Anyone been ....?

[lizdeluz]

Has anyone been blackberrying yet? I found a small punnet's worth in our hedges today, enough for a blackberry and almond crumble, I reckon. Lots of red blackberries to wait for, I noticed, though all the berries are quite small. Might even add a faller from the apple trees. Then some whipped cream....

 

[noblehead]

Seen people out this morning bramble picking when I was out with my dog, all berries are delicious

 

[Anie]

Might do this week

 

[Brunneria]

We passed an amazing bank, 40 feet long, maybe 8 feet high, last week. Millions of little berries, all waiting to ripen.

Sadly, it was all too close to the road, so the exhaust fumes would stop me picking.

 

[zand]

Yes we have a few bramble bushes here (until hubby chops them down, which he will do eventually) and there's quite a good crop this year.

 

[douglas99]

Not blackberries, but I love picking sloes, and making Sloe gin, after the first frosts, but sadly I won't get on with the sugar nowadays.
(Probably)

 

[lizdeluz]

Yes we have a few bramble bushes here (until hubby chops them down, which he will do eventually) and there's quite a good crop this year.

There's a nice farmer next door who kindly cuts all the hedges down our road and our back hedges which border his fields, so I'm going to try and get there first for a few blackberries, before they get the chop.

 

[julifriend]

As I walk each day I pass a few brambles and almost alway pick a handful of blackberries to eat on the way. A lovely free treat.

 

[lizdeluz]

Low-hassle Labour-saving Blackberry Crumble

See how I avoid work on the Low Carb recipe thread.

 

[phoenix]

Yes,
This is the first year in over 10 years here in this bit of SW France that they have been worth picking, Lots of bushes in the hedgerows but normally very few develop into much more than hard little bobbles.
The downside of it is the reason they are fine this year is the totally unheard of amount of rain we have had

 

[sanguine]

I'd love to but can only do mine in Waitrose

 

[lizdeluz]

Yes,
This is the first year in over 10 years here in this bit of SW France that they have been worth picking, Lots of bushes in the hedgerows but normally very few develop into much more than hard little bobbles.
The downside of it is the reason they are fine this year is the totally unheard of amount of rain we have had

Ours here in Wales are pretty much hard little bobbles though some are juicier. Due probably to a good June and July. They all cook up well though. The hedges are really wild this year and to get the blackberries I'm doing battle with huge branches of holly, mythical stinging nettles as well as the monster brambles themselves. I need a pair of non-useless gardening gloves: we have three grubby pairs in this house, all torn to shreds. Actually, though, it's no good wearing gloves to pick blackberries: I'd drop every last one. Just have to put up with the thorns.