Looking for fruits you can grow in your own backyard here in Alberta? Here’s our list of 17 fruits that can be grown near Edmonton, with recommendations of varieties and and uses for each fruit…
- Apples. We grow great apples that are hardy enough for the prairies. Red Sparkle, Winter Cheeks, Goodland, September Ruby and Kerr are all productive in my orchard. We also offer dwarf apples, which produce quicker and on smaller trees!
- Apricots. Manchurian – Very hardy to zone 3 and beautiful – the first pink blossoms of the season.
- Artic Kiwi Vines. Just had a guy come in and tell me his vines produced bushel baskets of these tasty, small -version aka Chinese Gooseberries!
- Blueberries. Perhaps the world’s favorite berry. You too can grow them, with a little persistence and the right acidic soil location.
- Cranberries. Highbush. Why not make your own cranberry sauce this year?
- Cherry Plums. Manor – a sweet purple cherry crossed with a plum. Delicious! And a good pollinator.
- Currants Red or Black – Excellent for jams and jellies and loaded with vitamin C – a great cold cure.
- Haskap/Honeyberries. This fantastic fruit is amazing like a cross between a blueberry and a huckleberry! Super Hardy – they can withstand -40 degree weather, even the blossoms can take a -7C. First berry of the season – ready for picking by the end of June, can produce 7 kgs of fruit per bush, and super healthy and chock full of antioxidants.
- Goji Berries. A high-antioxidant sour devil, with thorny branches. Best dried in fruit mixes, or throw some in your morning smoothie!
- Grapes! Yup, that’s right. Grapes in Alberta.And not just Grape Jelly Grapes – like Valiant and Bluebell. Also Wine Grapes like Frontenac and Marechael Foch!
- Pineberries. The newest rage – white strawberries that taste like pineapples!
- Pears. Beautiful fragrant and productive – eventually! There are a few good varieties out there like Early Gold, Spice and John.
- Plums. Pembina is the largest and the best. Followed by Brookgold and Brookred.
- Raspberries. Red, Yellow and Black Despite all the “exotic” fruit I’ve mentioned, the yellow Honeyqueen raspberry is my favorite. Red, yellow, or black – wild or tame… They are delicious!
- Rhubarb. Homesteader, Strawberry Red, Macdonald, Victoria Red. You just can’t go wrong or without a Rhubarb plant in your backyard.
- Strawberries. Mmmmmm. Strawberries… Perhaps another one of the world’s favorite berries. The best for Alberta gardens are Kent, Honeyoe, Tristar and Seascape, and Allstar!
- Saskatoons. Our most delectable native berry in Alberta -my personal fave? Thiessen. Pat’s Fave? Northline.
