Cranberries
These are the sweet, tart Cranberries you might enjoy at the Holidays, but our selection is sweeter than those found in stores. Ripe fruit keep in refrigeration for up to 9 months! The plants are pest and disease free, long lived, and slowly spread through self-rooting. They are native to boggy areas and require a near constant source of moisture which can be provided by sprinkler or micro sprinkler. They ripen in November at 3000′ in the Sierra. Most likely Vacciinum Macrocarpon, they are a small, evergreen shrub that creeps along the ground in thin vines then curves up, no higher than a foot, to produce beautiful, red fruit. Gathered from cranberry bogs planted sometime in the late 1800s that were left to Nature and are now the only wild, cranberry bogs West of the Mississippi!
North Columbia, where this bog was discovered, is the site of the largest hydraulic, gold mining operation in history. Thousands flocked to this area for the glitter of the gold, bringing their plants from their home or homeland with them. We are fortunate that a migrating miner brought his favorite cranberry to the San Juan Ridge.
Hallertaur Hops
These Gold Rush Era Hops are most likely the German Noble Hop Hallertaur which originate in Hallertaur Bavaria.
The prolific and vigorous vines grow from Underground Rhizomes that grow throughout Spring and Summer but die back in the late fall winter. If trellised they can reach 20ft or taller. Back in the Day People would often plant hop vines along a house, barn or porch to bring shade and cool things down when the brutal July/ August heat was at its worst. The Flowers, aka Hops, aka Cones, aka Strobiles grow on the sun bathed tips and are harvested in Fall. They are used in Beer to add flavor, bitterness, aroma and function as a preservative. The dried flowers have a wonderful sweet smell with hints of citrus and cannabis.
Story has it, that during 1920’s Prohibition Era, the Law bulldozed hops fields throughout the county to destroy them, they were pushed into piles, but it is hard to kill an established rhizome like these. The locals just picked em out and planted them all along the creeks and other wet areas. Hallertaur is an ingredient in lagers and German-style pilsners.
If you find these plants in the fall or winter they may look like they are dying or like a bamboo stick, but the rhizome are alive under the soil and can be transplanted. The roots of the rhizome will hold together the entire 1 gallon pot of soil during transplanting just like any other plant.
Kate Wolf Lilac
This beautiful heirloom is growing on a very old abandoned homestead along the banks of the North Fork of the Yuba River at 2600’ near Goodyears Bar in Sierra County. The great singer-songwriter Kate Wolf was a long time friend of Amigo Bob’s. She wrote and recorded the song “The Lilac and the Apple Tree” in the late ‘70s. Kate told Amigo that the inspiration for the song was an old homestead she had found near Goodyears Bar, where she spent her summers in her teens and 20s. He never asked exactly where it was located, and when she passed away, too early in life, he regretted not having learned the location of these plants that inspired her. About 15 years later, Amigo was talking with their mutual friend Utah Phillips and mentioned that he still was curious where these plants were located. Turns out Utah knew the man who might know the location. After many attempts (that’s a story in itself!) Amigo Bob finally learned the location from this secretive old man, who finally confessed that it was the homestead that his grandparents settled in the 1850s. After hiking a couple miles to this abandoned site in the forest Amigo found the lilac and the apple (and a rose, that we are growing)! We have been hiking to the site, and growing the lilac ever since.
You can hear Kate sing “The Lilac and the Apple” here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q83NqwtdBZk
Myrtle Communis
An ancient and sacred Mediterranean Perennial Herb Tree mentioned in the Bible. The flowers are beautiful and the leaves and berries are an edible herb with a very intense aroma which could be considered similar to rosemary, sage or juniper but different. It is delicious sweet and spicy. It is often cooked with meat such as Rabbit or Deer. The berries are very mild and a traditional alcoholic drink, Mitro, is made from them in Sardinia and Corsica. The berry picture here has slightly immature berries, they get larger and darker in color.
This beautiful 100+ year old tree is found on an old ranch near a pomegranate, olive, pears and figs. It’s orange knobby trunk grows up about 7′ tall then showers down branches and flowers, creating a fun hideout inside about 8′ wide. This tree can be pruned however you like but it tends to grow in a weeping willow effect with the branches. You can prune it low or even as a 15 foot tall tree with weeping branches. We’ve seen it also pruned as a hedge. We love this plant.