It’s been a good year for blackberries in my neck of the woods. We have several small patches of wild blackberries around our house and we also have some tame blackberries in two different places. All have done very well this year.
Blackberries bear on the second year of briars or canes. A couple of years ago I read that if you snip out the tops of the briars the year prior to bearing they will have more berries and be a bushier plant. I’ve tried that and its seems to work so I’m going to keep doing it. The piece I read likely had specific directions on how to snip, but I just aim for the first two or three inches.
I enjoy most jelly, but blackberry is by far my favorite. Granny loves it too. She was always picking blackberries when I was growing up to make some of the purple black goodness for us to eat on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or one of her hot biscuits.
I wish I had a picture of the getup she’d wear.
Granny would put on a pair of Pap’s old pants and one of his long sleeve button up shirts. She’d tuck the shirt-tail into the pants and wear a belt and she’d tuck the pants legs in her socks and wear a pair of boots. She always wore a hat and carried a hoe with her to ward off any snakes she encountered.
I look back to those days with such fondness. Granny was terrified of snakes, still is, but didn’t let her great fear deter her from getting blackberries to feed her family.
If she did encounter a snake she’d try to find someone to dispose of it. One time it was my Mamaw Marie who handled the copperhead hanging out in the blackberry patch down the road.
Granny is too feeble to pick blackberries these days, but I share my bounty with her each year. Over the weekend my brother Steve said I could have the rest of his tame blackberries if I wanted them. I picked a gallon and took them to Granny. She was so tickled. She said “Now I’ll make my juice today and on Monday I’ll make jelly.”
I wish I could describe the feeling of seeing her face brighten over those blackberries. It’s like somehow all the things she did for her family—from picking blackberries in the heat in her funny getup to all the washing, cooking, mending, making, creating, and supporting was right there in the twinkle of her eyes when I handed her the bucket.
I want to live a simple life where the bounty of blackberries gives me a joyful feeling and adds a twinkle of happiness to my eyes.
Here’s some of my favorite ways to use blackberries.
Last night’s video: Our Second Planting | Granny’s Garden is Laid By.
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We haven’t had many blackberries around here. Just a hand full here and there to eat on. I use to go picking with my mom. The worst thing was getting chiggers. I hated them so bad.
Just reading about that twinkle in your Granny’s eyes made me start missing my Mama and Grandma even more today. I remember seeing that look in their eyes too, over little things. They both were happy with the simple things in life and found true contentment in just living. Times were hard but I don’t remember them complaining about things they didn’t have. They sacrificed in many ways for the love and well being of their family and I love them and the sweet memories they left behind. Blackberries were important to Mama and she said they were always good for your stomach. She canned them and I remember seeing those big fruit jars lined up on the shelf. I’m so glad I come from the deep Appalachian way of life. It’s a blessing that no one can take away from me. Thank you for sharing your way of life too Tipper. I truly feel like we are kin folks.
We used to live on ten acres with over 100 acres of woods behind us. My daughter was about four the first time I took her on a road through those woods that had lots of wild blackberry bushes all along it. I took her wagon so she could sit and be pulled if she got tired while we were out looking. At the first bush we picked almost half of a big mixing bowl with berries. I told Cayla she could taste a few. She got the biggest smile as she ate some perfectly ripe berries. With most good berries picked from those bushes we moved on. Cayla decided to ride in the wagon with the bowl in her lap. I was pulling and looking for the next bush a fair distance before I found one. When I turned around to get the bowl I saw it was empty! My little one has eaten every single blackberry! Needless to say I wasn’t able to get enough berries for a cobbler that night but was glad Cayla didn’t get a belly ache.
Hi,
Some of my fondest memories of family are at black berry picking time. I thought my family were the only ones that had their blackberry picking clothes. Long sleeves, long pants, a hat, and sturdy shoes were a must. Mommy, Grandma, my Aunt Hazel and Aunt Pauline would all call each other on the party line phone to check to see if the berries were getting ripe. Aunt Orie, Mamie, and Mertus would always listen in and join in the conversation about their berries too. Mommy always had a milk bucket she would try to get full. My brother and I would have little lard buckets with bales that Grandpa would fix us to use. We ate more than we brought back to the house to eat. Daddy was always mowing and fertilizing his cow pasture fields. There was one field, the holler field. that Mommy never let him mow or fertilize. It was our blackberry field. Daddy got a small flock of sheep and they ate all our blackberry briars. It didn’t seem to bother Mommy to bad she just moved to another patch with us in tow. This time to the old saw mill field. Many years before the blackberries grew Grandpa had his sawmill there and cut out the oak and hickory trees. The slabs and saw dust were still there and a perfect place for blackberries. The dog would go with us and protect us we thought from snakes and bears. Really I think he just liked being with us and getting a pat every once in a while. It was always so hot when we went and all those clothes we wore– long sleeves, long pants, shoes with socks, and a hat. After we picked berries and got back to the house we would always go for a swim in the river. The water was always cold but it was fun. It made the day into a really fun time. The dog would go swimming with us. He would go and stand in the water up to his belly and watch us. Mommy would sit on her favorite rock and watch us too. All of us enjoyed it. The best thing was the chiggers got washed off before they had a chance to bite too bad.
