Wild Fruit in your area?

[Reed Wells]

How is the wild stuff growing by you guys? After the drought last year where there was nothing growing without irrigation, this year is a bumper in all species. I freeze all the fruit I pick so after filling the small freezer with blueberries and the large chest half full with raspberries, I had to go pick up another medium freezer for when the blackberries are ready, in a couple of days now. We even had a great crop of Hazel Nuts (Filberts) this year, but those little hairy things make me itch for a week. Nothing is as good for breakfast as a couple of berry muffins and a hot cup of coffee before shoveling a way out to the shop in the morning. Don't laugh, the maples around here are starting to change color, mid August, there's a scary thought.

[Jerry Bruette]

Wish I could get some hazel nuts those other hairy critters (squirrels) get them before I have a chance. Wild hazel nuts sure beat the store bought filberts though. You'e lucky to get them.

Jerry

[Jim Becker]

While my cultivated raspberries were wonderful this year, the native ones did not have the yield that they did last year. However, our wild cherry tree went gangbusters...the fruit was larger and sweeter than normal--we ate some, and I made a wonderful sauce one night for use over a pork loin with it.

[Joe Pelonio]

About all we have here in wild fruit is the blackberries. They have a bumper crop and are just now starting to ripen. Big and sweet!

[Steve Clardy]

Bumper crop of blackberries on our 31 acres. Can't seem to pick all of them?
Guess we have about 10 gallon in the freezer now. [I think I ate that many while picking them ]

Bumper crop of wild plums, but they are rotting on the tree before they are completely ripe. Too much moisture maybe?

Also found a peach tree in the fence row that needs cleaned out. Its producing small peaches.
Not sure if its a wild tree, or some critter dropped it there a couple of years ago and it sprouted.

[Lee Schierer]

Out tame blueberries are still loaded despite several heavy pickings. Blackberries are starting to ripen, but are few and far between. Wish they grew around here like the do in Washington. Nothing better than blackberry pie. We love raspberries, but between the cold weather and the various blights, they don't seem to last more than a year or so. Our sour cherry tree had a good crop as well.

Choke Cherries are very abundant this year in teh woods.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Our local wild fruits are heavier than most other locations what with all the lead and heavy metals in the soil.

[Chris Walls]

Around here we get wild blueberries and blackberries and thimbleberries, all of which have had a pretty good year. My brother and I went picking last night and got about 4 qt's of thimbleberries. It makes the VERY best jam.

Chris

[mark page]

Had to google thimbleberries to figure out what they are. They do sound good. Never heard of them before now.
Anyone ever pick elderberries for jellies????

[Colin Giersberg]

We had a good crop of blackberries, decent on the persimmons, but they have been falling off of the trees in some of the winds that we have had, and we have a decent crop of muscadines.

[Jim Becker]

Anyone ever pick elderberries for jellies????

Oooh....my favorite jelly!! My mother made it when I was young. I've rarely seen the bushes anymore, at least around here.

[mark page]

Yeah Jim I know what you mean. Now that I'm living in semi-suburbia, I never get the chance to hit the "old spots" from when I was young. I guess wild plums or sloes, wild strawberries, elderberries, hickory nuts, etc are almost a thing of the past.

[Steve Clardy]

I got a elderberry bush right next to the front door of the shop.

Its ready to pick.

[mark page]

Steve,
Not if I sneak to it first, LOL.

[Steve Clardy]

Brb, gotta go get my .410