blackberry picking

Bella79

First year i have done this omg i am now addicted and making lots of jam ( hm apple and blackberry pie in oven) :j

Do you all pick them? When is the best time as a lot of the bushes are still covered in small green berries?

Thank you

Gigervamp

We haven't got any ripe ones here yet, looks like it'll be another week or two before they're ready.

The best time to pick them is when they're ripe!

ariba10

There are quite a few where we live and it looks as if it is going to be a good year for them.

(There is only one pack from last year left in the freezer)

sopranolmu

I've never frozen blackberries, as worried about...well, freezing them. lol! How long do they keep in your freezer without going a bit dodgy? How do you store them? I ask as we have some paranoid fussy eaters in our house, who are very iffy about dates on food and bits going off and what have you

I think I'm going to have go hunting for mine this year! Used to pick a neighbour's hedges - with permission! - but think she's taken them up! :O

Gigervamp

I soak mine in salted water for a bit (gets the creepy crawlies out), then rinse and drain on some kitchen paper. Then I lay them out on baking trays and freeze. Once frozen, they can go in bags and they won't stick together in one lump.

I've still got berries in my freezer from a couple of years ago. They're fine.

-taff

And try not to pick any from the side of the road as they may be covered in exhaust fumes.....and dog wee.

Gigervamp

Our chickens love blackberries. Last year, one of the little ones, Sweetpea, discovered that if she hopped up onto hubby's shoulder and walked along his arm, she could get to the berries before he could pick them and give them to the other girls!

Ballymackeonan

Our blackberries are a bit late this year - normally I'd be picking them by now, but they're still not quite ripe (but my blackcurrants have produced a bumper crop in the meantime, and a friend has had a glut of strawberries and raspberries!)

I pick them in my local park, like Gingervamp soak them in salted water, rinse and then bag them in small bags, and put the bags in the freezer. Then through the winter I add a bag in when I'm stewing apples - real comfort food!

Butterfly_Brain

We usually go picking at the end of August, do not pick the lower ones because of dog widdle and avoid those near a busy road. I am another who washes them in salt water and open freezes them

Ash_McCloud

The best time to pick them is slap bang between them ripening, and somebody else picking them