The blackberry harvest

RHYSDAD

So far i've picked roughly 15lbs of blackberries, all free of course, and i have to say it's one of the best years for them i can remember. I found a bramble hedge roughly 35m long right out in the sticks of a farmers field where i'm working and the blackberries are, no lie, the size large raspberries!! Massive. I picked about 6lb in 30 minutes!! What's everyone else's experience of the blackberries this year?

PinkPeach

I live on the outskirts of Bristol in a big housing estate which has a large field in the middle of it, which is where I walk my dog. There are literally hundreds of large blackberries growing in the field, that I've been picking each time I take the dog out. Everyone else just seems to walk past them, which means more for me I guess :j
Shame my crumble topping never seems to work out properly though :rolleyes:

MRSMCAWBER

Hi there

A lot of the bushes we found last year seem to be really behind -BUT -good old hubby spotted 1 on camp the other week -so Monday we had 4lbs off then 2lbs yesterday and we will be going on Saturday to pick some of the loads that were on their way to being ready :j
I have made some blackberry grater cake bake and frozen it -they worked out at 7.5c a piece , plus 500ml of leftover "jam" that has been frozen in portions to make steamed puddings and 7 x 1/2lb bags of just berries frozen for crumbles so far :T

ooohhh Pink peach try adding porridge oats to your crumble mix and using brown sugar instead of white -ohhhh and some desicated coconut -its gorgeous

misskool

been picking loads and still loads more to pick. don't need that many so been leaving some behind but not that many people seem interested.

wanna-save-more

I've just got back from blackberry picking...there were loads:j
ummm ,,,,,,now what to do with them all??

I only ever make blackberry & apple crumble :rolleyes:
Would love to try something different and be more adventurous

Any other tried and tested recipes out there? chutneys,jams,etc

xx

ALIBOBSY

My DD1 and her friends made us laugh the other day. We are lucky to be in a semi rural area so there are a load of bushes in the trees where the cutthrough to her friends house is. They all appeared with sticky purple faces after stuffing themselves of blackberries. It was like something out of the 50's. Kids all scruffy and happy after an afternnoon playing out together.

Went a bit further with her Dad later on and found a load more bushes but they only managed to pick a few before DD2 wanted to come home. Kids finished them off before I could make anything with them. Going to have another pick this weekend, want to do Jam, wine and crumble mmmmm. May just end up filling the freezer lol. OH said there were loads and the ones they brough back were huge and suprisingly sweet(ish)

ali x

Need to root out my wine recipies as haven't made any for a few years, but still have equipment . Last time I made Blackberry we had some at christmas and it was like alcholic Ribena (VVVVVVery strong lol).

avantra

Yes! they are huge this year (west country) and much more prolific than last year.
Last time it was 2005 when we had such BB galore here :T

happilass

Yes they are huge this year but they also have lots more of those maggoty things in as well. i can't pick them because of this which is a shame because my dh loves blackberry jam. I think that they may be dangerous to eat so I won't pick them.
Happi

ginnyknit

I took a walk to the resevoirs and picked half a carrier bag full and they are wonderful this year. Have access to a large apple tree this year too so am freezing packs of blackberries ready to go with the apples, if all else fails we will live on crumble! And I had a free 4 mile walk too, cheaper than the gym.

ceridwen

Not managed many at all yet - very small pickings and not the worlds best blackberries either. Have been picking in my immediate area (ie urban) - and found that the patch I had been keeping an eye on had obviously had "callers" already and there was very little for me. I came across a couple of people there at the time picking away - hence nowt much for me I guess - as they seemed to have picked everything worth having (unless they'd been beaten to it in turn and also got very little...:rolleyes:).

Wish I lived in an area with fewer people - so I could have what I want and plenty left for others - rather than often finding with anything much that "others" have been there first and dont seem to have taken account of anyone else coming along later.......:(:cry:

I have to go out into the country - and then take a pretty long walk - to find a plentiful area where I am....

Melonade

I saw LOADS today. I was on my back from the post office with my son and there was a bush on it's own that was totally covered in them. Typical I had nothing to carry them in so I'll go back tomorrow if I remember and see how many I can get.

Can't wait to pick some and see how they taste, already got my Dad ready and waiting to make an apple and blackberry crumble