ForumGarden

It's getting to be about that time again so I thought I'd let ya all read

a little primer on blackberries.



I was taught years ago that you should be a courteous blackberry

picker, and not strip ALL the ripe berries from any one bush you

come across, you always leave a few for the picker who comes along

behind you.



If you find a patch you don't think many (or ANY lucky you) people

know about, KEEP IT TO YOURSELF. People made the mistake

a couple years ago of telling my hometown paper where their favorite

patches were. NUTS.



Blackberries you pick should be very black in color, a little shiny, and

each "cell" of the berry should be slightly apart from the cells next

to it. To pick: Gently grasp blackberry by end closest to branch in

your thumb and forefinger, a GENTLE tug and the berry if ripe should

just fall off in the palm of your hand. Too much of a tug, the berry

isn't ripe, leave it to mature. Too much of a tug and you also run the

risk of other riper berries on the same branch flinging off to be lost

forever.



Wear long pants and long sleeves but no gloves (interferes with the

"feel" of a ripe berry) and be aware you WILL still get scratched.

In the olden days (;) ) we used to take long wooden planks with us

to place on top of vines to get at the center of any very large patches.



To eat the berry, don't chew it, place it in your mouth and use your

tongue to "smash" the berry against the roof of your mouth.



Sheer heaven!

Enjoy!



Bye kids!



:-6

Wow ! That seems hard.

Wow that brings back memories, we used to go out as a whole family to pick blackberries. We would spend the whole day picking, returning home with stained fingers (and mouths), scratched arms and legs. Thats when the fun began, I loved helping to wash all the berries, putting them in the pan and cooking them, then putting them through muslim to strain overnight. Then the next day we'd get on with making the jelly, can remember my job being putting the wax discs on the top, followed by gingham material and an elastic band. We made enough bramble jelly to last the year with plenty left over to give away.

There is nothing like the homemade stuff!

when I was a kid, I used to pick them by the gallon. Then when I got home, I'd put the small handful I hadn't eaten in a bowl, sprinkle sugar over it, and finish it off. It never occurred to me to wash/strain/cook/keep/share any of it! :wah:

Here in Oregon they grow wild EVERYwhere. I can't tell you how many I just sprayed with round up on Sunday. The root systems are crazy. These things pop up in your lawn or where ever. But what I've done in the past (and will do in this new house) is build 2 T-bars across from eachother with clothesline stapled to it and twine the berries around it to have my own patch. I make blackberry ice cream and pies, and cobblers. YUM!

When I glanced through the threads this morning and saw "Blackberry Love" it evoked all sorts of wonderful and romantic images for me...it could almost be the title of a book or a story of a poignant love affair...

theia wrote: When I glanced through the threads this morning and saw "Blackberry Love" it evoked all sorts of wonderful and romantic images for me...it could almost be the title of a book or a story of a poignant love affair...


Theia

I got the same rush of warm feeling myself -- something about the phrase that just feels good, doesn't it? :-6

Yes, Cher, it's so beautiful and so lovely to wake up to. I'm glad you felt the same.

Theia :-4

My friend