Curious about adding something a little different to your backyard orchard? On this week’s Good Growing Podcast, we dive into the flavorful world of lesser-known fruits you can grow right here in Illinois. From early‑ripening honeyberries and fall-bearing primocane blackberries to compact bush cherries and Illinois-born PRI apples, we explore unique fruit crops that offer exciting alternatives to the usual. 

Watch us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/XAVtrBFKB40 

Skip to what you want to know:  

  01:30 – Welcome, Grant McCarty! Illinois Beginning Orchard Academy.

  03:22 – Some not-so-successful crops for Grant in northern Illinois. 

  07:35 – Where in Illinois can we reliably grow/harvest peaches?

  09:53 – Honeyberries. How to grow and what do they taste like? 

  14:52 – Are honeyberries problematic like many other honeysuckles? 

  17:32 – Primocane fruiting blackberries.

  21:38 – Is the care of primocane blooming blackberries different than other blackberries?

  23:45 – Is there a link to Illini Hardy blackberry?

  27:20 – Bush cherries. How are they different than cherry trees?

  33:57 – Apples. What are PRI apples?

  38:51 – High-density apples

  44:31 – Any PRI resources out there?

  48:10 – Wrap-up, what’s up next week, and goodbye!

More information:

Overview of Honeyberry from University of Minnesota

Haskap/Honeyberry, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Haskap/Honeyberry-University of Saskatchewan Resources

The PRI Apple Breeding Program

Contact us! 

Chris Enroth: cenroth@illinois.edu

Ken Johnson: kjohnso@illinois.edu

Grant McCarty: gmccarty@illinois.edu

Check out the Good Growing Blog: https://go.illinois.edu/goodgrowing

Subscribe to the weekly Good Growing email: https://go.illinois.edu/goodgrowingsubscribe

Any products or companies mentioned during the podcast are in no way a promotion or endorsement of these products or companies.

Barnyard Bash: freesfx.co.uk

--

You can find us on most podcast platforms.  

iTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-growing/id1446630377     

Tunein - https://tunein.com/podcasts/Gardening/Good-Growing-p1187964/  

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/202u3siWExE1tTqrVgtmCR    

Vurbl - https://vurbl.com/station/good-growing-4pljnNlUtyG/    

Listen notes - https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/good-growing-chris-enroth-cHLPMWpvEOG/    

Ivy - https://ivy.fm/podcast/good-growing-167902    

Castbox - https://castbox.fm/channel/Good-Growing-id4302614?country=us