My blackberries are still red and about the size of my first finger and they grow along the driveway. No one dares to cut my blackberry briars! Aunt Hazel has already been out on her farm looking for berries. She told me that hers were big and the briars were very full. Both of us have our cans, sugar, and “Sure Gel” ready for blackberry jam and jelly. It just makes me hungry to think about it.
I do love blackberries! I love to make blackberry jam, cobbler and pie! We have planted 3 blackberry plants at our house. Thank you for the tip!
Although we had a wild strawberry patch when we were kids, and I would wear a pair of my brother’s trousers when we picked, we never were fortunate enough to have blackberries. Now as an adult, and pretty much a city girl, the only blackberries we ever get come from the supermarket and cost around $4 for a half pint! Needless to say, we don’t make blackberry cobbler! Will buy a jar of Smucker’s Blackberry once in a while. Enjoy the God-given bounty that you all have- – I have to admit I’m jealous!
My grandmother would wear the same garb as your Mom when she picked blackberries. She lived way out in the country & would walk a ways to pick the berries. She always had my Grandpa’s rubber boots on which were way too big & were about up to her knees. One picking trip she kept hearing a growling sound coming from somewhere under the bushes. Then suddenly an animal charged at her, and she was so scared she dropped her bucket of berries & ran slap out of Grandpa’a boots. She ran home screaming for Grandpa to get his gun. When she told him what the animal looked like that had chased her out of the
blackberry patch he said, “Never mind about
that critter, where are my boots?” Then throwing up his hands, he sat down on the porch & said, I reckon I can forget about that blackberry cobbler you promised me.”
We showed Grandma a picture book of animals & she picked out a badger as the animal she saw. She said it was a fairly size animal, low to the ground with very long claws. We told her badgers were not in Mississippi, but until she died she claimed it was a badger. Tipper & readers, do any of y’all know what kind of animal it could have been?
Cheryl-I don’t know what it could have been but what a great story 🙂
Hi,
Could it have been a groundhog? They get pretty mad with they are disturbed. Wow, I am glad she was not hurt.
Kathy Patterson
Some of my fondest memories as a girl are tied up in blackberry picking with my summer friend, Zana Avis. I call her my summer friend because she lived in the same town as my aunt and uncle in North Carolina and I’d spend my summers there. She and I (and sometimes her little pesky brother – LOL) would go picking blackberries. I swear as many went into my mouth as the went in the bucket. My poor aunt would get so frustrated because she’d cook one of her amazing suppers (what I wouldn’t give for one of those today) and I’d barely eat being so full of blackberries. We have wild black raspberries growing all around our house thanks to the birds. I’m grateful because they’re just about the only thing we can grow in our Michigan woods.
I loved the post today. I remember when I was a young girl there were blackberries growing along the side of the ditch down a path where I rode my bicycle. There wasn’t many of them but enough to enjoy. I don’t recall seeing a snake but gee with a ditch there, may have been one lurking around. I do love a blackberry cobbler. Tipper, you will be blessed for all the sweet things you do for Granny. Enjoyed the video last night but now when I eat coconut, I’ll sure think of toenail clippings, LOL. Have a great day everyone!!
The very worst chiggers I ever did have was from picking blackberries when I was about 10 years old. I had so many bites I ran a fever and had to sit in a cold bath with ice added. It was the only thing that would numb the pain and slow down the itching.
Here in Texas we have Blue Bell ice cream. Those of you not in Texas might have seen it at Outback Steakhouse, because they have (or had) it on their dessert menu. Anyway, Blue Bell is know for its vanilla and for all kinds of special flavors that are mostly seasonal. My favorite is banana pudding. Except for the cold creaminess, you’d think you were eating mama’s banana pudding. For Father’s Day, we had a new flavor: blackberry pudding. While not as good as banana pudding to my mind, it was powerful good.
Kudos to you Granny on a family well raised and a life well lived! We can all take notes from her and Pap! God bless!
