Seaberry / Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides)

Seabuckthorn Orchard Planting

2013-05-18T06:19:00.000-04:00

Seboeis Seabuckthorn Planting - First Day - 80 plants are in.

Plants are 4 feet apart and the rows are separated by 8 feet.

Ground is very rocky. Digging is difficult and the bugs a challenge.

More updates as things progress. The plants I grew from seed and transplanted last fall have done pretty well. Some losses.

Female Seabuckthorn Flowers - Biomass and Fossil Records

2013-05-03T07:33:00.000-04:00

Common Seabuckthorn Wikipedia

News:

Electricity generated from biomass can have up to 90% lower carbon emissions than fossil fuels. In China, Baotou Kaidi Sunshine Energy has announced it will build a biomass-fueled power plant in Inner Mongolia that will be able to prevent the burning of 80,000 tons of coal annually. It is expected to generate 150 kWh of electricity per year, using some 130,000 tons of biomass. One of the native plants to be used is Seabuckthorn ( Hippophae rhamnoides).

Did you know?

Fossil pollen records indicate that Hipppophae rhamnoides (Seabuckthorn) was widespread on late and early postglacial raw soils throughout much of central and northern Europe, but the Early Holocene reforestation restricted populations to northern coastal habitats, or along streams in the Alps, Pyrenees, and Carpathians.

Female Seabuckthorn Flowers:

Patience is a virtue, they say, and in gardening it is essential. Three years after planting my first Seabuckthorn plant there are both male and female blossoms in the garden.

Female Seabuckthorn flower

Close-up of female Seabuckthorn flower

older Male Seabuckthorn Flower
(See just opened Male flowers)

There are still a few Seabuckthorn plants for sale. I am keeping most of them for planting in Seboeis Maine.

Tannach writes: Ok, now you've gone too far. Holocene? Post-Glacial?

Dear Tannach, Yup.

Seabuckthorn Plants Have Arrived!

2013-04-27T08:13:00.000-04:00

News: Seabuckthorn Production in India

Minister for Ladakh Affairs, Abdul Rahim Rather

The Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir is one of the highest producers of sea buckthorn in the India. "This product has become an export item for the state as it is valued for beverage and jam, herbal tea, cosmetic products, nutrient composition and anti-oxidant potential for pharmaceutical companies.”

"Currently, Leh has produced 68 tonnes of pulp through cooperative societies and more than 20 tonnes of sea buckthorn pulp by the self-help group," Rather said.
The item is in demand in private sector and the government is making attempts to increase its productivity.
"The Forest department has been trying to increase the area and density under the sea buck thorn in Ladakh by undertaking more plantations," the minister said.
An initiative has been taken for conservation, cultivation and management of sea buckthorn in Leh by forest department with the help of National Medicinal Plant Board of India.
Forest department is in the process to take up five years project, aimed at the development of sea buck thorn in Leh and Kargil districts, to be executed with the financial assistance from the Centre under National Mission for Green India.

.........................

500 Plants arrive

The wild, non-varietal, genetically diverse two year old plants have arrived. They are about 3-4 feet tall, bare root and seem to be extraordinarily healthy. I have placed some of them on E-Bay. I'll sell a few but I would also be very happy if all of them end up planted in Seboeis, Maine at the farm. (this link does not reflect the new field)

10 bare root Seabukthorn plants

How can I possibly plant 500? I have 10 days to do it and the biggest challenge will be the black flies. They can be vicious this time of year so likely most of the work will be done early in the day when I hope the temperatures will be very cool and the little buggers are still sluggish. The biggest danger will be the bears, yes bears. Here is a photo I captured of one about 50 yards from the field,

Yogi :-)

Luckily the fall hunting season makes them very wary of humans. I still am concerned in the springtime since they have just awakened from a long winter's nap and, well, I'd be hungry too..... I'll take some non-lethal precautions.

Before placing the bare root plants into the soil, I will be dipping the root systems in a polymer gel slurry infused with endo and ectomycorrhizal fungi. The gel and beneficial fungi will adhere to the roots preserving moisture and will, with luck, get the plants off to a good start.

Fozzel from Montana Writes: So what kind of training do you have with wrestling bears?

Fozzel (is that really your name?)- I figure since ordinarily I am only tolerable in short doses and am not a good partner on long hikes and my jokes are a little tiresome, even Yogi will have better company to keep.

Seabuckthorn buds in Spring April 21, 2013

2013-04-21T08:49:00.001-04:00

Wow! You are visitor #64,608 and counting. Thanks for stopping by, you're the best!

News: There are 500 wild, un-sexed Seabuckthorn plants, 2 yrs old and 36-48 inches tall now en-route to me. I will be offering bundles of 10 plants for sale at a cost of $80 dollars plus $10 dollars shipping to interested people. The new seed crop should be available next week as well. You can contact me through the blog if you are interested in purchasing plants. There will only be a few bundles available for sale as I am planning to plant the majority in Maine. More details to follow soon.

I have also been contacted by a company who wishes to advertise on this blog. I have mixed feelings since the blog is about growing and the company who wants to advertise has Seabuckthorn products geared to health. I am doing some investigation of the company to make sure of its reputation. First things first! :-)

Winter snows have melted away here in Mansfield Massachusetts. At the farm in Maine, winter's grip is holding on. The snow has a few more weeks of life, especially in the shaded, thick woods. Rhubarb, crocus, and daffodils have no such fear of a slowly retreating winter and are growing steadily even with the sub-freezing nights.

Male Seabuckthorn flowers have appeared on the purchased male plant (not grown from seed). The time frame from visible buds to the opening of those male Seabuckthorn flowers was approximately 10 days. The female flowers have not become clearly apparent as of yet. I am hoping they are old enough to flower this year. At the end of the photos here there are a couple of pictures of what they look like today.

Early Male Seabuckthorn FlowerBuds

Early Male Seabuckthorn Buds

More Pre-Blossoming Male Flower buds

Early Male Seabuckthorn Flower Buds

Male Seabuckthorn Buds, Blossoming

Open Seabuckthorn Male Buds

Male Seabuckthorn Buds, Blossoming

Male Seabuckthorn Buds, Blossoming

The Female Seabuckthorn Flowers?
There are two scales just below the new growth where the flowers may emerge, I wait - not so patiently, to see

Pre-emergent flower scales on female Seabuckthorn Plants

Branch Buds on 5 foot, 3 year old seedling. Are female flower scales present? I don't know......

German Sea Buckthorn Variety Report

2013-03-22T12:49:00.001-04:00

Note: Added Seabuckthorn Honey Mustard Recipe in Seabuckthorn Recipe Cookbook (condiment section)

Breeding varieties of sea-buckthorn in Germany

Hippophae rhamnoides L. - Leikora

In early 1970, a breeding station in Berlin began with the selection of high yielding sea buckthorn clones suitable for commercial cultivation. The starting materials were used for breeding purposes were mainly wild species of Hippophae rhamnoides L. found in coastal areas of northern Germany. This work resulted in 5 standard female varieties which have been successful around the world.

The first came in 1979. Leikora is a late maturing variety which is characterized by large fruit, relatively high content of vitamin C and significant amounts of oil. However, it holds the fruit on the plant very strongly, thereby making harvesting difficult. Additionally, when the fruit laden branches re cut during harvest, two years are required before fruit is again available for harvest.

A medium early maturing variety Hergé came to market in 1983. It has a significantly lower fruit holding power and produces a very high yield. Hergé has an increased need for water. A few years Frugana, Asko ® and Dorana ® came to market. Frugana and Asko ® are have strong growth and ripen approximately the same time. Asko ® has a particularly high content of fruit acids. Dorana ® provides plenty of vitamin C, but its growth is relatively weak, it is less suitable for commercial cultivation, but it is very suitable for hobby cultivation and small gardens is useful as an ornamental plant.

Given that sea-buckthorn is dioecious plant, which requires pollinator to pollinate it, four clones have been developed as suitable pollinators. They have been named Pollmix ®. Pollmix 1 ® blooms early (good for Orange Energy, Sirola, Frugana). Pollmix 2 +4 ® bloom mid March until May (good for Leikora and Hergo). Late flowering clone, Pollmix 3 ® blooms days after Pollmix 1 ® (good for Hergo and Leikora) Pollmix 5 ® has a very early flowering date and low spination. Planning a mix of male pollinators is a good practice.

In 1980, two new varieties Habego ® (Orange Energy TM)and brimstone ® were introduced. Both varieties have been tested for many years at several sites for its performance and suitability for commercial cultivation. They have shown excellent results.

