Strawberries
Hood Strawberries
If you’ve heard of one variety of Oregon strawberry, it’s probably the beloved Hood! Hood strawberries have evolved as the gold standard in sweet, juicy flavor among Oregon strawberry lovers. Available for an extremely short window of 2 to 3 weeks right at the beginning of berry season, these medium sized berries are known for their high sugar content and deep red color throughout. When ripe, they are much softer in texture than other varieties, and need to be eaten fresh or used in jams or baking within hours of being picked. Introduced in 1965, and named for Oregon’s majestic Mt Hood, these berries have many varietals in their parentage, including Puget Beauty and OSC 2315. The plants can be vigorous and productive, but also hard to grow.
Sweet Sunrise Strawberries
Introduced in 2014, Sweet Sunrise is an early season varietal that produces medium to large sized, firm strawberries with a deep, dark red color throughout. Developed by Oregon State University in conjunction with the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station and the Washington State University Agricultural Service, Sweet Sunrise combines the top characteristics of premium strawberries including Puget Reliance. This high yielding variety is a new favorite among u-pick and fresh market growers, and is known for its balanced sweetness.
Albion Strawberries
Introduced in 2006, Albion strawberries were bred in California and have Diamante and Cal 94.16-1 in their parentage. These high yielding, robust plants grow conical shaped berries of good flavor and excellent firmness, ideal for eating fresh. They produce multiple crops and are usually available throughout the summer months.
Mary's Peak Strawberries
The newest variety of strawberry developed by the US Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service in conjunction with Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station, Marys Peak was officially introduced in market for the 2018 season. Yielding medium to large sized berries of excellent firmness and flavor, Marys Peak strawberries are a deep red color throughout. While they are considered June bearing, they ripen later than many of the other popular varietals and are often still available at the beginning of July.
Blueberries
Spartan Blueberries
Spartan Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum 'Spartan') was introduced in 1977 by the USDA in Beltsville, Maryland. This beautiful, upright Northern Highbush variety produced huge, quarter-sized fruit that was twice the size of the average Blueberry of the time. Spartan had a big appeal for both commercial growers and home gardeners.
Liberty Blueberries
Heavy production of big berries and nicely balanced, robust-juicy flavor make Liberty a very popular newer release. Fruit ripens late midseason, and the upright bushes, to 8' tall, make a stunning hedge in fall when the foliage goes bright red and orange. This fast growing Northern Highbush is well suited to areas with 1000+ chill hours, especially regions that cool rapidly as summer draws to a close - hot harvest temps can soften berries.
Ochlockonee Bluberries
The Ochlockonee is a rabbiteye blueberry that is named after the Ochlockonee River in Southern Georgia. The variety was developed by D. Scott NeSmith in 2002. It was released jointly by the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the US Department of Agriculture and Agricultural Research Services. The Ochlockonee blueberry bush has a moderate yield every year. The berries are large and firm and have a rich, sweet flavor. The Ochlockonee blueberry has a slightly longer ripening season than other blueberries. The fruit is not easily affected by cold.
Pink Lemonade Blueberries
You can have your pink lemonade and eat it, too! Wait, what? That's right. Pink lemonade isn't just a sweet and pretty summertime sipper. It's also a type of blueberry! Pink lemonade blueberries (Vaccinium 'Pink Lemonade') were developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1991 and "formally released" in 2005, though they didn't get their charming name until 2007. Over a decade later, these juicy pink gems are slowly gaining popularity among gardeners and making their way into the culinary world. Today, pink lemonade blueberries are making a comeback. They're not only popular for their beauty and ornamental value, but they're also a hit for fruit fans that appreciate the many health benefits they provide to those who are lucky enough to taste them. Let's learn a little more about this rose-colored berry that's both gorgeous and delicious.
Blackberries
Triple Crown Blackberries
The Triple Crown Blackberry Plants are the newest thornless blackberry. The Triple Crown Blackberry is named for its three crowning attributes: flavor - productivity - vigor. Excitement begins when the Triple Crown Blackberry bushes ripen from roughly July 10 to about August 10 in most areas. This thornless blackberry variety yields large, glossy black fruits that are firm and have the capacity to produce larger berries than any other variety that we have seen.
Hall's Beauty Blackberries
The Hall’s Beauty Blackberry is a new, early-ripening, high-quality, firm, and sweet thornless trailing blackberry cultivar with extremely large and attractive double flowers. Introduced in 2018, this blackberry variety produces large, conical and uniformly shaped fruit that are very firm, sweet, and desirable for fresh market consumers. Marion blackberries, Boysenberries and Silvan blackberries make up the Hall's Beauty pedigree. The berries are available locally in Oregon to enjoy fresh, or can be used year round from frozen.
Freedom Blackberries
The first thornless self-pollinating, primocane-fruiting variety - produces very large, flavorful, attractive purple-black berries on year-old canes very early in the season and on first year canes late in the season, providing two crops of delicious fruit each growing season. An excellent variety for home gardens in cool summer regions, ideal for fresh eating. Deciduous.
Primark 45 Blackberries
This revolutionary, new, primocane variety bears abundant crops of berries on current season wood. No pruning required, just cut plants to the ground in the fall. From an Arkansas breeding program, Prime Ark 45 fruit ripens in early to mid-September and is large and sweet with classic Blackberry flavor
Raspberries
Cascade Delight Raspberries
A superior quality red raspberry that’s specifically suited for handling heavy clay soil. Well drained soil is always preferable for growing raspberries, but Cascade Delight’s resistance to root rot gives it a strong advantage over other varieties. Delivering heaps of big, conical, bright red, firm berries with sweet, luscious flavor, the cane offers the added benefit of fewer thorns for an easy harvest.
Vintage Raspberries
The Vintage Red Raspberry has extra large, conical, slightly rounded shaped bright red berries with a high sugar content. This outstanding berry is super sweet. Raspberry plants can fruit on different types of canes, and these are categorized into primocane and floricane. Both primocane (first year) fruiting and floricane (second year) fruiting raspberries have both primocanes and floricanes growing from the plant after the first year. Floricane fruiting varieties have primocanes that grow throughout the first year and do not produce fruit. Primocane fruiting varieties have primocanes that produce flowers and fruit the first year, and then the remaining cane will overwinter and fruit again the second year. Pruning needs differ for these types of plants to be productive.
Grapes
Red Flame Seedless Grapes
Flame seedless grape is a red, seedless, table grape with a sweet flavor and a crisp texture. It produces large clusters of medium-large grapes that keep well in storage. It is a hybrid of several Vitis vinifera cultivars, including Thompson Seedless and Cardinal. It ripens early and requires warm summers and at least 100 hours of winter chill. It grows well in areas with a lot of heat and frost-free days.