Your mom is so precious. Hope to see her on another video soon!
We rely on just the wild ones here in east TN, and every one we pick eventually goes into a blackberry cobbler. We try to freeze a fair number of packages sized for making cobblers.
I remember as a young kid, my grandparents, mother, me and two older widow ladies would take a sack of leftover biscuits with us and make a day long picnic our of picking blackberries. They would pick the berries on either our land or the joining neighbors land. Back then if your neighbors were not going to pick them you was welcome to pick them. People did not post their land and did not get mad if you would hunt or do things like this. No one posted their land or cared backed then, nowadays before the ink dries on the deed there will be a posted or no trespassing sign put up in the front yard. I guess this was back in the good old days that was talked about a few days ago. With the way people like to sue now I can sorta understand the trespassing signs nowadays.
One of these older ladies that went with us smoked a corncob pipe and dipped snuff. I could not get over that, it blew my my mind, she was the only woman I knew to do that.
Blackberry jelly is my favorite, too. Mom and I used to pick wild ones in our pasture. We also carried a hoe to deal with snakes, and we used to rub kerosene on our ankles, around the waistband of our jeans, around our wrists, and the necklines of our shirts to ward off the chiggers. It worked; we seldom got bitten.
There was a clump of wild briars behind our house one year when I was in high school; it was maybe 20 feet around, and for a couple of years, those were hands down the biggest and prettiest berries we ever had. My sister and I picked over 20 gallons off those vines and sold them to neighbors for $5 a gallon to make our spending money for the beach. My brother bush-hogged them down one year, and we were so mad at him!
They’re seems to alway be a snake around with blackberries!
I have always picked blackberries. I can remember Mama sugaring them and we would have them with cream. I couldn’t have been more than 6.
Many years ago I planted several tame blackberries. Now I won’t go into a wild patch. the wild ones taste better, but I give that up for not being torn to shreds.
I love a thin syrup made and use it on waffles and ice cream. But a peanut butter sandwich with blackberry jelly isn’t bad either.
Last years bumper crop provided juice for this year as we may get only enough fresh ones for a pie.
For the snake issue – I take my chainsaw to one side of the patch, set it on the ground and let it run while I go to the other side and watch the snakes leave, They don’t like the vibrations. Blackberry was my mothers favorite jelly also.
I remember my dad going out and picking wild blackberries in similar type garb. Those chiggers were always ready to bite wherever they could. Oh, but the blackberries were so delicious and the jelly made from them was so scrumptious. It still amazes me the gallons of berries my dad picked so we could enjoy the treat on a cold winter’s day.
Tipper, that is such a sweet story about Granny. I could just see her in her get up picking berries. I am like her in that way with wearing my get up to pick anything in my garden. We have wild blackberry bushes on the side of our property that’s close to my garden, so I’m always watching for anything that slithers around that area. I don’t pick the berries because the deer eat them and don’t pay any attention to my garden. I’ve never had the deer eat my garden, which is not fenced. I’ve always thought it’s because I don’t eat their food, so they don’t eat mine. I guess you can say we have an understanding….lol. Silly thinking, I know, but so far it seems to work.
Being happy with simple things means you will have plenty to find joy in during your life as opposed to those that wait for big things to make them happy – their life will be happy but few and far between such days.
Mary, you are so wise. So many people live their lives and never learn the real secret to happiness. It’s the simple things, the things that can’t be bought or sold that make for a happy life. I agree with you. Hugs, Barbara
I love blackberries. My Aunt always had jars of canned blackberries and would make us the best blackberry cobbler, when visited. My Dad loved cobbler too, but would curse those seeds when they got under his dentures, so she would always make him a seedless cobbler. Is there a way to remove the seeds and still have pulp? I never had the chance to ask her.
Pat-I’ve only had luck removing the seeds and ending up with juice. If someone else has any information hopefully they’ll share it 🙂
Hi,
I am hungry for berries now. My favorite food!
One of my neighbors was not allowed to eat seeds and she loved
blackberries. She mashed her berries up and strained them several
times using muslin cloth. I have never done that but Helen was
an excellent cook and always knew what to do to have her food top of the line.
Went yesterday to pick wild blackberries. Making jam today. Had to fight heat, briars and ticks here in Kentucky but no snakes this time. It’s worth it when I look at my pints of jam. I don’t comment often so I’ll take this time to thank you Tipper for all your time and effort. Happy canning.
Blackberry jelly is my all time favorite as well. I follow that with apricot jam and wild plum jelly. We lived in rural east Texas and would follow our grandmother down those old black topped roads picking the wild dew berries and she would make jelly and cobblers that I can still taste. I have blackberries in my freezer that I think need to be turned into jelly and a cobbler pretty soon.