Habego ®, which was launched in 2005 under the trade brand name Orange Energy TM, originated from a cross Leikora x Pollmix 2 . It grows very strongly with good side branching. It fruits well and has few thorns. Fruits are large (100 pieces = 51 g), oblong oval, at full maturity will turn to brilliant orange. It has excellent color and fruit stability, it contains high amounts of these valuable active ingredients:

Total acidity: 3.1 to 3.6%
ascorbic acid (vitamin C): 149 - 289mg / 100 g fresh mass
carotene: from 11.8 to 17.7 mg / 100 g fresh mass
tocopherol (vitamin E): 18.9 mg / 100 g fresh mass
total fat content: 4.9 to 6.3%

Variety Habego ® recovers well from cutting the fruit laden branches and crops again after two years. It is a beautiful ornamental plant. Suitable pollinators are Pollmix pollinators.

The new variety 'Sirola® is early and from a cross between the varieties from the Siberian Altai region x Pollmix. It has an upright growth, and has few thorns and side shoots. The fruit ripens in early August They are large (100 pieces = 52 g), oval, the color is red-orange.The fruits are easily plucked from the branches and have a sweet flavor.

ascorbic acid (vitamin C): 127 - 181mg / 100 g fresh mass
carotene: from 7.8 to 23.9 mg / 100 g fresh mass
Total fat: 5.1%
Since the early blooms, requires almost rosaceous pollen as Pollmix Pollmix 1 and 5 ®.

Breeder's objectives: in 1971, breeding was aimed at: a high performance, thick fruit pedicel, fruit size, high in fruit acids and ascorbic acid, good resilience after cutting, low spination and shorter overall height. After several years of experience breeding objectives are extended to: oil content, carotene and tocopherol content, and the ability to produce fruits which are not strongly attached to branches so the development of new methods for fruit harvest can advance.

Today's requirements for variety: stable and high yield, good taste, ability to regenerate after pruning, healthy plants (wilting) and extend the harvest season.

Future breeding: looking for varieties with improved characteristics, individual choice and regional types of cloning, depending on the success of comprehensive qualifying examination, the presence of regional genotypes and a high degree of specialization, possibly selection from crosses of upland types of coastal types Hippophae rhamni. L. ssp. Hippophae fluviatilis x rhamni. L. ssp. maritima.

Variety / year launch	Importance for commercial cultivation	Behavior
Leikora 1979	very suitable 3 yr. cycle yield strong erect growth compact plant harder picking	late ripening time, very attractive fruit stick, high color stability, good taste, vit.C content of 240 mg%, the oil content of 4.9%
Hergé 1983	very suitable 2.The cycle yield moderate growth requires good quality soil and irrigation	medium-early ripening time after Askole, very high yields, with the possibility of shaking fruits harvested
Frugana 1986	almost all cultivated	early period of ripening, very outstanding in the field
Dorana 1990	inappropriate - suitable for hobby growing, weak growth needs good soil conditions	medium-early ripening time, poor resilience with regular trimming, high vit.C 340mg%
Asko 1990	very suitable 2 yr cycle yield very good upright growth slightly branched	early ripening period total acidity 5.3%, high vitamin E
Habego Orange Energy (TM) 2005	very suitable 2yr cycle yield strong growth with good side branching small spines	medium-early maturing before Leikora, high yields and high color stabile fruits, carotene 15mg%, oil 5.4%, high in vitamin E
Sirola 2005	inappropriate - suitable for hobby growing moderate upright growth and little thorns side shoots	early period of ripening, fruits are red-orange in color, higher sugar content, rich fruit stick, easy to pick

Sea-buckthorn - growing data

scored 9 = excellent, 5 = medium, 1 = very bad

Variety	Time of ripening	Growth	Shape crown	Revenues	Suitability for commercial cultivation	Orna-mental value	Suitability for reproduction
ASKO	early	strong	erect	9	9	8	9
Dorana	medium early	weak	widely-spherical	8	7	9	5
Frugana	Early	strong	erect	8	8	5	9
Hergé	medium early	moderate	Oval-spreading	9	9	5	9
Leikora	late	strong	Oval-spreading	8	9	9	9
Orange enegy	medium early	very strong	upright	9	9	9	9
Sirola	very early	strong	upright	8	9	5	7

Sea-buckthorn - characteristics of fruits
fruits Hair: 9 = no, 5 = medium, 1 = very strong

Variety	Size fruits g/100 berries	Color of fruits	Hair fruits	Acidity %	Vitamin C mg/100g	Carotene mg/100g	Oil content %
ASKO	29	Orange	5	5.3	269	12.0	3.7
Dorana	25	Orange	7	4.9	340	6.5	3.4
Frugana	40	light orange	8	3.5	160	9.0	4.1
Hergé	37	light orange	7	3.5	150	5.0	4.3
Leikora	56	dark orange	5	3.4	240	6.0	4.9
Orange enegy	51	Orange	8	3.1	149	17.0	6.3
Sirola	47	red-orange	5	3.1	158	16.9	5.1

reference : http://www.shop.zahradnictvolimbach.sk/%C5%A0%C4%BEachtenie-Rakytn%C3%ADka-re%C5%A1etliakov%C3%A9ho-v-Nemecku#.UUyTWxzCaSo

Oyunbileg writes: Tom, How many sea buckthorn varieties are there in the world? Oyunbileg, I don't know for sure. There is a need for regional varieties such as Autumn Glow in Canada and others are in development all over the world. I hope to develop a variety which is particularly adaptogenic to the northeast United States. Thanks for the question! You may be interested in a previous post -- Planting a Seabuckthorn Orchard in Mongolia

Harvesting Seabuckthorn Berries - For the Garden at Home

2013-03-06T20:05:00.001-05:00

Harvesting Tool for Seabuckthorn:

These 2 videos from Matti Lindqvist. He has a great idea for the home garden Seabuckthorn grower. The tool is handmade and looks fairly easy to do. Matti is from Finland and describes it like this:

Video #1- I manufactured this device about 15 years ago for sea buckthorn harvesting in the home garden. I have many bushes with small berries and lots of spikes. I think the device is good especially in small berries picking for home use and the undamaged berries are nice and clean to freeze. In autumn, I often picked up to 220 lbs (100 kg).

Video #2 - Matti continues....This is my home made seabuckthorn berry picker. I have put some instructions on how I made it at the end of the video In this video, I pick small berries from very thorny bush which I cannot ordinarily use my fingers. If I were to use my fingers, many berries would break and I would just end up with yellow fingers from the broken berries. The berries are ready to pick when the very small scale at the top of the berries fly away, the skin gets thin and it is good to have a picker like this. I like sea-buckthorn juice with stevia sweetener because it gives it a little vanilla taste and I believe it is healthier than sugar.

I have taken some liberty with the Finnish translation. If Matti sees this, I hope he doesn't mind.

Harvesting Seabuckthorn / Hippophae rhamnoides

2013-02-28T18:16:00.000-05:00

Harvesting Seabuckthorn Berries

This is just one method. It is a great video produced as an advertisement for a brand of cosmetics. Even so it has a lot of good information and is informative as to row spacing for mechanized harvesting.

There are also machines in development which would thresh the fresh berries from the plant without cutting. (Cutting the branches as seen here does reduce the next years harvest.) So far these fresh berry threshing machines have not been successful to my knowledge. They tend to smash and bruise the berries, or if set at a lesser amplitude, leave to many berries on the plant. Some research is being done to treat the plant with plant hormones prior to harvest to facilitate the loosening of the fruit from the branches before the machine threshes or shakess the plants. This doesn't seem like a good idea to me from a human health perspective but I really do not know the safety of plant hormone treatments.

Prashant shares his Seabuckthorn finds in Ladakh near Leh

2013-02-27T17:22:00.000-05:00

Where is Ladaka? It between Kashmir, China, Tibet, and India generally speaking. Wikipedia has a wonderful page on it. The photographs alone are worth checking it out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladakh

View Larger Map

Prashant writes in Sept 2011:
Dear Friends,

I had been to Ladakh recently. Sharing few of my finds.. I hope U all will like this..

This is my first post from Ladakh..

Entire Nubra valley was full of this Leh berry. Great Sight.

Date/Time: 18-09-2011 / 12:30PM

Location: Hundar, Nubra Valley, Ladakh.
Common name: Sea-buckthorn,
Bot. name: Hippophae rhamnoides
Family: Elaeagnaceae

Regards
Prashant

His Photos:

Any Suggestions?

2013-02-26T16:32:00.000-05:00

Permaculture Planning.

