Just popped into my local Aldi on my way home from the lottie after seeing the thread on here about the £1.99 fruit bushes. I have been after some blueberry bushes for a while and was pleased to find they had some lovely healthy specimens.
I was going through the till when the cashier asked if I knew that they were ornamental and not for human consumption :o
'What do you mean?' I asked, 'They are blueberry bushes...' She pulled the card out of the packaging and pointed out the warning on the reverse of the card, saying she had bought some herself before she realized.
The picture on the card is clearly blueberries, it is labelled as such and was under a 'fruit bushes £1.99' sign with the rasps, goosegogs, tayberries, blackberries and gojis... ???
Needless to say I didn't buy them, thats a bit dodgy if you ask me, just thought I'd give you a heads up ::)
Ive bought one!
No I didn't, she asked if I still wanted them after she warned me and I said no! Has anyone else bought one?
Do you still have your labelling Phil - she pointed it out to me but I didn't have me specs on! Tbh I wouldn't have noticed the warning, I rarely read labels (I'm a bit daring like that :P ) and the pic is clearly blueberries >:( Take it back and demand a refund!
I had to modify mine from u to i
;D ;D Lol, I gathered, thought it was me having a blonde moment...again :-*
???
Thanks for that. I bought 11 plants yesterday, including blueberries, tayberries, logan berries, red gooseberries and a fig tree. They all state "not fit for human consumption". How odd, surely a mistake. I'm going to contact aldi head office and see what they say.
Me to
...If it's on ALL the fruit bush labelling then and not just the blueberries, do you think it means THE ACTUAL PLANT then, ie as in the stems and leaves... ::) and not the fruit itself, it's a bit ambiguous - surely Aldi can't think we're all that stupid?!
just been to the greenhouse as i bought a tayberry. The label says plant not suitable for human consumtion........but you don't eat the plant. So the blueberry will be ok just don't eat the plant ;D
Sh!t, must check the labels on me parsnips.
They were Aldi too......... ::)
Quote from: knottygal on August 05, 2011, 21:15:33
surely Aldi can't think we're all that stupid?!
Ahem. Yes.
eck just starting to read this thread as i bought 2 blue berries so its been decided its the plants that not edible but the Berry's from it will be OK
A lot of labels on aldi and lidls plants can only be described as being.......LOST IN TRANSLATION!! ??? I bought a Bramley apple tree from lidls and it is nothing like a Bramley because it's a pear :o
Duke
all this fuss over blueberry? what about gujiberry? just googled it and the benefits of the Berry's are fantastic ! i think we could all live to at least 100 :o :o :o
Gave up on my 3 Goji berries diggerick, 6 years and not a sign of a berry, what a waste of space they were...
Quote from: knottygal on August 05, 2011, 21:49:44
Gave up on my 3 Goji berries diggerick, 6 years and not a sign of a berry, what a waste of space they were...
gutted just brought one, ill do my best to get some fruit, be lucky to reach retirement :'(
Don't be gutted diggerrick, it might be me, haven't mananaged to grow a decent beetroot all this time either and they are one of me faves :'( I trade my cukes for beetroots with a lottie neighbour...
I would say 'lost in translation' is a fair assumption but!!
According to the enclosed literature the products have been produced in ' Warickshire' for Aldi of co.Kildare in Ireland and as far as I am aware the locals in these areas speak English!
Personally I would say that the regulatory (COSH) rules they have to supply refer to what is being sold not what will eventually be produced.
The wife bought three plants today, and I liked what I saw so I am planning buying some more plants tomorrow(Sat) so I will ask the question, and see what they have to say at our local store.
Perhaps the shop assistant at my local store will have more gardening knowhow than yours did.
Will get back to you all with the reply
Quote from: knottygal on August 05, 2011, 22:16:43
Don't be gutted diggerrick, it might be me, haven't mananaged to grow a decent beetroot all this time either and they are one of me faves :'( I trade my cukes for beetroots with a lottie neighbour...
And I've got more beetroots than I know what to do with.....it's getting silly now...
Well we bought some 2 years ago and they have fruited this year. We have eaten them. I think that it must be the plant itself that isn't edible.
must be beetroot year hoping to make some wine with the spare has anyone madeit and isit drinkable oh ive gone off thread sorry :-[
i bought the blueberry plant to replace the one that i lost from Wilko's (bought early spring) but now i've realised the Aldi ones aren't even labelled as which to which variety they are. Just rang C/S but to find out but they're not available at the w/ends. I think there's only one or two varieties that are self-fertile, so I'll have to buy another variety or two to get this one pollinated - altho' this might not be possible as they all have to be flowering in the same season!
nb. just remember peeps, Blueberries need acidic soil, so plant in a pot if your soil isn't right.
Well I have been and bought another 5 plants this morning (total now eight)
Pointed out the information to the deputy manager and she just looked bewildered.
Possibly I put words into her mouth when I suggested that it is the plants that are inedible not the fruit they will eventually produce (hopefully) and she agreed.
Only time will tell!
Plants not quite as good quality as the ones bought yesterday but with a little TLC they should be OK.
They certainly look better than bare rooted specimens I have had in the past!
Will pot them up from 90mm pots into 150mm diam and grow them on a bit before planting out in a couple of months time!
I don't know about the edibilityof the blueberry plant but the leaves of goji can be used to make tea under the name of the Duke of Argyll's tea tree.
It's got to be the plant itself that isn't edible - the nanny state thinks we are all so stupid we'll eat any old thing unless we're told not to!
Most blueberries flower about same time so that is not a problem. If you just get one different variety, that should be enough to sort the pollination. Blueberries do crop without another variety..but the crop is greatly reduced.
I got some lovely big plants from B&Q last summer and they stocked several different kind then. Just be aware that different varieties do grow into very different size bushes..some can grow rather large...so labeled varieties are good idea if they are to go into pots.. ;)
Last time I bought a Phalaeonopsis, the label said 'Not for consumption'. I know marsh orchids were eaten at one time, but how many people eat their orchids nowadays?
It actually says "Plant not fit for human consumption"
Have given up on my goji berry too, it's going to get grubbed up this autumn ::)
I bought a couple of the red gooseberry plants. I will throw caution to the winds and eat the fruit, should any show up next year. ;D
If they are classed as unfit for eating then they are liable for VAT. If they are proper fruit bushes then they are zero-rated.
I can't think of any sensible reason for attracting VAT to something you are trying to sell - unless they charge you VAT and then pocket it...
But it would be a useful confirmation of edibility to check the VAT status.
Cheers.