Blackberry: nature’s candy at its finest.
It’s blackberry season here on the farm. Just got back from picking some of those blackberries here on the farm. We got out buckets mostly full before the light dimmed too much to see which blackberries were actually ripe. It’s a family tradition to go blackberry picking with my son and grandkids. We started them out young.
Blackberry: the fruit that turns moments into memories.
Of course at those early ages, hardly ever did any of the blackberries the little ones picked go into their buckets. That’s because they knew, the same as their grandmother knows, the best blackberries are those you pick off the bush and pop right in your mouth. What a treat to eat a perfectly ripe wild blackberry.
Blackberry: a little burst of joy in every bite.
Also, they learned early that if they had the misfortune of popping one of those berries into their mouths that a stink bug had been sniffing, that the only cure was to grab another berry to eat quick to get rid of the stink bug taste. Of course, even without the Russian roulette of stink bugs, wild blackberries can be a taste adventure from extra sweet to sour enough to make your lips twist sideways. But somehow you always go back for another taste because that next berry might just be the best you’ve ever tasted.
Blackberry: a berry for the bold and adventurous.
Then there is the little problem of all those thorns guarding the berries. Ouch is a word you can hear often while picking wild blackberries. Wild berry vines don’t give up their fruit without a fight.
Plus, it’s not unusual to spot a snake now and again in a wild blackberry patch. Not to mention the insect pests – chiggers, bees, ticks. Somehow, we are ready to brave them all to get those berries for some cobblers and jam.
Of course, one of the things the granddaughters loved about going blackberry hunting when they were younger was getting to drive the Mule out in the field. Actually, I think they still enjoy that.
As you can see by the smiles, the girls enjoy our yearly adventure hunting wild blackberries. These smiles were a few years ago and through the years some of our pickers have grown up. However, now they sometimes bring their friends to experience the one of a kind adventure of berry picking. And the rewards of those buckets of berries to turn into pies and jam.
Blackberry: the taste of summer in a berry.
Today we brought home almost three gallons.
Have you ever headed to the fields to find some wild blackberries?
Comments 18
We went blackberry picking a few times that I remember growing up. My dad would go off by himself sometimes and bring back mama a bucket full to make jam out of. The place I live now has a few blackberries scattered out at the edge of the woods that I sometimes sample as I’m walking by, but no big amount of them.
I read in the seed catalogs you can buy blackberry plants without thorns, but I’ve never tried them.
Author
We have the thornless blackberries around our garden. They are generally very big berries and sweet although my sister-in-lalw has some thornless berries that are too sour to eat off the bush. Mine are delicious and the grandkids can empty the bushes at record speed when they come visit. The berries don’t taste exactly like the wild ones. Of course, many of our wild bushes are mixed with boysenberries. We used to have vines in the yard. Boysenberries are the best. Plump and tasty. The only problem is that they have wicked thorns that reach to grab you when you reach to grab those plump berries.
It was a tradition that we had too. Mom would hand out buckets and bowls and say, “who can fill them up the fastest?” She always made jam and froze plenty for cobblers all winter. Her Thanksgiving blackberry cobbler was a favorite of all the desserts. One summer my brothers had a “war” and came home smeared from head to toe with blackberries. The youngest one was completely covered except his eyes. Mom was furious that they’d wasted all those blackberries but couldn’t help laughing about it either. She just handed them the buckets and told them to fill them up again. Lucky for them, it was a good year for berries. But I had some purple stained brothers for a while. I remember the entire church laughed when we walked in for Sunday school the next day. Fun times!
Author
A funny story, Lavon. And I’m with your mother about all those wasted berries. LOL. I generally have purple stained fingers and fingernails this time of the year, not to mention all the little scratches and thorn pricks. I have blackberries left over from last year. I obviously haven’t been making enough pies! But the same as having a stack of unread books on my shelves doesn’t keep me from wanting to add a few new reads, having a few bags of frozen berries doesn’t keep me from wanting to pick some new ones to add to my stash.
They are my favorite fresh berry! They are great in pie and jam.
Author
They are a good fruit to have around, Susan. When I looked online for blackberry quotes for this post, I found a site that said blackberry picking has been going on for centuries. A sweet and sometime tangy gift of summer.