Do you have any suggestions? Plants, location of plants, etc? This is a work in progress and I would love to find an application where visitors could access the plan and make changes/comments right on the plan and have it automatically update right on this page. If you know of one, please let me know.

Overall view

leaching field detail

near cabin detail

Sight lines from cabin

A Sea Buckthorn Summary

2013-02-25T17:26:00.002-05:00

It may be time to consolidate some of the information here. I am just a simple gardener with dreams and like to share and I think a summary might be good.

February 25, 2013 -
Right now, sea buckthorn and its fruit, seaberries, is gaining in popularity around the world. North America may be the area where it is lesser known yet everywhere there is great upside potential. The plant can be used as shelterbelt planting, as erosion control from the mountains to the shorline, as an integral part of permaculture systems, in a huge number of medical applications, and may help save ocean ecosystems!
That last point may have surprised you (the ocean?).
For example: Krill is a cold water small shrimp which is critical as it is near the bottom of the ocean's food chain. Krill increasingly are harvested for their omega oils. Sea Buckthorn can be harvested for the same oils and, if more is needed, planting more is the answer. Krill harvesting for human consumption is a far more finite and destructive practice.

Sea Buckthorn needs a stable production, harvesting, and processing system to meet demands such as these. China so far is leading the way in this area with millions of acres and hundreds of processing facilities. Russia has had significant production since the 1940's.

I suspect if one were to travel to China, Russia, and Germany, where the largest modern or semi-modern commercial sea buckthorn agriculture is practiced, that trip would reap a wealth of practical information yet to be documented.

Growing
Sea buckthorn can be grown from seeds, from rooted cuttings, or from the cutting of roots which are producing suckers.

Climate limitations are primarily shade, not receiving at least 800 hours of cold dormancy, and moisture which avoids the extremes of bog/flood and desert.

Plants are either male or female. Orchard spacing and distribution should be carefully planned for productivity. For both the home gardener and commercial producer, one male to every 7 females is a good rule of thumb.

Soil requirements for sea buckthorn are best described as a light to medium loam which is well drained. Compacted, weedy, and residual herbicide levels in soils should be corrected or avoided. I have read statements which imply sea buckthorn can grow in sand, in clay, and in water. Extremes in soil composition are not recommended. The Ph of the soil is ideal between 6-7. Soil amendments should not include Nitrogen (except when plants are first set out) as it my interfere with the plants own nitrogen fixing mechanisms and its symbiotic relationship with the frankia bacteria found on the roots. Phosphorous fertilizer is good where needed.

Row spacing is 1meter/3feet between plants and 4 meters/12 feet between rows. Between row spacing depends greatly on the method of harvesting you plan or envision in the future as orchards remain productive for 15-20 years.

Moisture sensitivity is most evident during flowering and when the plants are young. Otherwise, approximately 200mm/8inches of rain per growing season is ideal.

Diseases affecting sea buckthorn include verticillium wilt, bacterial leaf spot, leaf blight, and fusarium wilt.

Insect pests include aphids, leaf roller, gypsy moth, winter moth, june bug, gall tick, scale, thrips, and two spotted mites.

Animal pests include deer, rodents (including rabbits) livestock, gophers, and birds.

Weed control is needed to reduce the mortality of seedlings and young plants. Plants begin to shade out the weeds near their base in the third year (from seed). Pruning may affect this. Mechanical opposed to chemical weeding is preferred. Mulch either organic or plastic/fabric ok.

Basic pruning to train branches and eliminate dead/diseased or overlapping branches should be done annually. Limit long branches to promote lateral shoots.

Harvesting is accomplished by hand picking or branch removal and freezing with subsequent shaking or mechanical removal of the frozen berries. New methods are under development for mechanical harvesting of unfrozen, ripe berries from the plant.

Most of the topics above are discussed in detail in previous posts and will undoubtedly be revisited as new information becomes available and as I document my own experiences. I encourage anyone to use the topic index or search box to the right to find out more.

Your experiences are valuable, please share in the comment section.

Is Hippophae ramnoides L. - Seabuckthorn Invasive?

2013-02-24T11:34:00.000-05:00

Hippophae Rhamoides L. - Seabuckthorn / Seaberry is not invasive. I have recently engaged in a lively discussion and consulted with some of the most respected researchers (via email) in Canada and on and on. The answer is no, it is not invasive. I have done the research and much of it can be found here - http://seaberry-hippophaerhamnoides.blogspot.com/p/research.html. This may generate some comments and discussion. That would be great.

Winter is a great time to plan and not a good a time to actually work in the garden. In Maine, the cabin and new six acre field is enveloped in snow and only accessible by snowmobile, snowshoe, or cross country skis. So, for me, I wait and plan. Mid May usually is the end of mud season.

Thirteen years ago I purchased 45 acres and a year later began the construction of a log cabin. The weather-tight shell was completed in 9 weeks and then took 3 years to complete. Since that time, I have concentrated on forest health and access by thinning the existing trees and cutting access paths (atv size) to make working in all areas easier including the river and brook.

Sea berry (Hippophae rhamnoides) sparked an interest about 5 years ago as I searched for interesting and extremely cold hardy plants with agricultural potential. At the time there was almost no information available on the internet. Today isn't much different. Yes there is more, but it seems there is little to coalesce and a lot of conflicting information. Having said that, the plant has been cultivated in the United States and Canada for nearly a hundred years have. In other parts of the word, it has a far more extensive history.

As I move forward at the farm in Maine with this multi-year eclectic project, a permaculture theology, of sorts, will be a source of inspiration and guidance.

This is just the beginning of the plan.

Seaberry Smoothie and Juice Review

2013-01-26T18:58:00.001-05:00

Seabuckthorn Smoothie

This was a great video using fresh seaberries. I'm sure using frozen (if you have them) or bottled juice would be delicious as well. The original is at http://nowyourecooking.tumblr.com/post/32658927749/buckthorn-smoothie

Juice Reviews:

I have tried two different Seabuckthorn Juices which are available to me locally and are available most everywhere on the internet. They are sold as supplements but are both fully able to be utilized in preparing some delicious food and drink (see this post for more recipes). How long will it be before Seaberries are available in the frozen food section or maybe as concentrate in the grocery store? I don't know, but with over 3 million acres and 150 processing facilities in China (these are old numbers) how long can it be?

The two juice products have very different attributes. Both are good but I have my favorite!

The first one is Seabuckthorn Revitalize and Renew by Sibu Beauty. Its ingredients: Sea buckthorn puree, apple juice from concentrate, acerola fruit juice from concentrate, evaporated cane juice, banana puree, seabuckthorn seed oil, natural flavors, pectin, and xantan gum. Manufacture's website price - $1.18/ oz.

The second is Sea Buckthorn 100 from Genesis Today. Its ingredients are Sea Buckthorn Puree, Sea Buckthorn Concentrate, and Sea Buckthorn Fruit and Seed Oil. Manufacture's website price - $1.21/oz

As you might have guessed from the ingredient list, the Genesis Today Sea Buckthorn 100 win my vote hands down. It is far more sour and true to what the berry is than the Sibu Beauty Revitalize and Renew. I also have found it to have more seaberry flavor when used in preparing both sweet and savory foods. The Sibu product is tasty, but the apple and other flavors are very noticeable and not what I personally prefer. If you like a toned down version then it may be for you.

News:

Pittsfield, Massachusetts (PRWEB) January 08, 2013

According to Marina Perry, Vice President for Product Development at Rosacea Care, the soothing and healing qualities of Sea Buckthorn provide an effective approach to relieving the irritation and discomfort often associated with rosacea, a skin disorder characterized by facial redness, frequently accompanied by pimples and visible blood vessels. There is no cure, but it is possible to control the symptoms, and that’s where the healing powers of Sea Buckthorn can play a major role.

Seabuckthorn - Male or Female Plant?

2013-01-21T11:14:00.000-05:00

First, The News:

Seabuckthorn Plants for sale:

(Watch for sales of wild un-sexed Chinese Seabuckthorn plants by Foxgreen Farms. I have 500 1-2 ft plants which will be ready to ship late April as well as 100 Saskatoon Berry plants)

Raintree Nursery has a number of varieties at this writing. Prices range from @$19.00 to $25.00. There are six female and one male selections. Many are limited to one plant per customer.

One Green World has one additional female variety, it is called Hergo and the prices are similar.

From NewStateman: Britain’s leading, best written and most authoritative weekly political, cultural and current affairs magazine.

"...things Britain went mad for in 2012: deep-fried moss and sea buckthorn juice (courtesy of the Scandinavians).." link to NewStateman

From Bon Appetit Magazine: "Ingredient of the moment"

Thank you to Tony and Jeanne, from New England Foodie, for sending me this photo. For readers of this blog, if you haven't yet seen the delicious ideas on New England Foodie and love food, I highly recommend visiting!

