# CHOKECHERRIES



## NorthernWinos (May 11, 2007)

Here is a photo of a Shubert Chokecherry, also known as Canada Red Chokecherry.... 









I am really excited about this tree, we bought one about7 years ago, I took some suckers off the base of the tree and tried to root it...this is one of the 5 trees that rooted. It leafs out green and by June the leaves are a dark Burgundy color.








They root extremely easy, grow ever so fast and this year they bloomed forthe first time. 


People say the fruit is just like the wild Chokecherries...time will tell. The trees are susceptible to a fungus, trim it off and you'll have a beautiful tree. 


If we are lucky enough to have them bare fruit we will mix it with the wild Chokecherries for what is the best fruit wine we make.

*Edited by: Northern Winos *


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## grapeman (May 11, 2007)

You really have a beautiful lanscape going there NW, with an endless supply of wildlife feed, fruit, vegetables, crops and.........


You have a wonderful supply of berries and fruit for wine.


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## Wade E (May 11, 2007)

I agree appleman, what a beautiful job you have done with your yard.


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## NorthernWinos (May 11, 2007)

In 2001 that was a soybean field....so the yard is young... The shelter belt isn't very visible....give it a few years....


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## PolishWineP (May 11, 2007)

Your trees are about a week ahead of ours. I'm looking forward to the beautiful perfume that they throw when in bloom.


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## Waldo (May 12, 2007)

I see a gazebo out there, a warm summers breeze rustling the leaves on the plants in the hanging basket as Northern Wino pours a glass of chilled plum wine to accompany the cheese and crackers laid out on the wicker table in the gazebo.Taking the first sip, listening to the birds in the trees serenade her she sighs contendently, knowing that life is good !!!


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## NorthernWinos (May 12, 2007)

Thanks Waldo, a beautiful dream.....would love a gazebo someplace. 


As for listening to the birds....'Happy Bird' was busy before dawn...then we have some Plaited Woodpeckers out there screeching...then this farmer that I share this place with starts his tractor....there is no sleeping-in this time of the year.


They say..."No rest for the wicked"*Edited by: Northern Winos *


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## NorthernWinos (May 12, 2007)

PolishWineP said:


> Your trees are about a week ahead of ours. I'm looking forward to the beautiful perfume that they throw when in bloom.




Do you make wine from the Canada Red Cherries????? They say they make good jam, but imagine they should be like the wild ones....Never had these bloom before....


I have visions of them looking like this...








But there are so many trees blooming right now that I don't think there are enough bees to go around....I may have defeated myself planting too many fruits .


Some wild ones are blooming along the ditches, but the wild ones in the yard are just in bud...


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## PolishWineP (May 12, 2007)

We use the cherries from the Canadian Red tree in our yard, and we pick wild choke cherries from the old Pembina Trail area where Bert hunts. Mix and match works just fine.


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## Bert (May 15, 2007)

Northern; I did a mix with wild chokecherry and Canadian Red and a batch with just Canadian Red.....both turned out great... The Canadian Red are bigger berries and more juice....hope you get some for your wine making...the birds love them too..


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## NorthernWinos (May 16, 2007)

Here is another Hybrid Chokecherry....it is an ornamental tree that is grown mostly for it's beautiful bark... 


Amur Maackii Chokecherry...








It is easy to propagate by rooting the little 'suckers' that grow up around the base of the tree....it grows like a weed.


This is the first year that it and some of it's off-spring cuttings [far right of the photo] have bloomed...so if it makes fruit...it will be added to the Chokecherry/Black Cherry wine this fall.*Edited by: Northern Winos *


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## NorthernWinos (May 18, 2007)

The wild Chokecherries are blooming now...the plants are everywhere...hope there will be lots of fruit this fall....


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## grapeman (May 18, 2007)

The apples by my grape vines are coming into pretty fair bloom along with a zillion elderberries. It smells like a perfume factory exploded out there right now. I sure hope it clears up and warms up soon so whatever bees there are can work things. I looked tonight and only saw one small wild bee. It looked dead so Ipoked it and it slugishly moved a wing. It's just TOO cold. I've never seen so many elderberries. They are everywhere this year. I touched a few flower heads and my hands turned yellow from the pollen.


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## NorthernWinos (May 18, 2007)

Everything is covered with yellow pollen dust around here....a little showers was headed right for us...then it split into two smaller storms and both missed us...the story of our lives.


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## PolishWineP (May 18, 2007)

By the looks of the radar you just may get some rain yet tonight.


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## JWMINNESOTA (May 19, 2007)

appleman said:


> I touched a few flower heads and my hands turned yellow from the pollen.










Appleman, I thought that was you!


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## PolishWineP (May 19, 2007)

Mhaww haawwww haawwww!


