Sunday, July 10, 2016

We Bought a Farm: Blackberries are a full contact sport

Some things seem very nostalgic in your mind. Having a farm with blackberries everywhere seems awesome. Go out and frolic in the fields and get oodles of fruit right off the vine your mind says. 

The reality of it is far from what you think it will be.

Blackberries bushes are surrounded by prickles. (According to Wikipedia that is what they are called. Not thorns.) These boogers can tear through denim! I went out there with the thickest pants on and a huge jacket, and I still came back with a bloody thigh! So there I am sweating all over the place with legs bleeding, and I still can't get to half the berries because they are too deep within the patch. 

Our farm is covered with blackberries. We have patches all over the place. There is no way we can keep up with them. I had a goal this year to really work at picking them every single day. But I simply don't know how to find the time to do that and how my body will be able to fight the prickles.

I spent about 30 minutes today and managed about two cups of blackberries. Absolutely delicious. But I'm still debating whether they are worth the effort.


2 comments:

Greg Smith said...

Get hunting pants. They have thick cloth or even leather to protect you from briars. I've picked blackberries more than once wearing some.

Amber said...

When I was young we lived on two acres that someone at some point had used blackberry bushes as a fence line around the back half and most of the sides. As in a solid wall. It was tall ... In my twelve year old mind it had to be 12 feet tall. I don't know how tall they really were, but at twelve the top of the bushes went up further then I could reach. My family bought a goat whose only job was to eat blackberry bushes. We moved though, so I do not know how that turned out. Oh, the memories ... Fresh sun warmed blackberries are amazing!!!

HP Amber