Do I have a Male or Female Plant?

The answer is both simple and complex. Hippophae Rhamnoides or Sea Buckthorn is dioecious, which means the plant are either male or female. Determining what you have is easiest if you either buy a pre-sexed plant which was propagated from cuttings from an established, sex certain mature plant. More difficult is when a plant has not reached the age of maturity and has not yet flowered or produced fruit. This can take 3-5 years from seed. Many of my seedling plants are entering their 3rd year and I hope to show the earliest possible indications whether that be the previous fall's buds, the blossoms, or the formation of fruit. In addition to previously posted photographs, Eva Ekeblad has this remarkable photograph:

The left depict male structure and the right female. The female flowers are nearly invisible at the base of the spring leaf growth. Click on the photo to go to original at http://www.s-weeds.net/sidor/tail/0506.html

Female buds are formed the previous year, they are protected by a scale on one side and the shoot on

the other, and are about the length of the thickness of a credit card and half as thick. They do not become visible until they are at least 3mm in length. (J.E. Harrison and T. Beveridge 2002)

Your comments, suggestions, and contributions are welcome and appreciated wholeheartedly! Please subscribe by any of the methods to the right hand side of this page.

Haldis writes: Do you really think you can sell 500 super sour seaberry plants?

Haldis,

Thanks for the question. I would have great difficulty parting with all of them. I have plans for some of them when they grow up.

--Tom

Planning A Seabuckthorn Orchard

2013-01-05T17:15:00.000-05:00

Hello again! You are visitor 56,051. Wow! :-)

Left Panel: Three year old sea buckthorn trees near Wingham, ON (2005). Right Panel: Four year old trees from the same orchard(2006)

A wonderfully nice woman from India recently wrote me asking about planning a seabuckthorn orchard. That email prompted this post. Thank you Anjali!

The distribution of male to female seabuckthorn plants is important and determining their sex is not an easy task. If starting from seedlings, you should be prepared to cull out excess male plants and replace them with females. This can be accomplished by having a nursery reserve for this purpose or propagating from cuttings of your best female plants.

1.How to distinguish full grown male bushes from the female bushes?

This is difficult or impossible until they bloom. Even when they do, the blossoms are so small that the only certain way is to observe the berries to know you have a female plant. Most propagation is done by cuttings from existing known female plants. This ensures knowing the sex of an immature plant before it blooms. I am testing now to see if fall buds are different enough to tell. If so this would provide that answer a winter before the first fruiting (3-4 years from seedling stage) There is a seed supplier in China who markets a seed variety which they represent as having a 7:3 female to male ratio. The link is- http://kangxi.en.alibaba.com/product/706124302-213248280/Hippophae_rhamnoides_seeds_for_growing.html

I do not have any experience purchasing from them.

If you are very scientifically curious, there is a link on my research page to an excellent paper on the fruit structure of Hippophae rhamnoides L. ( seabuckthorn, Indian Summer)

Click here if you would like to review it.

2. What is the ratio of male to female bushes in a plantation of Seabuckthorn?

Field distribution should be as follows: X=MALE O=FEMALE

X	O	O	O	X	O	O	O	X	O	O	O
O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
O	O	X	O	O	O	X	O	O	O	X	O
O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
X	O	O	O	X	O	O	O	X	O	O	O
O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
O	O	X	O	O	O	X	O	O	O	X	O
O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O

So out of 144 plants there would be 12 males. Different research recommends anywhere from 6-12% male plants. This grid works out to be @8% male plants.

3. What is the ideal planting distance between bushes?

Rows should be 4- 5 meters apart (13-16 feet) to facilitate mechanized harvesting.

The plants should be 1 to 1.5 meters (3-5 ft) apart in the rows

4. How many seabuckthorn bushes per acre or hectare?

I’ll give you a few different computations

Row spacing	Between row spacing	Plants required Per Hectare	Plants required per acre
1m (3 ft)	5m (16 ft)	2000	735
1.5m (5 ft)	5m (16 ft)	1333	555
1m (3 ft)	6m (19.5 ft)	1666	605
1.5m (5 ft)	6m (19.5 ft)	1111	465

Rows should be orientated North to South to maximize sun exposure. The spacing choices, I think, really depend on whether mechanized or hand labor would be used to harvest the fruit and controlling sucker growth between the plants. There are more details to harvesting and the technology is improving. That is another very large topic to consider and I would think it depends on the size of the operation as well as the availability of labor.

Cooking with Seabuckthorn / Sea Berries (Updated Often)

2012-12-27T17:23:00.001-05:00

Seabuckthorn Recipe Cookbook
Most People agree that food and eating are an important part of their lives and that while nutrition is a primary consideration the taste, preparation, and exploration of new foods is very much enjoyable. Seabuckthorn plants produce seaberries which are relatively unknown in the United States. This is changing and one bit of evidence is the popularity of the recipe page on this blog.

Why eat seabuckthorn? Its delicious and versitile and healthy! Here are some of the benefits, in brief, this berry can have if added to your diet.

Medicinal uses of seaberries are well documented. (trust me) Seabuckthorn oils are used externally for the treatment of burns, bed sores, and other skin ailments. It has been used in treating radiation exposure with good results. Internally, seabuckthorn is used treating digestive ulcers. A component of the bark 5-hydroxytryptamine(hippophan) has evidence of inhibiting tumor growth. High blood lipids, eye diseases, gum and cardiovascular disease (including high blood pressure) have been studied and seabuckthorn seems to have a positive effect on theses illnesses.

Let's get back to the delicious part......

Appetizers

Sea buckthorn sorbet and caramel served with crispy goat cheese

Ingredients

Sorbet:

6dl (2½ cups) sea buckthorn juice
1dl (½ cup) sea buckthorn marmalade
0.6 dl (¼ cup) prosorbet

Caramel:

2dl (1 cup) sugar
2dl (1 cup) sea buckthorn juice

Crispy goat cheese:

10 X 60g (2 oz) goat cheese
1dl (½ cup) wheat flour
3 beaten eggs
3dl (1¼ cups) panko breadcrumbs

Instructions

Sorbet:

Mix the juice, marmalade and the prosorbet and freeze with an ice cream machine.

Caramel:

Melt the sugar in a saucepan and cook until it turns brown and smells like caramel.
Stir in the sea buckthorn juice and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Crispy goat cheese:

Turn the cheeses first in flour, then egg, then in flour again, then egg again and finally the Panko.
Deep fry the coated cheeses until golden in a large pan, oil at 180°C/355°F
Serve with the caramel and sorbet. Nice to serve with some deep fried parsley!

Credit: This recipe was created by chef GustavTragardh . http://blogs.sweden.se/food/tag/sea-buckthorn

Beverages

Seabucthorn Fir Tree Sour (extra-ordinary!)
Fir Tip Syrup:
1/2    cup (125 mL) sugar
1/2    cup (125 mL) water
1/2    cup (125 mL) fir or pine needles

Sea-Buckthorn Fir Tree Sour:
1 ½ oz bourbon
½  oz Ammaretto Liqueur
1    tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice
¾  oz sea-buckthorn juice
¾   oz Fir Tip Syrup
3    drops of egg white
Gooseberry, for garnish

Directions:

Fir Tip Syrup:

Combine sugar, water and needles in a saucepot set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove pot from heat and let the needles steep for 2 minutes. Strain mixture through a sieve; discard solids. Refrigerate syrup until ready to use.

Sea-Buckthorn Fir Tree Sour:

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake vigorously. Double strain into a cocktail glass filled with ice.

Serves 1
Credit: By Christie Peters, chef/owner of THE HOLLOWS in Saskatoon http://flavoursmagazine.ca/2012/12/sea-buckthorn-fir-tree-sour/

Vanilla Sea Jack
1 oz. Bourbon
1 oz.Sea Buckthorn juice
1 Peach liquour
1 Tbl. Vanilla infused sugar
Dash Angostura bitters (Optional)
Combine with ice and shake pouring strained liquid onto ice filled glass.

Solberry Cocktail
Adapted From Chef Karen Peters
@CBC Manitioba
A very interesting use of Sea Buckthorn juice or puree-
1/4 shot limoncello
3/4 shot white rum
Soda Water
Top with Sea Buckthorn juice or Puree
Method:
Mix limoncello and white rum, fill most of the glass with soda water and top with sea buckthorn juice or puree

Buttermilk (or Cream or kefir) with
Seabuckthorn and Carrot Juice

Buttermilk with Seabuckthorn and Carrot Juice is a traditional Russian recipe for a classic buttermilk drink flavoured with seabuckthorn and carrot juice. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Russian version.

