Thursday, July 01, 2010

The Blackberries are Here!

Here we are the first week of July, and as if on cue, the blackberries are ready. They are just about to peak, but we've already picked so many. I think the kids and I have picked at least 8 quarts this week. Mamaw has picked a bunch, and so have Miles and Ashley.

Pies, cobblers, dumplings, and jams are being made, and the kids have already sold a few. They hope to sell a lot more. Picking and selling berries has been their summer money project for several years now. They sell them for $8/quart.

We literally have blackberry bushes on every scrap of land that gets a little sun. They are everywhere. Did I mention that we live on Blackberry Lane? Yes, we have so many blackberries that we named the road for them. They are wild, and sometimes a little challenging to get to, but that is half the adventure isn't it? The blackberries must love the humid heat we've had this summer. The plants are loaded this year with big and juicy berries.

The weather this week is a bit cooler, and I plan to take full advantage by picking berries like crazy. I have lots of things to make.

Here are some links to my favorite blackberry recipes:
Blackberry Shrub a drink concentrate
Blackberry Freezer Jam
Boiled Blackberry Dumplings
Blackberry Syrup
Blackberry Vinegar
Blackberry Cordial




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10 comments:

  1. Anonymous7/1/10, 7:10 AM

    I'm jealous! One of the local farms that grows blackberries opted to plow that field under since maintaining it was becoming too much for them. I'm still on the hunt for another local source though: blackberries - and that delicious juice spilling on the fingers during picking - are a summer favorite in my home.

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  2. Stephanie Appleton7/1/10, 7:11 AM

    We have purple fingers. :)

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  3. Carol J. Alexander7/1/10, 8:16 AM

    We're picking wineberries. Black berries not quite ready. But berries of all kinds make it into our winter storehouse.

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  4. affectioknit7/1/10, 10:35 AM

    Oh how I miss the blackberries - they were so abundant in the mountains of NC...

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  5. Anonymous7/1/10, 11:17 AM

    I miss blackberries. We lived in Idaho for 8 years and they were so abundant. Great post.

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  6. Jennifer7/1/10, 11:31 AM

    Thanks for the links! We used to have lots of wild blackberries up by the pond but after we fenced that area off for the goats that was the end of them. Now I wish I would have fenced a section of them off to keep.

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  7. Scribbit7/1/10, 12:46 PM

    I'll be using some of these recipes--I sometimes dream of your blackberry bushes you know.

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  8. SimplyForties7/1/10, 1:13 PM

    Love, love, love blackberries but unfortunately the grocery store is the only source I have! How great that you are growing your own!

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  9. Alltek Bee Removal7/6/10, 12:40 PM

    I absolutely love blackberries. They do not grow in FL and the frozen ones are terrible. How I envy the blackberry bushes!!!

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  10. Sherri7/25/10, 10:23 AM

    Yummy....we used to pick them by the buckets then eat them with milk and sugar when we got home from picking!!

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