MMM blackberries

[dandelion]

1st picking of wild blackberries today. Only about 1 lb and not very sweet yet; I intend to simmer the berries with some sugar to serve on Greek yoghurt. We'll move on to blackberry cobbler, blackberry muffins and blackberry sorbet in the next few weeks.
Oh, and I'd better finish off the last jar of jam from last season  ;D!

[dandelion]

[Mrs Ava]

Wow that is early dandelion.  The ones on my plot are only just in flowers.  I don't go picking until the urchins are back at school in September.  mmmmm, that first taste of blackberries.  I always think they have a slightly metalic taste.  mmmmmmm

[Irish-Digger]

Hi,

Any suggestions for Blackcurrants,  I have loads and not sure what to do with them other than make Jam.

Irish

[Columbus]

Hi Dandelion, hi all,

I`ve been eating crumble for three days  ;D.

The brambles that border my plot have been fussed over for five years now and that makes for very nice fruit but as EJ writes .. it is very early this year.

I`m planning on making blackberry vinegar, I saved all my bottles from pickling
last year. (Talk about planning ahead  ::) )

Col

[tim]

Global warming??

[carolinej]

Any suggestions for Blackcurrants

Wine?

cj :)

[Tin Shed]

Picked my first blackberries today in the pooring rain! Cooked with apple, added to a mixture of  creme frais and natural yogurt and then served layered with flapjack. The recipe was initially for gooseberries- trying it tonight with the blackberry and apple mixture.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I picked a couple of blackberries coming up the lane today. I do wonder what the crop will be like this year; they depend on insect pollination, and with such open flowers, rain washes the nectar straight out. It's going to be interesting to see whether they're affected by this. They're my main honey source, and I'm not expecting much of a crop at this rate.

[adrianhumph]

Hi all,
          I have a thornless blackberry called Waldo on my plot. I have been picking berries from it for 2 weeks ;D It is sold as an early variety & it certainly is! The fruit are large , up to 1.5 inches long & they taste a little different than a normal blackberry, that is they seem fruitier & less sharp. From 1 plant that is now 3 years old I expect to pick about 10 to 12lb of fruit. When this one is finished it will be time to pick the wild ones ;D . I brought it from buckingham nurseries, easily found on your search engine.

                                      Adrian.

[saddad]

I found Sylvan always gave a good crop by mid July... but my plant finally died after @15 years...
:-[

[Tora]

I started picking blackberries last week. Really sweet and delicious! I do think it's far earlier than usual.
I made blackberry jerry, 3 jars from 1kg of berries. Also made a blackberry crumble cake. :P

[Smileyk]

Well my thornless ones in the garden are still green but we've now got 5 boxes of blackberries in the freezer that we picked from around the allotment.  They vary between about 300 and 500g in each box so we're doing pretty well!

Good job really as I've already made two crumbles with last years blackberries from the freezer!!!  ;D

Our allotment has TONS of blackberries at the side (in the bit that we can move into if we want to clear it) and I don't think the public come in and pick there - they stick to the field at the other side.

Recipes needed soon methinks as I'll get bored of crumble and pies!

[dtw]

I've had a few from my thornless one in my garden.
I always wait until they are almost dropping off before picking them.
They are at their sweetest then.

Leave them in a bowl of water for a while so any creepy crawlies will come out,
if any berries float, they get chucked.

[robkb]

We picked our first bagful this week - roughly 1.5 kg. And by the looks of it, loads more to come over the next few weeks. Think I'll try making jam for the first time this year!

Cheers,
Rob ;)