Buttermilk with Seabuckthorn and Carrot Juice
Origin: Russia Period: Traditional
This is a classic Russian drink that balances the acidity of sea-buckthorn fruit with the sweetness of carrot juice. The recipe is gauged for a single serving; simply increase to the number of servings desired.
Ingredients:

6-7 oz. (200ml) buttermilk (or single cream)
1/4 cu. (50g )sea-buckthorn berries
1 shot glass (50ml) carrot juice
1/4 cu. granulated sugar

Method:

Wash the seabuckthorn thoroughly then purée in a blender with 1 tbsp water. Transfer to a cloth and ring out to extract as much juice as possible (discard the pulp).

Transfer the juice to a bowl then beat in the carrot juice and sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Slowly whisk in the buttermilk (or cream), transfer to a tall glass and serve.
Confections

Desserts

Seabuckthorn Curd with Rasberries

Ingredients

1.    ½ cup Sea buckthorn purée
2.    3 eggs
3.    ½ cup sugar
4. 10 tablespoons butter
Instructions
1.    Bring the purée, sugar and egg to the boil during constant whisking.
2.    Pour in a blender and blend with the butter and chill.
3.    Serve in a mini tartelette pastry and top with fresh raspberries.
credit: http://blogs.sweden.se/food/tag/sea-buckthorn/

Seabuckthorn Amaretto Cheesecake
This recipe is from Estonia and can be found on Nami-Nami's blog. She has lots of interesting ideas.
I just finished making 2 normal sized cheesecakes. I’ll bring one to work and send one along to the holiday feast I’ll miss due to working. The photo is of a small version I made to taste and it was wonderful. Even if you do not make it with Seabuckthorn berry, use your imagination and change up the berry choice.
Amounts are in US and European units. The conversions I calculated and they work well. Enjoy!
Sea-buckthorn and Amaretto cheesecake
Serves 8
Ingredients:
4.5 oz. or 125g digestive-biscuits (graham crackers in U.S.A.)
3.5 Tbs. or 50 g butter, melted
(you can use a store bought pre-formed graham cracker crust)
Cheesecake layer:
20 oz. (2.5 pkgs) or 600 g full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
3 large eggs
1/2 cup or 85 g caster sugar (100 ml)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Amaretto-seabuckthorn jelly:
¾ cup or 200 g sea-buckthorn berries, fresh or frozen
3 Tbsp caster or soft brown sugar
3 to 4 Tbsp Amaretto
3 to 4 Tbsp hot water
1 ¼ oz. pkt or 4 gelatine leaves (and some cold water for soaking)
Method:
Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.
Grease a 24 cm/10 inch round springform/loose-bottomed cake tin with butter, line the base with parchment paper. Process biscuits into fine crumbs, add melted butter and combine. Press the cookie mixture over base and sides of the prepared tin. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
To make the cheesecake, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together until smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until combined.
Pour over the biscuit/cracker base and bake in the middle of a preheated 350F/180C oven for 30 minutes, until the filling is more or less set (it shouldn’t wobble too much, when you lightly shake the cake tin).
Remove from the oven and cool completely.
To make the jelly layer, soak the gelatin powder or leaves in a few tablespoons cold water for 5 minutes.
Place the (defrosted, if necessary) berries into a blender and process until smooth. Press through a fine sieve to remove the seeds. Season to taste with sugar and Amaretto.
Squeeze the gelatine leaves to remove excess cold water, then stir into hot water (about 4 Tbsp) until dissolved. Stir into the sea-buckthorn purée. Pour the mixture carefully over cooled cheesecake. The jelly should not be to firm, whisk or heat slightly in microwave to make it a thick spreadable jelly.
Place into the fridge for at least 4 hours to set.

Apple Sea-Buckthorn Pie
By RadicalFarmer
(link: Gardentenders website )

Filling:
- 4 cooking apples, peeled and sliced
- 2 cups Sea berries, without the stems
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup flour
- several dashes of ground cloves
Add sea-buckthorn berries to a pan with a little water and six teaspoons of the sugar. Bring to a boil, simmer for about 20 minutes until the fruit are soft and pulpy. Press pulp through a sieve into a glass mixing bowl to remove the seeds. Add cooking apples, remaining sugar, flour and cloves and microwave for about five minutes until the apples are softened.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. and prepare oil pastry for crust. Spoon filling into prepared crust bottom and cover with top crust. Make vents to release the steam and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake for approximated fifteen minutes. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees F. and bake until the crust is brown and juice is bubbling from the steam vents.
The closest I can describe the taste is the taste of a fresh peach pie. The apples came from a local orchard because our apple tree did not do well this year (all the fruit dropped off before it was ripe). The sea berries, of course, were ours. The fourth picture is two jars of the Sea-Buckthorn jelly I made. Without the apples, the jelly tastes more like oranges or lemons. In the pie with the apples, the tastes blend to something like peaches.
-- "To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." M. Gandhi

Cream Cheese-Sea Buckthorn Snow Cookies
1/2 cup Butter
4 oz. Cream Cheese
1 cup Cane Sugar
4 Tb Sea Buckthorn Juice
2 cups Unbleached White Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Powdered Sugar

Cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add the sugar and cream until smooth. Blend in the sea buckthorn juice until it is fully incorporated. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredient into the wet and blend until just combined, careful not to over mix.

Place by 1-inch round balls onto a greased cookie sheet. Flatten the dough and scrape the top with a fork to make etchings on the top of the cookie. Bake at 375ºF for 10 minutes. Allow to cool a few minutes. In a small bowl, pour the powdered sugar. Take a cookie and place it top down into the powdered sugar. Make sure the sugar covers the top of the cookie with a light layer. Repeat this step with the rest of the cookies. If you have a sifter, you can simply sift the powdered sugar onto the cookies. Makes about 20 cookies.
Update: Add a couple of tablespoons of juice to the leftover powdered sugar to make a glaze that will add tons of delicious sea buckthorn flavor!

Dream Cake with Oats, Coconut, and Seaberries
(photo of cake made with blueberries)
Author: Mia Irene Kristensen Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 35 min. Total time: 50 min. Serves: 12
Ingredients:
1.5 cups (275 g) flour (try old wheat varieties such as spelt)
3 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
3 large eggs
1.5 cups (300 g) sugar
6 tablespoons (90 g) butter, melted
¾ cup whole milk plus 1 tablespoon (200 ml) single cream or whole milk
Generous 1 cup (175 g) fresh/frozen seaberries, black currants, red currants, lingonberries, cloudberries or blueberries.
Topping:
1 ¾ stick of butter (200 g) butter
1/3 cup (75 ml) whole milk
2 cups (375 g) brown sugar
2 cups(175g) rolled oats or 1 cup dry unsweetened coconut and 1 cup rolled oats
3 tsp. dark malt flour (optional)
Instructions
1. Heat the oven to 365F or 185C degrees.
2. Sieve flour, baking powder into a bowl.
3. Whisk together eggs, vanilla, and sugar until pale and fluffy, it takes approx. 12 minutes.
4. Sieve (again) the flour and baking powder into the whisked eggs and fold it together.
5. Add the butter and cream and stir carefully until fully combined.
6. Lastly fold in the berries and tip the dough into the baking tin.
7. Bake the sponge for 30 minutes until firm.
8. While the sponge is baking, continue with the topping.
9. Topping: Mix all the ingredients in a pot and melt it until slightly bobbling.
10. Remove the pot from the heat and pour the caramel onto the pre-baked sponge.
11. Put the cake back in the oven and bake for 5-7 minutes at 225 degrees.
12. Let the cake cool a little for the topping to set before cutting.
Recipe adapted from Honest Cooking at http://honestcooking.com/2012/05/03/nordic-cuisine-for-the-home-cook

Meats

CHING HE HUANG Steamed chicken with sea buckthorn dressing
(use Pepper if you do not have Alexander Seeds)

Sauces

Seafood

Artic Char with Seaberries (appetizer or main dish)
Ingredients
4 filets of arctic char (or trout) each 4 oz. (1/4 lb)
4 hands full of Spinach
3 hands full of black trumpet mushrooms (use what you have)
Butter
White bread crumbs (3 slices worth)
Hollandaise:

14 Tbs of browned butter
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup of seabuckthorn berry juice (or lemon juice if not available)

STEPS

1. Roast 1 handful of the mushrooms in 1 stick of butter. Blend it (both mushrooms and butter) with bread crumbs from 3 slices of white bread.
2. Add salt and pepper.
3. Spread it out on a tray and let it cool off – best in a fridge.
4. When it is hard slice it up in suitable ‘plates’ in the same size as the filets. Place on top of the filets and bake it under the grill in the oven for 4-5 minutes
5. Sautee the mushrooms on a hot pan with butter and add the spinach 2 minutes before serving. Add salt and pepper.

