazed at is that even frozed, they lasted that long! :lol: 
I can't even keep em around when they are frozen! My little "human birds" find them too fast! :lol:


----------



## Anish (Mar 6, 2009)

swampbuck said:


> Few ripe at west higgins


Fantastic! Last year they seemed to take forever to fully ripen.


----------



## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

Fully ripen is kinda an issue with the rake, they really need to be 80% ripe or better. So I watch for the right time, and the window is pretty short. One good day is plenty though, for a couple year supply.


----------



## Anish (Mar 6, 2009)

That rake is pretty slick!!


----------

