bobm
Garden Master
My wife and I drove to Bingen, Wa. on the Columbian River Gorge this last Saturday ( yesterday) . Population 700. They have an annual Huckleberry festival to celebrate the wild Huckleberries that grow in the area. After the parade there were many (at least 30 ) vendors and only ONE vendor that sold the wild picked Huckleberries at the park. We bought one 11 fl. oz. of Huckleberry syrup ... the Label says contains real fruit, no artificial colors or flavors. Then the listed ingredients : Coquille huckleberries, corn syrup, sugar , citric acid, xenthan gums, sodium benizoate. No percentage listed so I don't know how much of the actual berries vs. corn syrup and sugar etc. that is contained . .This for the low low price of $8.00. 
They also had a couple as in = 2 of 1 gallon plastic bags of Huckleberries weighing in at 2 lbs. for the really low, low price of $ 45.00. 
Regular sized Pies at $ 23.00 (about a dozen ). 
How come. Vendor said that a buyer from Colorado is buying up all of the fruit that is harvested in the N W. Also, the Huckleberry plants grow only in certain higher elevation of evergreen tree areas in the wild AND they do NOT take to commercial or backyard cultivation . Out of 3,000 - 4,000 plants grown from seed, only 4-6 survive, then of these they may live a year or two and die without any berry production. 
They also had a couple as in = 2 of 1 gallon plastic bags of Huckleberries weighing in at 2 lbs. for the really low, low price of $ 45.00. Regular sized Pies at $ 23.00 (about a dozen ). How come. Vendor said that a buyer from Colorado is buying up all of the fruit that is harvested in the N W. Also, the Huckleberry plants grow only in certain higher elevation of evergreen tree areas in the wild AND they do NOT take to commercial or backyard cultivation . Out of 3,000 - 4,000 plants grown from seed, only 4-6 survive, then of these they may live a year or two and die without any berry production. 
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