Hollandaise

1. Whisk the juice and the egg yolks under low to medium heat in a pot until it becomes airy.
2. Add the browned butter slowly and keep whisking. Remember to keep the temperature below 150 Farenheigt to make sure it stays together.
3. Add salt and pepper

Drizzle hollandais over broiled fish and garnish with mild flavored sprouts.

Credit : KONG HANS KÆLDER (chef) and reviewed on Dan's Good Side Blog http://dansgoodside.com/wordpress/tag/paul-rogalski/

Soups

Condiments

SEA BUCKTHORN VINEGAR

By Sandra Rae

Put a couple of inches of sea buckthorn berries into a sterilized decorative bottle.
You can reuse a wine bottle.
You can also use canning jars with lids.

Boil white vinegar and fill bottle.
Cork.
If using canning jars fill and process 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.

To use vinegar use one part vinegar to 2 parts olive oil.
Salt and pepper to taste.
You can also add fresh herbs,
Use on your favorite salad vegetables.
Fresh tomatoes, sliced red onion, and a little feta cheese is especially delicious.

Credit: Sandra Rae

Homemade Seabuckthorn Honey Mustard

6 tablespoons black or brown mustard seeds
1/2 cup mustard powder
3 tablespoons seabuckthorn juice
1/4 cup cold white wine
1/4 cup cold water
2 teaspoons salt
3 1/2 tablespoons honey

Crush the mustard seeds with a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Don't blitz them to powder, just break them up. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl (for a less spicy mustard use warm water). Place in an airtight jar in the fridge and allow the mustard to sit for a day or two to mellow out a bit. Keeps for a year in the fridge.

Winter springs into the forest farm!

2012-12-11T09:08:00.001-05:00

Winter has arrived at the northern seabuckthorn experiment site. Yesterday the snow and ice blanketed the area and this morning the beauty of the area was breathtaking.

The plants here have lost all of their leaves and seem to be otherwise in good condition. The buds are formed and attached firmly ready for spring growth.

Close view of snow and ice on field. Update - 12-28-2012 18 inches of snow added.

Mid December and the river should be frozen over completely by tomorrow morning with the temperatures dipping to below 11 degrees F.

Winter Approaching - Male and Female Seaberry / Seabuckthorn are Budding!

2012-10-17T21:23:00.000-04:00

Hello, Hello! You are visitor number 52,113! I am a very lucky guy so many people have a curiosity about Hippophae Rhamnoides L.-- Seabuckthorn.

My plants, both the purchased ones and the plants grown from seabuckthorn seed look like they will be producing seaberries next year. For the first time! As many of you already know, there is a commitment of time with growing Seabuckthorn. My first post was in February of 2010, soon to be three years ago. I have learned so much along the way and I hope you all have enjoyed reading, commenting, and contributing. I have absolutely enjoyed you being here! If you ever have any comments, advice, or stories to pass along, I post all comments that are not simply advertisements.

One of the most popular postings was titled How Do I Tell the Sex of a Seaberry / Seabuckthorn Plant?
The question: Do I have a male or female seabuckthorn plant? is a good one and not all that easy to answer until you have berries on the bush. In the linked post just mentioned, I talked about the differences in the flowers between the male and female plants. The Seabuckthorn flower photo's are from Larry_Gene and appear here again in this post.

Female Seabuckthorn flowers (above)

Male Seabuckthorn flowers (above)

Here is a new question. Can you tell the sex of the Seabuckthorn from looking closely at the buds as they form in the fall of the year? If we are able to do this, it could be very useful with fall transplanting and placing the correct ratio of male/female in the orchard. Most importantly, the information would be nearly a year earlier that waiting for the berries to appear for the first time.

This is what I have to share of my observations here in mid-October in Massachusetts, USA (Latitude 43° ).

Fall Male Seabuckthorn Flower Buds

Male

These photos are from a purchased and labeled plant from the nursery as male. They were received in the spring of 2010.

Fall Female Seabuckthorn Flower Buds

Female

female

These photos of the female flower buds were taken from purchased and labeled plants from the nursery.

Unsexed Seabuckthorn Flower Buds

The following photos are from plants grown from seed. They have a 50% chance of being male or female. I have numbered each photo and indicated my best assessment. Please add yours in the comment section.

1.female?

2.female?

3.female?

4.male?

5. male?

6. male?

I'll admit, I am not sure. My choices were based on the amount of scales on the bud. The males have been reported to have more than the females. If you have some producing plants at your home or farm, please take a look and weigh in on this question. Thanks so much!

Sammy from Upstate New York writes: I made a marinade with extra virgin olive oil, seaberry juice, basil, and then I minced some chives,bruised them with the back of a spoon and mixed the whole thing adding a little salt and ground pepper. I marinated tilapia fish and then broiled it. What do you think?

Mr. Sammy-

You are a genius! Julia Child would have been very proud. Keep at it!

The 365 Mile Seabuckthorn Seedling Transport Transplant

2012-09-12T07:12:00.000-04:00

Welcome Back!

You are visitor number 50,242 . Wow! More than 1000 more since August 25th. I should crawl around in the woods up here, sneaking up on a bear to show you all a cool video just to make your visit worth it. You'll have to settle for Some American Wild Turkeys. They cooperated for a photo before they reconsidered the limelight.

Lucky for me my amateur Seabuckthorn farming is just as interesting :-)

During the last week there have been visitors to this blog from the USA, Canada,Mongolia,United Kingdom, Greece, Netherlands, Romania, Denmark, and Mauritius. A map might help those visitors see the distance the plants traveled this past week.

Last Thursday morning I packed up some of the Seaberry seedlings planted this spring and transported them to Seboeis, Maine. The plastic lunch bag style pots I had transplanted the seedlings into worked well. The transplant shock was much less than if I had tried to remove them from the ground and move them in a more bare-root manner.

The cantaloupe boxes held four to five plants and help protect them during the trip.

There were thirty nine plant in all. Good news is the trip, with this protection went well and the plants seemed no worse for wear. The new field in Maine is doing well. The grasses and clover are coming along so the soil will be stabilized before winter. Without those plants, rain and next spring's snow melt would wash away most of the topsoil I was so careful to preserve.

If you are wondering about the climate here in central Maine and here is a good graphic of the temperature and precipitation averages.

Lucky for me, a few neighbors helped me do the planting. Two of the nice things of having neighbors here in the woods is that they live miles away and are always helpful. One quipped, "Oh, I thought you were turning the place into a cemetery." Woods humor.... I told him it was going to be a Minature Golf course.

Seabuckthorn plants loaded into ATV trailer

Healthy root system developed in pots.

Plants in ground on second day without visible wilting from transplanting.

Photo from Cabin showing placement and how much more room is available.

Seems like a small planting and I suppose it is. At an expected yield of 11-15 pounds per plant and an assumption of 60% female distribution optimistic), in a few years these plants should be giving between 250 and 351 pounds of fruit. I've learned to temper my expectations, but one can still plan in one's mind.

Miss Lolly from Florida writes:

Dude, you are the coolest. I wanna do just what you are doing.

Miss Lolly--

Not sure if Florida is the best place for Seabuckthorn. I have heard of someone in Texas growing some plants with success. He has to take care that the plants have enough water and must use shade cloth over the plants in the summer or they will cook.

News Flash! Beyond Profits: China's Social Entrepreneurs

2012-08-31T12:35:00.000-04:00

News Flash will be a new feature where current articles I believe are interesting are reprinted with links to the full article. Here is the first one.

by Kay Park
A

mong the sand dunes of western Inner Mongolia, the futures of the encroaching desert, impoverished farmers and one enterprise are now intertwined with an unlikely product—fruit juice.

Sea buckthorn berries, a fluorescent orange fruit the size of a dime, grow on bushes about three to four feet high in the desert. Liu Zhifeng, founder and CEO of Spring Mountain, China’s leading producer of sea buckthorn berry juice, has known the fruit since his childhood in Ordos, Inner Mongolia.

“I drank [the juice] when I was younger,” says Liu. “But it wasn’t widely available.” In his early 30s, Liu has accomplished much, and he is eager to do more. The head of companies as varied as a weekly magazine and a hotel, Liu regularly takes the 7 a.m. flight from Beijing to Ordos and then the evening flight back. (One of Spring Mountain’s major sales distribution offices is in Beijing.)

