Lidia Delafield was born in Russia and met her future American husband online, where they wrote two epic screenplays about the Russian Civil War.
They met in Europe and married.
However, days after arriving in New York, Lidia’s new husband died suddenly, and she lived with her generous in-laws for three years.
One night Hare Delafield dialed a digit incorrectly when trying to reach his brother. Instead, he got Lidia. The two were on the phone for hours and discovered they had a common interest and passion for horticulture, though he had never heard of honeyberries. They married soon after their phone meeting.
“When Lidia and I married, I went back to New York with a 26-foot trailer to haul back seeds and shoes,” Hare said with a laugh.
Six years ago, Lidia and Hare moved to Prairie Grove, Ark., where they opened Berries Unlimited.
The Delafield’s ship plants to all 50 states and worldwide to British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Chile, an island near Australia and even Mongolia. They have a customer base of 20,000 with many additional “you pick” sites.
At 19, Lidia discovered honeyberries, edible relatives of the honeysuckle plant. They grew wild in the cooler climate zones of 2 through 4 in Russian forests.
“I became addicted to them. They had a unique flavor and made me feel stronger,” Lidia said.
Because the berries were early, hardy and healthful, the Soviet government officially adopted the honeyberry as a production plant in the late 1950s. The berry became a research topic for main stations, with one station in each Russian area or province. The plants were developed and are now well known in Russia and in Europe, though less so in the world market.
Canadians became interested because their climate was similar to the original climate in Russia and introduced the berry to the West. With their efforts, honeyberry juice won the “New Juice of the World” award in Germany in 2013, the same year. Lidia met her Canadian partners.
Lidia’s formal edition is in history, but most Russians are horticulturists out of necessity since they must grow much of their own food to survive.
Lidia began her horticultural studies when she was 3 by digging out her grandfathers tulip bulbs.
“One of the most important things I learned from my education was how to learn from research combined with my life experiences,” she recalled.
Lidia’s search of Russian sources led her to a significant and frequently replicated experiment that highlighted some of the honeyberry’s health properties.
“These berries are very good for you and are the only known berry to contain antioxidants that combat all four types of free radicals and promote tissue repair,” she said.
Lidia began a lifelong quest to develop the original Russian species into more than 70 hybrid species, ranging in size from 4 to 8 feet in height with flavor ranging from and combining bitter, tangy and sweet. She also enjoyed a variety of shapes and wanted fast-growing plants with prolific production and berries that were strongly attached to the branch.
Honeyberries are naturally disease and insect resistant. The differing varieties can be planted in climate zones 2 through 8, though they are most popular in zone two. Blooms can handle 15-degree temperatures, even though the leaves become burned.
Honeyberries, ranging in size from 1 to 1½ inches, are the earliest natural vitamins available and can be harvested two weeks before strawberries.
The bushes need no pruning. When a branch is broken or no longer productive, that single branch is pruned. Further, the bush can survive for as long as 50 years, if cut back to 1 foot above ground level every 10 years.
Like most berries, honeyberries have a short shelf life when fresh, though Lidia is selecting berries with thicker skin in her research.
On the other hand, honey berries retain all of their quality when frozen. While many people prefer sweeter varieties for eating fresh, but Lidia prefers more bitter varieties. Because bitterness is lost when the deep purple berries are cooked, they make wonderful jams and jellies when sweetened with honey, sugar, Splenda, etc.
Honeyberries are an excellent additive, adding rich color, health benefits, and a slightly different flavor profile lighter colored juices and preserves such as peach and apple. The juice also flavors a variety of other foods such as tea, oatmeal, water and even milk, not to mention producing excellent alcohol.
Though the Delafield acreage has a “you pick” section, the lion’s share of the operation is selling propagators. The organic farm has numerous certifications including blueberry Certified USDA Propagators, University Arkansas licensed blackberry propagators, Cornell and University of Maryland licensed raspberry propagators and USDA Certified Organic Honeyberry Propagators. In addition, the farm produces almost every berry plant imaginable including elderberries and huckleberries and even lingon berries. Berries are grown in sterile soil without herbicides, pesticides or insecticides. If an insect problem arises, it is usually in the hothouse where organic soap and water are used to eliminate the issue.
While the Delafield’s are still developing their current acreage, they are considering adding more.
Currently, Hare is going to bee school and is planning to manage 30 hives for honey and pollination.
“Berry growing conditions and natural resistances allow the use of bees to dramatically increase pollination and field production,” Hare said.
