Blackberry Picking Tips

Useful tips for picking blackberries that could possibly be incorporated in the recipe pages or worksheet.

1. Take a pot or bag to carry them in. If desperate/forgetful you can be creative. Unused and unscented dog poo bags work well. Milk cartons are also useful as they have handles.

2. Keep your eyes peeled because blackberries can crop almost anywhere. Sometimes you’ll see great swathes of them and other times you’ll find just one shoot poking through a bush offering you two ripe berries to snack on (resist until washed). 

3. Don’t pick too low – that’s dog pee territory.

4. Don’t pick from too high up – they’re for the birds. 

5. Don’t be greedy! Only take what you need – others are living by this rule so you can have some, so it is only fair you return the favour.

6. Don’t pick from the side of busy roads. Even though you’re washing them the fumes pumped out by cars and grit/mud splattered up the bushes doesn’t make roadside berries too appealing.

7. If possible try to wear long sleeves and long trousers because you’re likely to get caught on the bushes or stung by nettles.

8. Eat or freeze your berries within 24 hours. 

9. Don’t wash the berries until you are about to eat or freeze them, otherwise they’ll spoil quickly.

10. Aim to pick firm, plump looking berries – the squashed ones will just go bad quicker and taint the rest of your batch.

11. If you get blackberry stains on your clothes, cover the stains in white vinegar and leave to sit for 30 minutes then rinse with cold water and wash as normal.

12. Here in the UK the best time to pick blackberries is typically the end of August and the month of September but you may find them on the bushes a little earlier.

13. Laws surrounding foraging are a bit complicated. I stay clear of private property or beauty spots altogether and I only pick what I can eat.