His first company was a small, single store selling elevator components. After nearly having to shut down his company, Liu ventured into different sectors and markets until finally getting in on the ground floor on elevator and central heating installation in the early 2000s. Liu began looking for another business to get into. He went into hotels and media. Yet he still wanted something bigger, something that went beyond the traditional models, something that could help society. Eventually, he thought of the juice he drank in his childhood. No company had begun large-scale production of sea buckthorn berry juice.

“I told my board that I wanted to start producing this juice and they were not excited about it,” says Liu. He got his hands on some research—the juice is full of Vitamin C and Omega-3. In other words, it’s an ideal drink for health food enthusiasts, who are growing in number in China. Global market research firm Euromonitor International estimated that in 2009, sales of wellness foods and beverages in China touched $1.5 billion, a 28% increase from five years earlier.

“Eventually I was able to convince them that this drink had huge market potential, and they decided to go along with me,” says Liu. He raised funds and invested his own money, totaling RMB 800 million, and was off to the races—sort of. “The plant takes three years to bear fruit, so we had a long time to wait before we would see any of that investment back.” Liu spent the three years acquiring the best juicing machinery, researching the health benefits of the juice, building sales channels and training farmers to ensue product quality. In 2011, the first year the bushes bore fruit, Liu’s company boasted a sales revenue of RMB 200 million.

Going the Extra Acre
If Spring Mountain were a normal beverage company, that would be the end of the story. But it’s not. It’s on the cutting edge of a business model that’s relatively new to China—the social enterprise. Although he doesn’t use the terminology, Liu thinks of himself as a social entrepreneur. “Through innovations in our product line, management and technology, we can promote societal progress and solve problems facing the country,” he says. Liu is quick to add that this is not a charity: “Implementing a profitable business model is still the most important thing.”

Western China’s deserts are growing at alarming rates. Asia’s largest desert, the Gobi, devours nearly 1,400 square miles of grassland a year. For decades, the Chinese government has led massive efforts to battle desertification, going so far as building a “green wall” of millions of trees to halt the deserts’ advances. NGOs have attempted schemes of all kinds, sometimes even busing volunteers from Beijing to the desert regions to plant trees or cacti. These efforts have had a limited impact; but there are signs that the solution may come from people outside the government or NGOs. People like Liu.

Spring Mountain plants sea buckthorn bushes on 140,000 rented or purchased acres of desert in Inner Mongolia and Ningxia, two regions hit hard by desertification. The bushes require little water through the year and their roots burrow deep beneath the dunes—stopping erosion and slowing the march of the desert.

The land Spring Mountain uses was considered barren; the farmers and nomads who own it relied on their other tracts of arable land for growing crops and grazing. But when Liu showed up, the useless sand dunes suddenly had value.

During the early phases of his company, Liu spent millions of RMB researching proper planting and maintenance methods for the sea buckthorn bushes. He hired agriculture experts and cooperated with multiple universities. When the time came to leave the greenhouse and head for the fields, this investment paid off in spades. The company sends its contracted farmers through a short training program, making them fully qualified to properly plant and grow the bushes. As more farming techniques are developed, the farmers are retrained to be kept up to speed with the latest methods. Spring Mountain buys the harvested berries, ships them to its factory in Ordos to be made into juice, and then distributes them through its widespread sales network that stretches across China.

This model turns the 70% of farmers that lease their property to Spring Mountain into micro-entrepreneurs, who have more technical know-how and are empowered to make full use of their land. (The other 30% of farmers work on land owned by Spring Mountain.) Farmers in this region are among the poorest in China, averaging a cash income of between RMB 2,000 and RMB 7,000 per year. Spring Mountain pays over 100,000 farmers between RMB 700 and RMB 7,000 per year, giving them revenue in addition to their other farmland.

Read more: http://forbesindia.com/article/ckgsb/beyond-profits-chinas-social-entrepreneurs/33634/1#ixzz258shPLps

Soil, Seabuckthorn, and Seboeis, Maine

2012-08-25T11:51:00.000-04:00

You are reading Tom's Seabuckthorn blog: Welcome!

You are visitor number 49,110. That is pretty amazing since its not like I'm dropping Mentos into Coke bottles or anything. It's just us and I'm glad you have tuned in.

This is a short, low quality video of the newly cleared land in Seboeis Maine. Low quality means it would be not good to view full-screen. Smaller is better.

The plan here in Maine is to establish the largest Seabuckthorn Farm in Maine and even New England!

Some History

The 45 acres here has a long history and I'll start with the mowing down of trees by the early Europeans and their sending the trees back home. The extremely large trees of the colonial era were just a curiosity by the mid 1800's and are now non-existent. The land I own has been cut over many times since then. I purchased it 13 years ago and it has been managed for the last 13 years to maximize diversity of native plants and trees. What might be able to see in the video has a different goal.

The field area was most recently clearcut about 20 years ago and was mostly hardwoods. When you cut a hardwood tree, maple for instance, it sprouts from the stump and where you had one large tree there can be 25 or more sprouts. These along with their neighbor trees compete for the sun so hard they grow very tall and very thin and unhealthy for a tree of their type. They can be thinned and I have done that on many acres here with good results. These few acres converted to farmland will help balance all that preservation with, hopefully a thriving Seaberry farm. Who knows? Time will tell all.

The Soil

After the cutting of the trees, some very large equipment was brought in to "pluck" the stumps, shake the soil out of them and set them out of the new field. I still have a lot of bull work to do, big machines are not tidy and there are rocks etc to remove.

New England soil is typically leans toward the acid side and fertility here on the ridge was not expected to be great.

I was glad to see without any amendments of lime or fertilizer the Ph was @ 6.8 and the fertility was pretty good.

With amendments of lime and organic fertilizer both improved. Ph is now @ 6.5 and fertility is up. I used Milorganite fertilizer which is basically dried bacteria. Good stuff really and safe for the environment. Unlike chemical fertilizers, it contains 85% organic matter which improves soil microbial activity and it doesn't leach into the area water sources.

Field Plants
It is recommended to eliminate weeds, grass etc before planting Seabuckthorn seedlings. I have done the opposite. This new field needs to be stabilized and the soil improved. I have planted a variety of species. Aslike Clover, Red Clover, White Clover, Timothy hay, Orchard Grass, Oats, Turnips, Tricale and others. Most of the clover was just planted yesterday and should have enough time to establish itself before winter.

The grasses were planted about a month ago and are doing well. I'm a bit lucky since there was an extended period without significant rain. My water well here is not large enough for significant irrigation and the gasoline cost to run the generator for he pump would be very high.

This is a Seabuckthorn seedling planted this spring in Massachusetts and now transplanted to the new field in Maine. The first of many.

Melissa F. from Springfied writes: Why don't you just plant a thousand plants right now?

Great idea! The thing is this whole thing is a hobby and I am not super human. You watch too many movies.

:-)

SEED SALE from this blog- click here to go to E-bay stor e

Berry expected to grow in popularity | London | News | London Free Press

2012-08-15T06:32:00.001-04:00

Berry expected to grow in popularity | London | News | London Free Press

Seabuckthorn Varieties and Open Pollinated Plants - Mansfield, MA USA

2012-07-31T19:45:00.000-04:00

Seaberry /Seabuckthorn Varieties - Three year Review

In 2010 this amateur Seabuckthorn experiment began with the purchase of plants. The varieties were Frugana, Golden Sweet, Garden's Gift, Leikora, Orange Delight, Orange Energy, Titan, Sunny (Solnechnaya), and a Male plant. Later Askola, Amber Dawn, and Klim's Prize were added. The success of these plants has been mixed. Surviving today are five of the original twelve purchased plants. Yikes! Sounds bad but the experience has, I think, improved the chances of future success. The common instructions available for growing Seabuckthorn both on the internet and in printed scientific studies has proven to be impractical at best for the North American garden. I am going to summarize, review, consolidate and especially critique my own experiences here. I'm certain and still excited that there is a huge amount left to discover.

Beginning with the purchased plants. The location I planted them in was about 20 feet from an Ash tree. The root systems on those trees turned out to be very aggressive and formed a dense mat. This proves to be a significant competition between my Seaberry plants and the tree. I need to move them and am now weighing the risks of moving and loosing them in the move vs. taking extra care of them and waiting to see if they will out compete the Ash tree roots.

One of the best suppliers of plants states "Sea Berry is bothered by no significant pests or diseases in North America." This is what I expected and, sadly, as I have written about, not true at all.