I bought my house last fall and the one of the first things I did was to get online and order three blackberry bushes. They were planted when they finally got here this spring, but alas only one has really taken off. One of the other two was a complete dud and the third one has yet to decide whether to live. I certainly hope it does, but I’ll at least have one bush. The hardest part now is waiting a whole other year for it to bear!
Our blackberries are looking good too. If we get enough rain, we should have plenty for the year. We love blackberry cobbler, jelly and just pick them and eat them. I have memories of picking them on the side of the road as a child in NC.
Here in Vermont, we had plants when we bought out house. They are wild ones but near our garden space. I have tow kr to keep them from taking over. My Granny use to can the berries to use in winter pies. She didnt have a freezer. I just throw them in a bag and freeze. Have you ever seen anyone can them?
Barbara-lots of folks in my area can the berries for winter use 🙂
You have the key. A simple life brings the greatest of happiness, because one can enjoy just the simple things every day. I never would get HBO or any of that, because I never wanted to make it that easy to just sit down and watch the latest movies. It needed to be special, and then maybe I would rent one. Blackberries bring a trail of memories to mind including my grandmother having the biggest pot of blackberry cobbler I have ever seen to this day. We always knew snakes could be present. A neighbor lady once gave Mom her garden, because she saw a copperhead in the patch. Much like Granny, many old timers had a fear of snakes. I do also, but I’ll figure out a way to flush them out. Back in the day, women always had a hoe. In keeping with tradition, I usually have a hoe even for small patches of flowers.
I am so glad you shared your blackberries with Granny! Mom would also wear daddy’s clothes to go blackberry picking in the rattlesnake infested hills of eastern KY. Mom was tall and skinny while daddy had broad shoulders and was twice her size. That was a funny sight made even funnier by seeing a woman who never owned a pair of pants in her life all decked out in her oversized getup.
My blackberries are so small this year, I doubt I will have the patience to pick very many.
“I want to live a simple life where the bounty of blackberries gives me a joyful feeling and adds a twinkle of happiness to my eyes.” Amen. I had a similar experience this weekend when I took my dad who is 87 a few Palmer Apples that had fallen from my neighbors tree. The look on his face was priceless. Looking forward to helping her pick them as she is always generous to share.
Yep, I remember my Mom, Aunt and Grandma ‘suiting up’ to pick blackberries. My job was to make trails to the best berries. I never worried about ticks, chiggers or even very much about snakes. Of course I was covered in bites all summer but that was just part of country living.
I like your “just want to live a simple life”. Me to. Comes very close to what Paul wrote, ” Godliness with contentment is great gain.” Neither godliness nor contentment are easily acquired or maintained ned, the great gain is worth it. Among the gains of contentment are; satisfaction in a job well done; joy in common things like sunrises and sunsets, clouds, rain flowers, birds; and making and sharing memories. You do each of those well.
What a wonderful post. Enjoying the simple things and living a life of gratitude is certainly a more peaceful way of going about our days.
Enjoy your blackberries!
I love blackberries and all of the things you can make especially jelly and blackberry dumplings. I would love to be able to pick wild blackberries. When growing up we dressed in the garb you described. When we got home we bathed in a galvanized tub with Lysol in the water to get rid of chiggers. This was before we knew about insect repellent. My mother would can dozens of jars of blackberries for us to enjoy all winter. Sometimes my mom would heat the blueberries and we would crumble a biscuit in a bowl and pour the hot blackberries on top. It was a good way to use leftover biscuits.
Now, that right there is a concept totally foreign to my 80 years on this Earth: leftover biscuits! 🙂
All I can say is YUMMY! Blackberries are the best and in any get up you can come up with to ward off chiggers, bees, snakes- more power to you!!! I’m so glad you took Granny a gallon of blackberries!!! Food and fresh food is as rich as I ever want to be!!! I remember being in NY state pregnant as could be standing in the middle of a raspberry thicket with more bees than you could imagine and probably snakes too but not a critter one bothered me that day! I ended up making raspberry jelly that the preacher man bragged about for years to come. He said he dreaded that jar and all the seeds ( from past terrible experiences)but it ended up being not seedy and the best he ever ate (or so he said.) My garden is about 3 weeks behind it’s time but maybe it’s like me- older and slower but much improved… lol let’s hope as I keep telling myself that… my grape and berry bushes mean a lot to me and I covered my berries with deer netting so those hungry long legs and antlers may lose out to me yet…
I love blackberries, they make the very best jelly and cobblers. My grandmother wore a getup like the one you described when she went berry picking. Choice berry patches were a closely guarded secret with her! She didn’t carry a hoe, but her ever present and trusty walking stick served her well.
