A good thing: So many blackberries in the yard this summer. We think the blackberry brambles were mostly seeded by birds. Locations are random so you have to forage.
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Let me dive right in! I can live on berries very happily.
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I would see summer pudding in my near future.
In fact, summer pudding IS in my near future, although all the fruit is from the supermarket - strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants.
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The scourge of the PNW.
Virtually impossible to eradicate in yards.
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One mans scourge is another’s quest.
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Different, and not cultivated.
Sorta like God giving us a smack on the tush, reminding us to be grateful we live here in an exceedingly wonderful and beautiful place.
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Ah, very diff indeed.
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Yes, the blackberries up here are wicked indeed. But they taste good, and are definitely worth picking if you wear protective gear…and they haven’t been sprayed with chemicals. That said, we don’t allow a single shoot to grow in our yard, and there are entire companies that specialize in blackberry removal only.
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I have to point out we’re not talking about what’s sold in stores, raised on farms. These grow everywhere. Although not true this year because, we could always tell touristas because they’d be parked beside a busy road picking blackberries.
No one who lives here would pick those exhaust cured berries. We know where the secret patches are.
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Same here…hope you enjoy the bounty to come this year - you could have ripeness in your area - not quite ready yet up here @bbqboy.
I don’t understand what you guys are saying about blackberries!
I had a babysitter who i know loved blackberries, and I’ve seen some growing wild around seasonal streams here, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen them for sale, nor eaten blackberries fresh.
What would I be looking for? Why are they invasive in the PNW?
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I was mainly whining about the Himalayan variety posted about above. Thorny, invasive, and almost impossible to eradicate. The berries are still good but they have hairs on them.
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They grow like thickets of thorny bushes, and spread out runs all over. They are truly undesirable to have in your yard; without aggressive maintenance they would overtake everything. Kind of like Kudzu vines maybe, but wickedly thorny. I actually love the flavor of the wild ones, and pick yearly with my skin covered. Still, you can get scratches and punctures. The taste varies year to year, with drier years providing the most intensely fruity and complex flavors, IMO. I always remove the seeds before jamming, because they’re pretty big.
Marionberries as @bbqboy posted about are delicious to be sure, and they have fewer or smaller seeds. I prefer to use them in pies or cobblers, not my 1st choice for jam. Other berry varieties around these parts too, such as ollalaberries. Hope this answers some of your questions @shrinkrap.
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@Lambchop Thank you! I was just wondering why THERE? Is the climate or soil or something especially good for them there? We have a few here and there where I live, i think by streams that are dry in the summer, but they dont spread. I dont even know if they make fruit! I’ve seen them flowering in the spring, then they sort of fade into the background or maybe even die. I doubt that.
I found this;
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Luther Burbank was the culprit. Good to know!
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Oh…just one more thing (said in my Columbo voice)…from wikipedia
" It is especially established West of the Cascades in the American Pacific Northwest.[9] It does well in riparian zones due to the abundance of other species in these areas, which allows it to go relatively unnoticed until it has had a chance to establish itself.[8]"
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Think they may thrive in coastal areas, and prefer cooler temps; however I think there’s a lot in parts of the south, and in the Eastern and Great Lakes areas too. Safe to say they like an acidic soil, as they tend to be prolific in areas of evergreen forests @shrinkrap. 
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Ahhh! That makes sense!
Thanks to you @shrinkrap, I learned a new word today - riparian! Love it, but it sounds like having something to do with large carnivores…think T Rex. 
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Then your next word is “littoral.”
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