I ’m reasonably sure that I do n’t have to distinguish to you what blackberry look like , as they are the quintessential foraging food . Ever since I was a kid I have been collecting baseless blackberries from mid to late summertime . I remember my petty sister and I would go check the local blackberry patch in late July , keep a faithful vigil as they started to ripen . Once they were ready , Mom would give us colander to collect them in so that they could be well washed once we fare home . It was always fun when our older sib came to pick with us as they could reach the respectable Berry , although we always brought a tone stool with us as well . We would be there for hour , sometimes for multiple days in a course , just to collect enough blackberry bush so that Mom could makecobbler . This was our whole motivation , beyond the handfuls of blackberry that we ate while break up . forage for blackberries is the gateway to all sorts of wild food harvesting !
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Wildcrafting Weeds
If you need to learn more about the edible and medicinal weeds that surround us and how to apply them , check out my eBook : Wildcrafting Weeds : 20 wanton to Forage Edible and Medicinal Plants ( that might be grow in your backyard ) !
Blackberries are easy to identify as they shape thick briar patches that can be arduous to eradicate . They are brambles that are often thought of as an invasive and noxious weed . The Himalayan Blackberry , Rubus armeniacus , is native to Armenia and Northern Iran , but has become threadbare in the Pacific Northwest , among other areas of the United States .
The other main species is the Cutleaf Evergreen Blackberry , Rubus laciniatus , which is native to Europe and has been introduced into North America . It has a dissimilar leaf shape than the Himalayan and its berries seem to take longer to mature , at least around here . They are still red at the time of writing this , so I will keep you posted when I harvest them as they are supposed to have an excellent try out berry .
dewberry bush are in the same family as blackberries , but they trail along the land rather than forming dense briar patches .
I ’m going to intermit for a fast moment here to tell you about my public opinion on “ invasive ” species and non aboriginal “ weeds , ” and this might surprise ( and possibly devil ) some of you . Since learning aboutpermaculture , I have come to the state of idea that plant are plant of this ground , just like people are people of this earth . So why do we try and eradicate and spray them , specially plants that give us food for thought and medicine ? We will never , ever get free of blackberry bush brambles no matter how severely we test and how much poison we spray on them , so we should probably just take them for what they are and the benefits they give to us . I actually plan on doing a whole military post on my opinion on this theme in the near future tense , so watch out for that !
Most blackberry bush species ( except dewberries ) turn by curving the end of their canes back to the footing , which will take root again . This is part of what makes them so prolific .
They also grow super well in marginal stipulation , such as roadsides and other disturbed areas . Please be heedful wherever you pick blackberries and ensure that they have not been sprayed!This is extra important with blackberries , because it has become such a vulgar pattern .
beak blackberry is one of the most fun and rewarding of late summer natural process . The large problem you will have is that all of the best berries seem to be out of reach ! Joel made this neat blackberry chooser for that very reason .
The Berry go decently down the PVC organ pipe into a bag ! The picking end of the pipe look like this :
Soon you ’ll have a bowl of berries that you’re able to do whatever your centre desires with , such as making shoemaker , jam , ormead ! I made apear and blackberry crispthat was to die for !
Beyond berry , however , blackberry leaves are also a great medicinal , just likeraspberries . They are astringent andcan be driedand made into a teatime for diarrhea . They are also good for oral care and mad throat .
If you do n’t have any blackberry leave to forage , or if it ’s the improper time of yr , you’re able to always buydried blackberry leaves from Mountain Rose Herbs(my favored place to purchase high quality , organic herbaceous plant ) .
There are so many dandy usage for blackberries and their leaves ! They practically grow everywhere and are super easy to identify , which makes them idealistic for first metre forager . Plus , the berry are so tasty it reach all the thorns worth it !
Here are some more posts for further reading on blackberry bush :
Hope you have playfulness forage for blackberries !
lay aside
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