How I wish you could have made a video of Granny when you handed her the bucket of blackberries. A simple life where the bounty of God’s creation brings me much joy over the “man made” materialism of these days is what I want. Tipper, I love that a bucket of blackberries brings you such joy – things like that are why I love your blog and YT channel.
Your Granny’s outfit resembles mine when I do blackberry picking. I add a little bug spray too to keep the chiggers off of me. I love those blackberries, and over ice cream they create some special lip smacking.
About 50 years ago we lived near a place with an abandoned blueberry grove. Those bushes were in the woods of all places and stood way over my head. They held the sweetest, biggest blueberries I’ve ever seen, as large as half my thumb. Most blueberries need more sun and I wish I knew what kind of blueberries they were.
I just gound a couple of blackberry patches on the couple of spots that weren’t cleared by the creek. So excited. Berries are still red, but there are a lot of them. I have never tried to make blackberry jelly, but I imagine it is the same as blueberry which I have make quite often. I do like blackberry best too.
Oh my gosh, Tipper. You have done it again…..taken me down a long road of good memories. I used to pick wild blackberries with my Grandma and we would make jelly. Then she would make some of her homemade buttermilk biscuits and cut a chunk of country ham and her home grown eggs and it was on then! We grew our own fryers, laying hens, pork and beef as well as a full garden. We were organic before organic was cool! Out of necessity and that was the way you always did it. Thank you for all you do helping us to remember the good times.
I too love picking blackberries !! I used to pick them with my grandma but now I mostly pick alone. None of my children nor my husband inherited my love of picking berries but they did inherit my love for pies, cakes and jelly. So as long as I am able I will continue to don my berry picking clothes,which sounds like Granny’s , brave the heat, snakes and chiggers to pick the berries , to make the cakes, pies and jelly for those I love best.❤
Love blackberry cobbler! Well I remember the days we used to go picking blackberries and always ended up with
chiggers.
I have many memories of picking berries with my grandma. She’d wear boots, grandpa’s pants and long sleeves. We all dressed that way and we’d still come down off the coal bank hill with scratches and blood trickling down our arms. She wouldn’t stop picking for the season until they were all gone. She couldn’t stand the thought of any going to waist. Mom and grandma would make jelly, jam and cobblers with them. If we had too many berries, I remember walking down the road to neighbor’s houses and selling them for $2 for a water bucket full. Memories I’ll never forget. Our berries aren’t ripe yet. Some are just barely turning red. Can’t wait to start picking. I’ve got a few blackberry recipes over on my blog too, if anyone wants to click over and take a look. My Fancy BlackBerry Cobbler is my favorite.
I’m with you Tipper, Blackberries are my absolute favorite! But I love the seeds. No jelly for me, I want jam. Sadly, I haven’t found wild blackberries to pick in years.
What time of year do you prune them? Yes there always seemed to be a snake around picking blackberries
Richard-I’m sure the piece I read suggested a time, but I just snip them whenever I notice them-sometimes in spring and sometimes in summer 🙂
Picking berries is my favorite activity in the whole world, I think. I like ’em all, but I really love what we call ‘black caps’ which are like a black raspberry. I’ve even been known to keep picking after its started to downpour on me. I am the opposite of Granny, I do not like ANY long clothes on me when I am in the briars. I don’t like the feeling of being hung up & I just take the scratches as they come. I also can’t tolerate the heat too well & I would end up sicky if I was dolled up in that fashion. Luckily, in NY we don’t really have snakes of any concern, which is good, because I end up so zoned out while picking I might not notice one until I was stepping on it. Now, I will bring a big walking stick if I’m way back in the woods because we do have a coyote problem around me. Glad you can make your mom happy with such a simple thing like a bucket of berries! I think that is one thing our society has lost – joy from such simple things.
Blackberries are a favorite of mine as well…thorns and snakes, two undesirables. I so love the way you still embrace Granny, so sad that children of today do not have time for ‘Grannies’…Love and Blessings to you and yours. ps..thanks for the recipes.
That get up Granny puts on for blackberry picking is similar to what my mother had me wear when going to the blackberry patch. It’s the chiggers that we are trying to keep out hence the belted waist and tight cuffs. We also took a saltwater soak in the tub after a trip to the blackberry patch because the salt water would kill any chiggers who managed to get past all the clothes and into the skin. Salt really works to kill chiggers!
Black berries are wonderful but not without their cost!