Blackberries !

[mikey4444]

I picked at least a pound of blackberries yesterday evening.....isn't it a week of two early for such a crop ? They were delicious by the way....plump and very juicy !

( like me ! )

[fiction-factory]

In the South East of England they were ready 3 weeks ago but in the rest of teh country soem came out a couple of weeeks ago but some are only just starting. I suppose we have plenty of rain and those that also get the sun have done well. We don't seem to have reached the stage yet though where they are all lovely and big- there are still a lot of scrawny ones and i end up throwing 20% away

[fiction-factory]

But yes I agree- seems a couple of weeks earlier than usual

[jakep]

We have been picking lush blackberries for about three weeks now, a good year.

[mikey4444]

It certainly looks like a good year....what about apples ?

I see an awful lot of apples on the trees this year.

[donny48]

We have lots of wild bushes growing along the riverside, they are not quite ready yet. Last year while picking I stumbled and my sleeveless arm went into a thicket, bad enough going in but coming out was vicious the thorns are nasty,

[jakep]

I have had a couple of cooking apples from a local tree but most are not quite there yet. Won't be long though.

[HansUrbancka]

Blackberries always seem to grow better when the summer is poor with plenty of rain.

Incidentally, if you don't already know, Blackberries can be frozen for future use in tarts, etc.

http://www.countrylife.co.uk/food-drink/top-tips-for-blackberrying-and-best-blackberry-recipes-28490

Hans.

[Patsy33]

Mmmm, apple and blackberry crumble is calling me.. Do remember to pick them high up as dogs, cats etc pee on the lower ones!

[Hopkirk]

Yes Patsy, and the ones picked by roads can be covered in pollutants.

[atalanta]

in the 1960s you could pick blackberries ten days before the end of July. They grew, with huge fat juicy berries, on the old world war 2 pillboxes not far from Aldershot. They probably ripen earlier still these days.

[HansUrbancka]

@Patsy33......I think Mikey will know that from regularly taking out his little Willie.... (His dog's name).

Hans.

[cupid04]

I hope you remembered not to pick any below knee-height
because dogs pee up them.

[Patsy33]

Hans 12.01.
Thanks for that information. I didn't know he was like that! :-)

[hereIam]

Someone told me that all these early blackberries means an early Autumn and a very cold winter - don't know how they know that just because the blackberries are early though !!

[marval]

They had blackberries in Sainsburys today.

[Tilly2]

Do you soak your blackberries in salty water to kill all the little grubs that live in them?

[Chipchopper]

I've had my eye on the blackberries near me since June and the brambles showed all the signs of a bumper crop.
The weather that followed was very dry and hot and it was beginning to look like they would soon shrivel and a poor crop was on the cards.
Luckily though, the rain came along just in time and we now have loads of big fat juicy ones!