Garden Huckleberry – 20 Seeds

Garden Huckleberry seeds. Garden Huckleberry (Solanum melanocerasum) is native to Africa and is a solanaceous berry in the tomato family. The intense purple black hue of the berries indicates high levels of the antioxidant anthocyanin.

The plant is similar in appearance to a pepper plant, bushy and erect. Clusters of small white flowers are borne along the main stems, followed shortly by berries the size of a large blackcurrant – green when immature and black when mature. The berries are toxic if eaten unripe. 

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Garden Huckleberry Culinary Uses

• Use as a substitute for other berries in recipes.
• Can be cooked, sweetened and used on their own, or combined with other fruits such as apples, lemons and grapes, to make jellies, preserves, jams, chutneys and pies.
• Garden huckleberries make an excellent syrup.

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Growing Garden Huckleberry

Indoor Sowing: Late Winter / Early Spring.

Direct Sowing: Spring and Early Summer.

• Plant Garden Huckleberry Seeds in moist soil and cover with a thin layer of soil.
• Seeds should germinate within 2 weeks.
• Seedlings should receive at least five hours of sun every day.
• Once the seedlings grow about 5cm tall they can be transplanted to large pots or transplanted into the garden.
• Garden Huckleberries like compost rich soil and should be grown in full sun, but can also be grown in partial shade.
• The plants have some cold tolerance and fruit may continue to ripen after light frosts.
• Garden huckleberries can bear fruit in less than 90 days after sowing.
• Pick the berries about two weeks after they have turned black, when they are no longer shiny. Ripe berries are usually a dull black or blue-black and the flesh is very soft.
• Cook the fully ripe berries before eating.