Blackberrys?

[Everything Mac]

Is it just me or has the blackberry crop been rather rubbish this year?

Went out to pick them today and they were all small and sparse. - got some jam on the hob as I type though

 

[copper_head]

Not round here mate, went out picking for an hour the other day got nearly 10lbs! I now have more jam than I know what to do with!

 

[Pikebite]

We have loads around here too.

 

[DMadden]

Got a decent sized blackberry and apple crumble out of my crop yesterday!

Dan.

 

[bernie66]

Tis a good year down here too

 

[UKHaiku]

Had a rubbish crop in my back garden, but a great crop down by my GF's allotment - seems to be a bit variable... Needless to say I have a big kilner jar of bramble vodka on the go, and looking forward to the sloes being ready too

 

[Everything Mac]

hmm - maybe I was beaten to it then.

many of the ones I saw were shrivelled up. oh well. I have a couple of jars of jam now so that will be nice on my toast in the morning!

what else do you do with them? My grandad makes them into syrup which is great over some icecream or mixed with oats and yoghurt.

 

[copper_head]

ever try blackberry curd, its delicious!

 

[Shewie]

They've definitely been a bit up and down round here. A couple of usual haunts have been pretty baron but others like the waste ground down the road have flourished this year.

 

[JohnC]

Ours in Scotland are still getting there, but there do seem to be less..

 

[woof]

We had a good crop, but an early crop, then a second crop. I have noticed this year that more people picking them than ever before, also most were eastern european pickers, its good to see the crop being made use of.

Rob

 

[John Fenna]

Very mixed around here - some as big as your thumb, other bushes only have scrotty little berries.....
So far I have had a couple of crumbles, got a gallon of wine started and some vodka gets bottled today.
I am still working my way through last years Blackberry Vodka...and have about enough to see me through until the new batch is ready!

 

[Essexman]

We've had a fair picking this year. Apple and blackberry crumble is the best. It's great for the kids to pick them and help make the crumble and eat it!

 

[listenclear]

Doing well out where i am.
Purple fingers always a welcome sight!

 

[Nat]

Loads round here, but i have been nurturing them in the back garden. Our blackberrys run half our fence length so had a large crop this year.

 

[ex-member Raikey]

been swamped with them this year, came back with a pound of damsens too as a bonus.

 

[shaggystu]

absolutely inundated with the things, the industrial estate near me is like a free fruit basket, absolutely fantastic. found wild strawberries for the first time too this year, again on the industrial estate, wonderfully strange looks from the offices as i spent about an hour munching my way round a car park. happy days.
masses and masses of sloes as well, there's a stretch of pretty old looking hedgerow near my house that consists pretty much purely of sloes for about 80yards, not that i'll do anything with them, they usually go to my mate for making gin but he's away this year so i guess they can stay there for the birds.
btw wild strawberries are bloody lovely, they actually taste of strawberry, it comes as quite a shock when the only strawberries you've ever eaten are the culivated variety, which as we all know taste of exactly what they are, sugary water.

cheers

stuart

 

[Bushwhacker]

It was a good crop, but they're no good down here now. There's an old saying that you must pick your blackberries before *Crewkerne fayre otherwise the devil pees on them.

Do they ripen a lot later oop t'north?

*1st week in September

 

[shaggystu]

It was a good crop, but they're no good down here now. There's an old saying that you must pick your blackberries before *Crewkerne fayre otherwise the devil pees on them.

Do they ripen a lot later oop t'north?

*1st week in September

they are getting a little bit past their best now but they certainly do mature later the further north you go, i'm no expert but i've heard that there can be anywhere up to about 6 weeks difference between the north and the south. i've lived in a couple of warm places on the south coast (swansea and southampton) and i was always eating local fruit at least a week or two earlier than mother was back in derbyshire.

it really is grim up north you know, it's not just a saying!

cheers

stuart

 

[Timbo]

Its hit and miss here too, some spots have small unripe and others have some great berries, hopefully the sloes will be good this year though, have some sloe gin in the cupboard as yet untouched from last year that should be great by Christmas