Author Topic: Seaberry  (Read 5346 times)

SeaWalnut

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Seaberry
« on: April 27, 2019, 11:01:59 PM »
Seaberry or sea buckthorn its a nitrogen fixing plant that can grow in verry bad soils and enviroments ranging from the edge of Sahara desert( its also used to fight desertification in Arizona desert) up to the Arctic zone and Himalaya mountains where its the last plant growing.It needs both male and female plants to produce fruits and has fierce thorns that make the havesting of fruits a nightmare hence the high selling price of fruits (50 dollars a kilo) or leaves to make tea ( 100 dollars a kilo).The fruit  season lasts for half a year and they are abundant .Its scientific nane ,Hippophae Rhamnoides ,come from hippo wich means horse and its because people used to let theyr ill horses to rest between seaberry bushes and the horses became healthy .In USSR it was used to make cream to protect the cosmonauts skin against cosmic radiation and it was used since ancient times to protect against sunburns( thats why its called seaberry).In somme experiment made in URSS ,seaberryes were used to feed mice that had various stages of lab induced cancers and it stopped 90 percent of cancers with somme that even healed completely.The taste of the fruits its like a verry fatty orange taste with a hint of plum taste and a slight bitterness, has no sweeteness so it needs sugar for most people and its sour but less sour than oranges.Also the fruits have a high oil content that raises on top if you crush them in a blender.I think this its the healthyest fruit in the world and its the only fruit or plant that i could feel its effects on my own body while being skeptical about its health effects.
« Last Edit: April 27, 2019, 11:17:19 PM by SeaWalnut »

Guanabanus

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Re: Seaberry
« Reply #1 on: April 28, 2019, 12:57:45 PM »
Very interesting.
Har

WaterFowler

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Re: Seaberry
« Reply #2 on: April 28, 2019, 02:22:45 PM »
Tried to grow these from seed because I thought they were interesting. They sprouted up readily enough but just failed to thrive after temps went over 105, then died. I had them in filtered shade next to a bunch of other seedlings, that aren't exactly known for their desert heat tolerance, which did fine. Not sure what I did wrong. Then again, I bought them off Ebay so who knows what seeds I really got.

Dimitry Fisher

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Re: Seaberry
« Reply #3 on: April 28, 2019, 03:05:52 PM »
Exact same experience here: bought seeds on the web, some sprouted, all failed to thrive.  Don't think it's temperature; probably just old seed.  Would love to see some success stories with H. rhamnoides in SoCal.

SeaWalnut

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Re: Seaberry
« Reply #4 on: April 28, 2019, 09:44:18 PM »
105F heat its something common here and the seaberryes actually like that high heat because it kills the grass around them and they have less competition for light on the lower branches.Its a verry light demanding plant and should be planted in full sun.Keeping them even in semishade will kill them and yhe mature plants drop theyr lower branches if they are slightly shaded by the top branches.If grass grows among young plants ,it kills them.If the seeds you buy are old,they need cold stratification probably and you have to keep them in a moist paper towel in the fridge for 3 months after wich ,when you take them out,they will germinate.Fresh seeds dont need cold stratification and you can plant them directly.In a few months they will start fruiting here and i could send you fresh seeds in good quantityes if you want to try them again.Here i have a variety with fruits slightly smaller than the big comercial plantation ones but they have a more intense color and taste and also have higher oil content.


SeaWalnut

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Re: Seaberry
« Reply #5 on: April 28, 2019, 09:47:04 PM »
In my area they grow on yellow clay soil thats verry salty in somme places ( near salt rivers) .
« Last Edit: April 28, 2019, 09:59:55 PM by SeaWalnut »

sahai1

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Re: Seaberry
« Reply #6 on: April 28, 2019, 11:55:07 PM »
cool story, never heard of it until now.  Maybe I should start growing. 
As far as thorns go, I don't think they can compare to Salacca, they are very sharp and leave a stinging pain, there must be some sort of mild poison on them.

Tropheus76

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Re: Seaberry
« Reply #7 on: April 29, 2019, 08:40:05 AM »
Hmm how do they deal with humidity in the 100-105 temps? We regularly get into the upper 90s and low 100s, but humidity is constant in spring/Summer/Fall. Sun and bad soil I have lol.

SeaWalnut

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Re: Seaberry
« Reply #8 on: April 29, 2019, 01:12:20 PM »
Humidity its not a problem for them but they dont like a waterloged soil like swamps or flooded plains.They grow near rivers,right near the lakes,in arctic zones and Himalaya they get covered in snow and ice for almost half of the year.As for the thorns comparison with Salacca,the seaberry thorns are not that manny just the seaberry thorns are among the fruits and they make the harvesting of fruit to be hard.To harvest seaberryes you have to cut a branch with fruit and rake it gently with a fork or pick each berry by hand.You can also freeze the branch in the freezer and then shake it and somme people even use a modifyed vacuum cleaner for harvesting.Because of such difficult harvest they have a high selling price. Link with 17 tonnes seaberryes yeld per hectare .https://youtu.be/geMetaBqJq8
« Last Edit: April 29, 2019, 01:32:13 PM by SeaWalnut »

Tropheus76

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Re: Seaberry
« Reply #9 on: April 30, 2019, 07:49:37 AM »
That's a cool video. So one would not want to walk down those isles of bushes I am guessing? Looks like it effectively gets pruned back pretty much to the trunk each season? I am going to have to try a couple just to see how they do down here. I'll plant them next to my Kei Apples which have barely grown past 3 feet in 7 years and it can be survival of the fittest.

