While I cannot claim to have reached the heights of being able to recognize common weeds as edible salad greens, and foraging through parks for rare fruits to pick, I can pick blackberries! Last year, I could be found with Elena on my back in an ergo baby carrier, dodging thorns while I picked blackberries in the cool of the evening. This year, I have been trying to pick blackberries for a short amount of time in the morning and evening as it’s the season of blackberry picking in the Northwest. Elena is found either in her stroller or standing nearby enjoying blackberries as I pick. You may be wondering why someone with so many other things to do (and who is behind in many other areas), is spending an hour every day picking blackberries. Let me explain.
We are now in a beautiful blackberry season. While the rain we have been experiencing was not good for some of our local crops, it has done wonders for the blackberries. They are large, abundant, and sweet. Not only that, but they grow wild everywhere in my area. You only have to jump in your car and drive a few miles and you will see them on the roadside everywhere. I have the added advantage of being able to pick them in my backyard.
If I take advantage of this abundant wild crop, I will have a freezer full of nutrient rich, free food.
Blackberries are extremely high in the antioxidant scale (which fight against free radicals). They are high in vitamin c and e and could be helpful in fighting against cancer and heart disease. So for the price of a little work, I can have healthy, nourishing berries in my freezer for use the rest of the year.
Nourishing free food? Sign me up!
And, of course, they make some of the most delicious desserts and snacks. They are wonderful in smoothies and muffins and make great pies and cobblers. I will be sharing a few of my new favorite blackberry recipes soon as I have been having some fun in the kitchen with them.
I have sent a little cup full with my husband with his lunch a few times, which he has greatly enjoyed. I realized that it’s the perfect “nourishing portable food“! Simple and easy. (I am hosting a carnival on the topic of Nourishing Portable Food in two weeks. Join us if you can, as we share how we pack lunches that are both portable and healthy. I would love to hear how you meet this challenge!)
So, that’s why I have been risking blackberry scratches in the pursuit of these juicy little morsels of nutrition.
From a somewhat seasoned blackberry picker, allow me to give a few tips for anyone interested in picking their own supply.
Blackberry Picking Tips
1-Wear jeans, a long sleeve t-shirt, and closed shoes. Blackberries do have large thorns, so protect yourself.
2-If you don’t have them in your backyard, scout out safe roadsides, empty lots, or friends property in the country for wild blackberry bushes, if you are lucky enough to have them in your area. Just make sure they haven’t been sprayed.
3-It’s always tempting to be in search of a “better” picking spot. Once you found a spot, stay there and collect all berries you can see. You will end up with so much more than if you wandered around looking for a better spot to pick. Sometimes you will see just a few berries, but as you stoop or reach to pick them, you will notice a whole cluster that was hidden from view before.
4-Go when it’s cool so you don’t get overheated. Morning and early evening have worked wonderfully for me.
5-One of the most important tips, only pick ones that come off easily with a slight tug. Looks can be deceiving. They may look dark and ready to pick, but if you pull them of when they aren’t ready, they will be sour (and, interestingly, they won’t have as many antioxidants either)
6-You could probably use up all of your picked blackberries in pies, cobblers, jams etc. But I really enjoy getting enough to freeze for year round. I find that if you freeze them right away, they won’t get mushy and freeze in a hard lump, but freeze as individual berries. Sometimes, when I get a little tired of picking, I remind myself how much money it would cost to buy a few pounds of organic blackberries in the store. It’s a great motivator. I also set a goal of how many bags I want in the freezer.
7-My sister came up with this method of being able to reach father back in blackberry bushes. We take a large, wide board and throw it in the middle of a large bramble. We then walk down it until it’s flat and all of the thorny branches are underneath. We are then able to reach berries that we weren’t able to before. It works quite well! Sometimes, you can also just stomp down a few places with your shoes and find amble picking.
8-Don’t push yourself so much that you aren’t able to enjoy the pleasure of being outside gathering your own produce. It’s a nice feeling to bring back to your house a bowl full of blackberries as the fruit of your work. Enjoy it.
This post is part of Frugal Friday
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The northwest has great blackberries. They are everywhere. We always picked them growing up. Most places are not like that though. We plant and have to tend to blackberries to get them to grow in my part of the country. The northwest has great berries. Enjoy your blackberries!
You have completely inspired me to go scope out a good picking spot. I’m hoping I can find some around here.
I’m also very much looking forward to the portable food blog carnival. I’m sure there will be a nice array of good ideas. I have to send a meal with my husband everyday and sometimes I run out of ideas. Thankfully, my husband loves healthy fare, is very fit, and prefers my “weird” food over fast food any day. So, my job is still relatively easy.
Looking forward to next week!
Lynn,
Good point! I added a few words in my post to reflect the fact that not all have this advantage! Blackberries thrive here for sure.
