While berries such as gooseberries and currants are rather insensitive when harvested due to their round shape and firm skin, the gentle picking of blackberries requires a little more finesse.

Blackberry picking season

As early as May and June, the blossoms on the blackberry tendrils contribute to the sea of color in the garden, forest and meadow. Nevertheless, in most locations it still takes until around the end of July before the ripe fruits can be harvested by autumn. With cultivars in the home garden, the season can start a little earlier if the trellis for climbing blackberries is guided close to a sunlit wall. The care of the blackberries in espalier form also ensures that the first fruits sometimes turn dark black and sweet a little earlier thanks to the improved solar radiation on all parts of the plant.

Picking blackberries from wild plants in nature.

If you take the whole family on summer walks in the woods and along embankments to pick blackberries, be sure to clearly explain to young children the difference between blackberries and potentially poisonous berries. Snacking directly from the bush is tempting, but also quite dangerous due to the danger of the fox tapeworm. However, a risk can also be ruled out when harvesting wild blackberries if only fruits above knee height are harvested and all blackberries at home are first cleaned well with water.

The correct technique when picking the blackberries

To harvest wild or cultivated blackberries you need the following utensils:

  • protective clothing with long sleeves and legs (for thorny varieties)
  • possibly gloves to protect against stains on the hands
  • sufficient bowls and baskets for transportation without crushing

tips and tricks

The strong coloring property of blackberry juice can be annoying when picking. But it can also be used wonderfully as a biological color for coloring food, juices and ice cream. To do this, the already crushed fruit is simply sorted into an extra bowl, as this would allow the intact fruit to spoil even faster than usual in the refrigerator. Then they are pureed and can be used for various recipes.

Category:

Vegetable garden