Gleaning

Blackberry bushes around here are as abundant as weeds. They are invasive, and subject to eradication in the local parks. That said, almost any empty property, unincorporated land, or abandoned boat or vehicle is overgrown with them. I am saddened to think that someday our small town will be so developed that blackberry picking in the neighborhood will be a thing of the past, but for the time being - make hay when the sun shines! :basket:

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This is the charity in Toronto that has volunteers pick fruit from trees. I knew one Chowhound who used to volunteer.

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Hmm, they look suspiciously like mulberries. :thinking:

I think they look very similar but grow very differently.

I also thought of boysenberries, loganberries… are there more?

These are Himalayan Blackberries, which grow out of control in Washington State. I’ve spent many an hour volunteering at the state park to remove them from its boundaries. At the same time I covet pickable patches around town.

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We’ve a similar organization where I live. I went a time or two, but now mostly read the newsletter. They do fabulous work for our local public schools and foodbank, donating the vast majority of what they glean to those organizations.

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I remember doing a small hike in the Black Forest ten years ago. Everybody charged ahead like the devil was chasing them, I kept being amazed at finding little raspberries! Growing wild! In the underbrush! I was blown away, coming from the far southwestern US as I am.

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We had raspberries or blackberries (I don’t remember which) growing by a pitifully small stream behind our newly built suburban neighborhood when I was little. Only my mom recognized it, so they were hers … although I vaguely remember something about watercress from a friend’s mom - who was English. There was also poke salad, which we ignored. The area had been city-adjacent farmland.

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Some of this years huge local Myer lemons. This one is about 9.5 ounces!

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That’s not a lemon, that’s a weapon!

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