BLAUBERREN BLACK BERRIES

 

 

Blauberren or Schwarzbeeren literally means “blackberries” in English but they are also known by other names.

• Edible Black Nightshade (English)
• Schwarzer Nachtschatten (German)
• Morelle noire (French)
• Hierba mora (Spanish)
• Paslen Cernyj (Russia)
• Scientific name – solanum Nigrum L

 

They are not the same species as Garden Huckleberry, Wonderberry, or Sunberry although the plants may look alike.

 

Seeds are available for SALE !

 

 

Historically these plants were brought to America by Volga German immigrants around 1870.

They were used in traditional recipes such as Kuchen (cakes, sweet desserts) and Knebel (dumplings).

In modern times, ripe fruits are still used in jams or coffeecakes German recipes.

 

 

 

Germination Notes

 

Strawberry Method was used – Surface sowing with heat and light while keeping medium moist.

Our seeds were sowed on June 1 2019 at 1.50 pm and they germinated overnight.

 

 

All our seeds germinated in the bright morning sun on moist medium.

 

 

Growing Method – KRATKY, non-circulating hydroponic, liquid base

2019 June 06

At 4 days old, they measured 3.5 cm in length.

True leaf has not shown.

 

 

True leaf peeked on June 8 on the 6th day after germination.

Most of our seedlings were set in hydro plugs to observe the plants’ growth.

 

 

2019 June 8

Within a week from June 2nd, the seedlings grew rapidly.

This plant’s length increased by 4 cm.

 

 

2019 June 13 – Seedling grew rapidly.

A set of true leaf showed.

 

Lite nutrients regime started from June 13 2019 while we studied how the plants progressed.

2019 June 20 –  secondary roots developed, accelerating growth.

 

 

There was no growth difference in soil or liquid-based plants.

 

 

However, flowers started earlier in liquid base plants.

CHARACTERISTICS of this plant’s progress from seeds –

In the liquid base, flowers showed in one month.

 

 

TIP 1 – Use deep and wide netcup /plug to support a tallish plant.

 

 

TIP 2 – Bigger reservoir needed else needs to top nutrients daily.

 

 

TIP 3 – Support is needed else stem may break

 

 

FLOWERS are self-pollinating.

 

 

 

FRUITS

Green berries took about 21 days to turn black.

In nightshade plants, berries can only be eaten when they are fully purple or black, with no hint of green.

They formed in a cluster of 5 to 10 fruits per set.

 

 

The black berries are ripe when they are no longer shiny.

 

 

Middle row clusters turned black first.

 

 

Fruits are seedy and juicy. Taste is reminiscent of tomatoes, slightly citrus, and sweet.

 

 

This is how the plant looked like in the fruiting progress.

 

 

As the plant entered the fruiting end-stage, more leaves began to show some decline.

Fruits were not affected.

 

 

Soil Based plants were planted outdoor on June 21 but did not grow well.

We were unable to collect comparative data within the current journal’s time frame.

 

 

 

When long roots grew out of the fabric pots, they were plugged into outdoor pots directly.