First session of the year!

To imagine what 300lbs looks like it would fill 24 x 2 gallon buckets. I've got 25 gallons of juice out of them and been left with 9 gallons of pulp to compost.

Took it easy and only picked 9lbs 4ozs today, the bushes are looking seriously depleted and are past their peak.

 

Just got back from yet another foray and we're now up to 374lbs 1oz of blackberries picked this year.

That's enough for over 600 bottles of wine, and 400lbs begins to beckon. There's also the Damsons, Sloes, Elderberries, Bullaces, Crab Apples, Dewberries, Rosehips and wild growing Greengages & Apples. When there's also been a few hundred pounds of wild growing Cherry Plums to be had and a good year for Cherries (+ walnuts, hazel nuts & mushrooms/fungi) I've had about 1,000lbs of foraged stuff in a year.

 

Been picking a bit more seriously over the last couple of days, now up to 400lbs 7ozs, a new personal best and achieved before the end of August.

 

Being pasteurised the juice will be good for a few years, so even if the bramble patch gets grubbed out I can carry on making wine for a while yet. "Better to much than too little" (from 'Noddy goes Shopping).