Choke cherry
 

Hi guys,need some advice.
We have a rather large bluff of choke cherry.
My gran daddy bought the land from a man and swore an oath to the man he bought it from to never plow it under because the guy said "the indians put it there".I plan on upholding that.It sticks out like a soar thumb,i'll try to post pictures.

But..

I have never harvested the berries.

I've heard about jam and wine but dont know anything about it.

Re: Choke cherry
 

Jelly.
Grandmother made it.
2 aunts still make it.
Each of them saves me a jar when I visit in the summer.
You cannot buy better jelly.

Re: Choke cherry
 

Choke Cherry wine is mighty fine.

Re: Choke cherry
 

Wine is fine it dulls my mind

You're a lucky man, and good on you for upholding a family sworn oath.

Re: Choke cherry
 

I have never heard of the stuff. So I did a search...

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chokecherry
I wonder if that is why the Indians put it there...

Re: Choke cherry
 

Thanks for that.

Re: Choke cherry
 

There's a good song by an artist named POE called "Choking The Cherry". If it is related I don't know it.

Re: Choke cherry
 

More than likely because it is one of the ingredients, when ground with buffalo and fat, used in making dried pemmican.
:coolbeer:

Re: Choke cherry
 

Choke cherries are OK, but if you ever plan on growing other cherries, plums, almonds or other fruit producing trees, you'll want to get rid of them as they tend to harbor disease and pests that will affect the other cultivars you plant.

I'm trying to keep as many "native" plants on our property as possible, but I'm cutting these down.