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## NorthernWinos (Jul 13, 2007)

From this...not so very long ago... 






To this...








Would it be called veraison in Chokecherries too???
A sign that summer is doing it's thing...also that it is slipping away right before our eyes...

*Edited by: Northern Winos *


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## Waldo (Jul 14, 2007)

We have had rain here every day now since Monday, a little over 6.5 inches total here at the Cats Meow and the long range forecast is for it to continue through next Thursday. I have more mushrooms in my yard than grass !!


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## Bert (Jul 14, 2007)

I wonder what mushroom wine would be like???


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## PolishWineP (Jul 14, 2007)

I guess it would depend on the type of mushroom. Just yesterday I read about someone getting arrested for growing magic mushrooms in their apartment...


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## NorthernWinos (Jul 21, 2007)

"YEE-HAW"










Chokecherries have been turning color rapidly...the robins have been picking away at the ones in the yard....we drove around 'the block' this morning and found a few bushes in a little 'micro climate' that were ripe.....going to be busy the next couple weeks.... the temps are going to be in the mid 90's and heat index of 100+...so will be up with the early birds.


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## swillologist (Jul 21, 2007)

Wow those are diferent then the choke cherries we have here. But all we have are wild ones. They are a lot smaller then yours and black. 
BTW My neighbor (who happens to make wine also) is an inplant here. He came from up your way NW. We were sampling some of his wine (sweet corn



)the otherday. We were talking about the high bush cranberries. I mentioned something about you picking them. He was wondering where you were from. If I understand right he is from around the Mille Lacs area.


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## NorthernWinos (Jul 21, 2007)

Swill....Ours are all wild...and actually they are black...for some reason in the photo some of these look purple...they must have been ones that weren't as ripe. These are somewhat bigger than other years, have had lots of rain until now....Now we got the heat and humidity.


We use to live near Brainerd [BIR...Brainerd International Raceway] the tourists got so thick and then they started to stay, the traffic got so bad that Jim thought he was back in California...so we headed further North....Look on the map...where there is nothing that where we are...North West of Bemidji now..on the edge of the Red River Valley.*Edited by: Northern Winos *


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## Waldo (Jul 22, 2007)

Blackberries do the same thing NW. If you use a flash when taking a picture it seems to make the more red than black. 

How many gallons will that batch of cherries make? I looked at some Bing's at the Market saturday morning but they were way too proud ofthem for me to consider getting enough to make more than maybe a pint of wine





*Edited by: Waldo *


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## swillologist (Jul 22, 2007)

I will tell him Nw. Thanks! Our's look just about the same color as your's in the picture right now. I think they need a few more days to ripen here. The birds have been eating them for about two weeks already. But I think thereis enough to go around. 


Waldo they are proud of the sweet cherries here also. I looked at them yesterday at the store. Bingswere $3.50+ and the rainers were $4.50+ per#. I think I'll stick with the chokecherries.


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## NorthernWinos (Jul 22, 2007)

We don't go to many Swap Meets anymore...same stuff they had last year...they are really proud to haul that stuff around.


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## NorthernWinos (Jul 25, 2007)

Good Morning!!!! 


Time to go picking...Heat Index will be 105-110*F by this PM...








Back in 2 hours and 10 minutes...with 47.50# of beauties...








Then I got to stand and wash them with my hands under running cold water...


Will go again in the morning unless it is raining. A bit of rain would wash some of the road grime off of them...but will take em as they come.


Life is good!

*Edited by: Northern Winos *


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## Waldo (Jul 25, 2007)

Beautiful shot of Old Glory NW....My son is headed up your way this weekend. A friend is taking his Grandmother to Minnesota ( not sure just exactly where yet) and John is going alongto help out with the driving. If I knew is was going to be close to you I'd send a few bottles from the Cats Meow with him


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## grapeman (Jul 25, 2007)

You are going to have a lot of juice for making wine out of. You must have the freezers just about full by now. Take it easy out there in the heat!. It is finally starting to warm back up here, but still not hot. We were running about 100 gdd ahead of normal up until two weeks ago. Now after the cool spell, we are 150 behind average. Good luck getting all that good stuff you can.


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## swillologist (Jul 29, 2007)

NW how in the world do you pick all of those chokecherries? That would drive me nuts (some people would say that would be a short trip). I just picked enough for a gallon batch. That was bad enough. 
















Got them in the freezer now. Will start this batch later in the week.


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## Waldo (Jul 29, 2007)

Mighty fine looking cherries there swill...Should make a great batch


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## NorthernWinos (Jul 29, 2007)

This year they are hanging in clusters like grapes...you just put your bucket underneath and strip them off....there is two of us picking, so we get 50# in a couple hours.


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