Yes My family and I use to pick blackberries every year to make some yummy jelly and jams and I always made them a homemade cobbler ! And we also would pick the black raspberries and I would do the same thing with them homemade jelly and jams are delicious! Have a Blessed Day!
Author
I love picking the berries in spite of the briars, Sarah. There were raspberries this year too and I picked some of them earlier. It takes a lot of wild raspberries to make a pie. 🙂 I like picking some and freezing them. Then when I have blackberries I add some of the raspberries and the jam seems sweeter and better tasting.
With all of you talking about pies and cobbler, I think I’m going to have to make one. 🙂
Wow! You got an amazing harvest! Would love to have a piece of your blackberry pie! Yum! Have only once been able to
pick enough for a pie. BlackBerry is my favorite. One year we found a spot. The next year it was covered with Japanese beetles. Not a berry in sight and the beetles had skeletonized all the leaves as well. There are a few bushes at the end of our street on city property but everyone knows it, so you only get a few. Didn’t know about the stink bugs! We have enough trouble with them in our yard and on our tomato plants. Sometimes we buy frozen triple berries and make a pie- good hot, but not the same. Our Sam’s Club used to have fresh Marion berry pie that even had flaky crust years ago but no longer. Enjoy your harvest!
Author
You are making me wish for company so I could make a pie, Jeanne. I love blackberry pie, but don’t usually make one just for me. My husband shouldn’t eat sweets. So, that makes it even harder to make that pie — unless the kids come for supper. Then I get to make the pie and share it with them. 🙂 A church dinner is coming up soon. I’ll make a pie then.
We haven’t had the trouble with the Japanese beetles on the blackberries, but they do work on our green bean plants and corn in the garden. Maybe you can find a farmer’s market somewhere that sells blackberries for you to make that pie.
I have not picked blackberries in a long time. Recently, one of my writers groups went out for lunch and someone ordered a Blackberry Prosciutto with Hot Honey pizza. Looked delicious and the woman who ordered it said the pizza was yummy.
Author
I have a hard time not picking the berries when they look so ripe and luscious, Melissa. We have some tame thornless berries that produce well. I could probably do fine with just picking those to freeze for pies, but all those other wild blackberries call to me. 🙂
A blackberry anything sounds good as dessert. But when I tried to find some quotes about blackberries, most of what popped up on the internet were about the Blackberry devices that were so popular before phones took over.
The mule I would enjoy too. Along with grands and friends. I’ve had some friends that had a couple of them. They did sled dog racing. And use the 4 wheelers for training during summers their dogs pull them. I have eaten quite a few blackberries but am just not able to get past those little seeds in them. Jelly would be good though. 🤗😁
Author
I made some jelly last year, Shari, but felt like I was throwing away a lot of the blackberries in the pulp. I don’t mind the seeds. So, I’m good with jam. That’s interesting about your friends training their dogs with their four wheelers.
Blackberries are my favorite fruit! As a child, I picked wild ones at the edge of our horse pasture. Chigger bites were common! Mom made homemade blackberry dumplings. Now, I buy them at the grocery store and devour them out of the carton! YUM!!!
Author
Chiggers and blackberries go together, Susan, or did when I was a kid. I haven’t been as bothered by them lately. Not sure if that’s because I’m not as tasty as I was when I was younger or if the stuff I use to try to keep off ticks does a better job on chiggers. My daughter is like you when she buys blackberries. She, as you say, devours them. She lives in another state or she’d be hear camping out at the blackberry vines.
You got a nice big haul. I can smell the pies baking and the jam cooking. When I was little, my mother and aunts would take me blackberry picking with them. One time, they came flying out of a thicket, chased by wasps. Maybe it was hornets. In any case, those insects weren’t pleased.
Author
I’ve never had to run from wasps in a blackberry patch, Lee, but I have done some evading them in other places. One bug that I did forget to mention was spiders. One of my granddaughters will shreak if she sees one of those. Usually those big yellow garden spiders will build webs in blackberry vines. When I think about it, I haven’t seen as many of those this year. They are very good bug catchers. Oh, and those June bugs can give you a start when they buzz up suddenly toward you from the vines.