Pokeweed

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Re: Seaberry
« Reply #10 on: April 30, 2019, 08:22:21 AM »
I would really like to try some of these. Maybe we could work out a trade. Can I p.m. you in this?
Thanks, D

SeaWalnut

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Re: Seaberry
« Reply #11 on: April 30, 2019, 09:13:40 AM »
That's a cool video. So one would not want to walk down those isles of bushes I am guessing? Looks like it effectively gets pruned back pretty much to the trunk each season? I am going to have to try a couple just to see how they do down here. I'll plant them next to my Kei Apples which have barely grown past 3 feet in 7 years and it can be survival of the fittest.
They have sharp thorns wich makes harvest difficult and thats why they are soo expensive .The plant itself makes a lot of fruits for its size.But even if the harvest its soo slow ,there is enough time to pick them,half a year it has fruits.

brian

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Re: Seaberry
« Reply #12 on: April 30, 2019, 03:26:33 PM »
I tried growing these.  I ordered a bunch of unsexed seedlings plus a larger known-female.  I planted them in my garden and they grew well, looked nice, and made a couple berries the first year which were delicious.  Then I moved them into a wooded area with questionable drainage, and they have struggled and will likely die.  I suspect they are drowning and maybe also not getting full sun.   I want to try again.  They look really cool. 

SeaWalnut

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Re: Seaberry
« Reply #13 on: July 23, 2019, 07:36:44 PM »
International friendship between European Union,Russia ,China and otther nations to share studyes and promote seaberryes consumption. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/75488/reporting/it
« Last Edit: July 23, 2019, 07:40:15 PM by SeaWalnut »

forumfool

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Re: Seaberry
« Reply #14 on: July 24, 2019, 09:37:53 AM »
Burnt ridge sells them
https://www.burntridgenursery.com/mobile/Seaberry-Bushes/products/43/

As does rain tree
https://raintreenursery.com/berries/berries-sea-berries

If people aren’t wanting to try from seed or want a named cultivar

BrianL

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Re: Seaberry
« Reply #15 on: July 24, 2019, 05:23:53 PM »
Just so you guys know.  A lot of Northern California locations don't have enough winter to fruit most varieties. 

shaneatwell

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Re: Seaberry
« Reply #16 on: July 24, 2019, 09:53:29 PM »
that's unfortunate. i'm thinking of trying them in mountainous SoCal. know what the chill hours are on those that have failed?
Shane

SeaWalnut

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Re: Seaberry
« Reply #17 on: July 24, 2019, 10:03:51 PM »
Just so you guys know.  A lot of Northern California locations don't have enough winter to fruit most varieties.
Thats not true.They are deciduous and evergreen plants that dont need any chill.Would do perfectly fine  and fruit in zone 10 for sure .In Europe they grow in zone 9 and 10 in the wild.
This plant its like no otther at tolerating the most extreme conditions,tolerates heat and tolerates cold.
The only thing thats sensitive at, is the shadow.
« Last Edit: July 24, 2019, 10:06:12 PM by SeaWalnut »

Guanabanus

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Re: Seaberry
« Reply #18 on: July 25, 2019, 10:02:48 AM »
How can they be both deciduous and evergreen?
Har

SeaWalnut

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Re: Seaberry
« Reply #19 on: July 25, 2019, 10:38:51 AM »
How can they be both deciduous and evergreen?
Manny trees are deciduous/ evergreen.For instance ( not a fruit tree) the African Black Wood,wich is a rosewood , is evergreen when it can and becomes deciduous in cold climate or if its big drought. Its just an example but there are somme fruit trees that do this too.

Guanabanus

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Re: Seaberry
« Reply #20 on: July 25, 2019, 12:34:58 PM »
O.K.!  So they are optionally evergreen or deciduous, adaptable to the weather.  Nice!
Har

SeaWalnut

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Re: Seaberry
« Reply #21 on: August 10, 2019, 06:15:52 AM »
Today i found out that the seaberry bushes closest to my home were affected by a fire this spring.They did grow back from the roots but they have no fruits this year since they are too little.
I will get seaberryes from otther wild patches i know.



SeaWalnut

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Re: Seaberry
« Reply #22 on: August 23, 2019, 09:40:27 PM »
Somme seaberry fruits i buyed with seeds and the peel to get an idea about consistence and seed size.The taste is less sour than sweet citrus from supermarket,no sweetness but they are also slightly astringent .Verry low astringency but noticeable.The smell is quite strong and like citrus mixed with plums or a wild flower pasture.


« Last Edit: August 23, 2019, 09:51:59 PM by SeaWalnut »

SeaWalnut

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Re: Seaberry
« Reply #23 on: January 30, 2020, 07:50:53 PM »
Nice article about seaberry.It says it was used not only by cosmonauts to fight solar radiation but also as a treatment against radiation burns at Chernobil.
With the new spread of coronavirus i am thinking to eat seaberryes again.
https://www.dailypioneer.com/2016/state-editions/sea-buckthorn--the-miracle-berry-soon-on-local-shelves.html

Tropheus76

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Re: Seaberry
« Reply #24 on: January 31, 2020, 10:08:08 AM »
I still want to try a couple bushes to see if they survive in FL. Maybe one day