Wild black raspberries

[dreadnut]

Found a nice stash of wild black raspberries, picked about two quarts, in 3 days I'll go out and get two more quarts from the looks of it. Nice ripe clusters, I was picking with two hands for awhile Where I live is pretty much south of black bear habitat, so not much chance of running into one of them around the other side of the berry bush! :mrgreen:

So, Mrs. Dread and I will be making jam again real soon! Not sure if we're just going to make jam with these, or mix them with other berries. Last week she got fresh strawberries and made 30+ half-pints of jam: strawberry, sugar-free strawberry, strawberry-rhubarb, and upon my insistence, strawberry-jalapeno. Boiled & canned in Ball jars the way Mom used to do it!

The strawberry-jalapeno makes a great party dip - smear a package of your favorite cream cheese on a large dinner plate or platter to somewhat even thickness, spread jam on top of cream cheese, serve with Wheat Thins or your favorite cracker

So whaddya think, Wild black rasberry-jalapeno? Gotta make a coupla jars anyway...

 

[killdeer43]

Sounds good to me. I'm drooling as I type.

Our own wild berry season is on the way and I'm already scoping out nice patches of Himalayan blackberries for the pickin'. Yum! :wink:

Joe

 

[dreadnut]

Yeah, Joe, there were places on Whidbey Island where we got buckets of Salmonberries, yum!

 

[killdeer43]

Yeah, Joe, there were places on Whidbey Island where we got buckets of Salmonberries, yum!

Yes indeed, and I'll bet there's yet another bumper crop on the way!
Must be the perfect climate, ya think? :wink:

Joe

 

[ladytexan]

Dread,

I have a killer frozen strawberry jam recipe.......easy as can be, and as much as I love preserved jam in Ball jars, this recipe cuts out all the boiling, cooling, etc. Although it sounds like you have plenty of strawberry jam for the coming year and gift-giving.

 

[Thunderface]

I'm reading this before having breakfast, and now I'm really hungry. Thanks, dread. How about making a few jars available to the LTG. I'd definitely be in for some of Dread's Jalapeno Black Raspberry jam.

 

[killdeer43]

Here's a shot of last year's bounty.

Himalayan blackberries

They're everywhere and while most of us love them, some folks see them as a scourge, albeit a tasty scourge!

Joe

 

[poser]

Here in the densely populated heartland we don't have large expanses of wild berries, so we have to adopt the '60's mantra and "grow our own". Here's this morning's haul, a quart of raspberries and a quart of blueberries.

 

[JerryR]

Now I'm salivating

 

[dreadnut]

Maybe I'll auction off a pint of jam for Guitars4Vets...

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

We put in some raspberry "bushes" last year that were donated to us by Amy's parents. We had a pretty good crop last year, but this year it was double! Poser probably knows how fast those suckers spread!

I don't really like the tiny seeds in my teeth so we juice and strain them to make frozen ice pops and sorbet.

Alas, they're done for the year. We would then be looking foward to the blueberries but somebody munched on the buds in the spring so that crop is going to be very light.

 

[killdeer43]

somebody munched on the buds in the spring so that crop is going to be very light.

Did that "somebody" look anything like this one?

They do go through the buds pretty fast. :wink:

Joe

 

[killdeer43]

Maybe I'll auction off a pint of jam for Guitars4Vets...

You're on....it's certainly a good cause and I'll start the bidding at 20 bucks.

Joe

 

[dreadnut]

Thanks, Joe! I'll repost and make it official...

 

[AlohaJoe]

To the urban Northwestern gardener blackberries are an evil weed. They're very aggressive, very hard to get rid of and they attract vermin (rats, mice and banjo players). Y'all are welcome to come here and get all you want as long as you promise to take them roots and all.

 

[killdeer43]

T they attract vermin (rats, mice and banjo players).

:lol: :lol:
We found a couple of those banjo players the last time we picked a few.

North Sound Joe

 

[dreadnut]

I saw a bumper sticker the other day: "Paddle faster - I hear banjos!" :lol:

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

somebody munched on the buds in the spring so that crop is going to be very light.

Did that "somebody" look anything like this one?

They do go through the buds pretty fast. :wink:

Joe

Nope Joe nothing that big in the back yard. We're thinking rabbits. Hopefully the problem is solved by fencing for next year.

 

[adorshki]

Nope Joe nothing that big in the back yard. We're thinking rabbits. Hopefully the problem is solved by fencing for next year.

How about Jalapeno pepper plants?