This photo of Garden's Gift illustrates some of the insect damage this year. For my location in Mansfield, Massachusetts, Winter Moth Caterpillars , Gypsy Moth Caterpillars, and June Bug beetles have been a challenge. On new or small plants they can take a huge toll very quickly. Thomas S.C. Li in his book Sea Buckthorn states "growers must protect (plants) from disease and pests...." He immediately then states "there has been very little research on disease and pest control in the world". He continues "(these) are major factors affecting the success...." Mr. Li identifies 6 insect pests, the Gypsy Moth Caterpillar being the only one he listed I have seen. The others may surface in the future, but for now I can add two more - the June Bug (Phyllophaga) and the Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata). June Bugs seem to be native to North America while Winter Moths originate from Europe and the Near East. My plants grown from seed do not have anywhere near the damage as the purchased plants. It could be chance, luck, or something else which may become apparent over time.

Your experiences with Sea Buckthorn pests, if any, would be very valuable information to me and the readers of this Blog. Please add your information in the comment section or e-mail me by clicking on my profile at the bottom of the page. Klim's Prize, pictured is in its 3rd year of growth in my soil. It is approximately 28 inches high x 20 inches wide (51 cm x 78 cm).

Orange Delight has grown to 46 inches high x 30 inches wide (117 cm x 198 cm). It, like most of the purchased varieties has struggled and has yet to produce fruit. I had hoped there would be blossoms this year, but what I thought might be blossoms, were not.

The male Seabuckthorn purchased plant is currently 39 inches high x 13 inches wide (99 cm x 13 cm)

The Orange Energy Seabuckthorn is the largest at 46 inches high x 30 inches wide (116cm x 76cm). It is the most vigorous and is furthest away from the Ash tree I mentioned earlier.

I have year 1, year 2, and year 3 plants from seed. Year 1 being the first growing season from seed. Not sure if this is the correct way to identify the ages but it is how things are described here. This photo has year 2 and year 3 bushes. They are very healthy and happy. The plot where they are growing is only about 50 yards from the purchased plant plot but has not suffered the onslaught of insect pests. It also is fairly close to an Ash tree, but the roots don't seem to be as invasive here.

Not sure of the sex of any of the bushes grown from seed as of yet. They haven't flowered or produced any berries yet. The 3rd year bushes are over 1 yard or 1 meter tall.

This second year Seabuckthorn bush from seed is also very healthy. These plants exhibit two different growth shapes. There is a more upright plant without as many low spreading branches (not suckers) and the other has many low branches which reach out from the lower part of the plant. According to the Ontario Department of Agriculture the male Seabuckthorn plant has a more upright growing habit than the female. I'll be testing that theory in my own garden as well. They state "The staminate trees are more erect than the spreading pistillate trees."

A closer look at a three year Seabuckthorn Shrub grown from seed.

The begining of "healing in" (burying the pots to the rim). There are now over 80 in the ground. Most have done well.

Closer look at individual unsexed Seabuckthorn seedlings from seeds started this year. I labeled the last three photos "year 0". Please consider them year 1- planted from seed this year.

Some of this year's seedlings are reaching 5-7 inches tall!

One week ago I direct seeded a significant number of Seabuckthorn seeds into the garden soil. Digging around a bit, I can tell you they have sprouted but not emerged through the soil surface. Update to follow.

Next Post- Seboeis Maine Update:

One handed Seaberry .......

2012-07-20T06:41:00.000-04:00

About a year ago while in the wilderness of central Maine where that part of my Seabuckthorn experiment "lives", I tripped while hauling a water hose, fell backwards, and my wrist was fractured. The past year of trying to recover had variable results. I chose to undergo a surgical repair- a Sauve-Kapandji operation. The operation was performed and I believe the pain and limitation of the damaged joint will be history with time. For now, I am inspired by those who have greater challenges and succeed beautifully. To Wes and Bill, thanks for your help and work in Seboeis, Maine. Thanks to Brendan for being a huge help here in Massachusetts.

The direct seeded plants in Maine are doing wonderful!

seeds planted May 2012

same seedlings early July 2012

The weather temperatures have been hot (70°-95° F. 21°-32° C) daytime and night temps routinely are in the 50's (10° C). There has been frequent rain from summer thunderstorms.

Seabuckthorn Orchard/Field Development Continues

Most of the field has been cleared of stumps. Care was taken to conserve the topsoil and a combination of oats, turnip, clovers, orchard grass, rye grass, and triticale was planted. The multiple plant types should increase the chances of a successful field establishment and encourage wildlife to consume and deposit manure onto the newly established orchard area.

I tested soil fertility and Ph and was encouraged by the results. A follow-up test with a more sophisticated tool will be done to confirm.

Ph @6.8

Fertility looks good

NEXT: Mansfield Update

From Forest to Seabuckthorn Orchard in Seboeis Maine

2012-06-19T12:12:00.000-04:00

Clearing the land for a larger scale Seabuckthorn Orchard

There are short term goals, medium, and long term ones too. This is in medium catagory. Why? Its a big job and will take a few years to prepare the soil. Land an soil preparation is important because the Sea Buckthorn orchard, once planted, should last 10-15 years. Soil drainage should not be a problem with this site as it is located on a ridge with moderate to steep slopes down to a river. The acreage has been cut and the root and brush removal was to begin today but the machine operator had some difficulties and will not begin until tomorrow morning.

This is a photo of part of the opened up area before and after.

The machine that did the work

After the chipper was done. Total cleared @ 5 acres. (@2 hectres)

The field is beyond and down sloped from the truck. The view is now greatly improved.

I am planning on planting a green crop on the stumped and brushed cleared land. I have chosen a pasture mix for the benefit of the animals in the area and the fact that the orchard will be planted in stages. One unknown is the attractiveness of Sea Buckthorn to the largest foraging animal in the area, the moose.

taken November last year

My funds are limited though and I expect the total clearing will have to wait for a while. I do expect to have a moderate amount of workable land to begin. The brush will be burned when possible and the stumps will stay in piles for a period of time to allow for the soil to wash off. Burning will assist in sweetening the soil. Sea Buckthorn lives in symbiosis with actinomycetes and this organisim has a low tolerance for acid soils. Research in this area is mixed. Not a surprise if you have been following my experiment all along. Sea Buckthorn currently grows in areas of the world with pH 5.5-8.3. A wide range. It is reported the best pH would be between pH 6-7. The acinomycetes likes this range as well.

Update from Direct Seeded Sea Buckthorn in Maine

The growth and health of these seedlings is very good after a month in the "wild". The weather during my absence has been favorable with periodic rain and cool temperatures.

Direct Seeded Seabuckthorn in Maine

2012-06-16T07:39:00.000-04:00

Last September I direct seeded some Seabuckthorn (Seaberry) seeds into the soil in Central Maine.

Let me tell you a little bit about the location. Seboeis is a Plantation. The title of Plantation is a designation Maine uses for villages with tiny populations. In the population is currently hovering around 28 persons. The Plantation covers about 41 square miles or about 26 thousand acres (10521 hectres). The average summer temperature is near 70 degrees F and the winter average temperature is near 15 degrees F

My piece of the plantation is 45 acres. It is mostly wooded and I am working on a field of @ 5-8 acres. This is a process which will likely take a few years but it will serve multiple purposes including Seaberry production and propagation.

Back to the September 2011 Seabuckthorn seedlings in Seboeis Maine.....

click on photo to enlarge and see the sprouted seedlings Age @ 1 month

Growth was slow and the seedlings were covered in snow by December

Another December photo of snow covered Seabuckthorn Seedlings (seed origin China)

May 2012 Update:

All the seedlings did not survive the winter. Some have however and it is amazing their hardiness. The winter was cold and had a limited amount of snow. Some years the ground is blanketed with 40 inches of snow which would protect the plants from large fluctuations in temperature. Last winter the snow cover averaged less than 12 inches and the average low temperature hovered around 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 Celsius )

Direct seeded Fall 2011 current photo as of May 2012

The survivors are stout and hopefully have a strong future. I also hope they are genetically more adapted to fall seeding.

another view of a direct seeded Maine Seabuckthorn seed.

Seabuckthorn seeds direct seeded May 2012 in Seboeis Maine

Seven day seedling progress. Planted in Seboeis Maine. The photo (click to enlarge) shows some variation in development and this "scattering and scratching in" of seeds has some at the surface. Seeds were kept moist at all times. Next weeks visit will be interesting to see the last 4 weeks of progress. Mother nature has been good while I was away from the Maine location. It has rained over 8 inches so drying out shouldn't have been as much of a problem as it could have been.

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