Heather,
Good luck! I hope you have find a spot too. 🙂
Heather, I am looking forward to hearing others ideas as well (I hope you can share some of your ideas! It sounds like you have a lot of practice!:-) I have several “experiments” that I am going to be trying within this next week, that I am excited about. I trust one will be good enough to share. 😉
Blackberries grow wild here in central Texas, too, but you run a risk picking them because copperheads (poisonous snakes) LOVE to nest in the canes for some reason. Yikes!
We planted a thornless variety of blackberry in our yard this year and only got a very few, but I’m looking forward to the day when I have enough to freeze for later in the year. (We also planted blueberries, strawberries and thornless raspberries this spring. I’m trying hard to be patient, waiting for all of this edible landscaping to yield masses of fruit!)
You made me want to go picking right now! Its so true that we are blessed here in the NW with abundant blackberries. I tend to forget that when I get frustrated with the lack of sources of (cheap) fresh produce in my neck of the woods.
If you pound a large nail 1/2 way in to the end of a 1×2 it makes a great hook to grab those high canes that are overhead and loaded.
kattmaxx
I love to go pick blackberries first thing in the morning. So quiet and peaceful while gathering the delicious bounty! Our season is just over, but our berries were huge and delicious too this year.
Another tip is to hold your bucket under the area you are picking (if possible) Some of the best berries fall off while you are picking others. If your bucket is there you can catch them! 🙂
Badger,
Oh man! I am glad we don’t have any snake problems around here. 🙂 I didn’t even realize there were thornless types. I hope they grow well for me, because blackberries minus the thorns would be a huge plus!
Rachel,
I think that we can all look over something right under out noses. 🙂
Kattmax,
Wonderful idea! Thank you for sharing it.
Stephanie,
It is so true! Sometimes you will hear juicy plops as the best berries fall to the ground. It’s so frustrating! I may have to try out your tip and see what success I have. 🙂
I SO agree with you! I also live here in the NW and we have them everywhere. I just posted about the blackberry “problem” on my blog – the problem is they are everywhere and take over if you let them, but because of the berries we forgive them!
I also posted a recipe for blackberry cobbler – my favorite way to eat them. I’m like you though, I try to put a whole bunch in the freezer so we can enjoy them year round! We save so much money by just spending a little time picking in the summer. I love your tip about the board – I’m going to have to try that. We have them in our backyard, too, so I pick every other day or so. Great Post!!
Jill
HI Kimi,
Just make sure to NOT pick blackberries close to a road – carbon monoxide from the cars gets into the berries. I also freeze mine on cookie sheets and then pop them in freezer bags for easy use later.
Motherbearjudy
Sun warmed blackberries smell like August to me. My dad and I have gone blackberry picking together every year for the past 5 or 6 years.
Making a hook with a nail in the end of a long stick really does help us to get those berries that are otherwise unreachable. We also sometimes cut a large hole in a plastic milk jug on the top corner opposite the handle. A rope tied through the handle and around your waist makes an easily portable pail, leaving free a (gloved) hand to hold the vine while the other picks the berries.
We pick blackberries here and then sell them to the local food co-op. They give us a good price and my kids make a little extra money. We usually get about 100 pints, plus enough for ourselves! I have blackberry clothes that I wear only to pick in. They then get stored away for the next year. They are full of snags but work great, blue jeans and a blue jean shirt and gloves with the fingers cut off.
Blessings and thanks to God for His bounty!
I grew up picking blackberries every August near our family cabin, and I remember always being upset with my dad because he made us wear long sleeve shirts and long pants and shoes, after a summer of hot weather and flip flops and in the hottest month of the year!
We always had a mantra of one in the bucket, two in the mouth, but ended up with buckets and buckets of blackberries, and my favorite (FAVORITE) treat would be a blackberry cobbler with home made vanilla ice cream. YUM! It reminds me of childhood.
Enjoy yours!
Best,
Sarah
Jill,
I know what you mean. Blackberries can really take over a space in a short amount of time!
Judy,
Excellent advice. 🙂
Hannanah,
I wish I had some gallon milk jugs because that’s a great idea! We haven’t been drinking milk, because I was having problems with it, and before that we were getting milk in glass jars, but that’s a great tip. 🙂
Lynette,
Wow! You are a serious blackberry picker! I am just thankful to get enough for my freezer. :-)Way to go!
Sarah,
Hmmmmmm……that sound soooo good. I love cobblers as well.
We live in southern Maine and love the summer for the berry season… we put up quarts and quarts of blueberries before the blackberries ripened. My husband came up with the brilliant idea this year of trying the blueberry rakes on the blackberries and it works wonderfully! Gloves are still recommended as you can pick up the vine and run the rake right up it… you do get leaves but can pick the bulk out before you dump them in the bucket… we picked as more than last year in 1/4 of the time and with no scratched! I have a freezer full of blueberries and blackberries now… my favorite is a black and blue crisp using both!