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Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16070

Posted: Fri Aug 09, 13 8:47 am Post subject:
I was a bit worried about them in the woods, but as raspberries won't tolerate serious competition, I think I can leave the brambles to take care of them.

thingamajig

Joined: 07 Apr 2012
Posts: 27
Location: Bucks

Posted: Fri Aug 09, 13 7:40 pm Post subject:
I found some wild raspberrys while in the woods today looking for mushrooms,I didn't pick them as I didn't have a container.There weren't that many and they were very small,is the season nearly over for them? Also the blackberrys looked tiny and very sparse,not a good sign at all,I know its too early for them but will they get bigger or is it a bad sign? Thanks.

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon

Posted: Fri Aug 09, 13 7:45 pm Post subject:
No sign of any ripening blackberries here yet, but I was heartened by the quantities. And they'll be swelling with this recent rain.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16070

Posted: Sat Aug 10, 13 7:22 am Post subject:

Wild raspberries are a lot smaller than cultivated ones, and you won't get as many on a stem either. It depends on how many stems there are in one place. We have good patches in a few places in the woods, and in others you can walk along past the raspberries and pick only a few. You should have a bit of time left in the raspberry season I would think.

The blackberries may be small at the moment. We have plenty coming along though, so if they are sparse, you may not get a good crop where you are. Are there still flowers, because they may develop to fruit later?

thingamajig

Joined: 07 Apr 2012
Posts: 27
Location: Bucks

Posted: Sun Aug 11, 13 11:33 am Post subject:

Mistress Rose wrote:

Thanks for the reply
I wont be going back to the woods for a fortnight as these patches are where I used to live, so a long drive.I will have a better look then,I don't remember seeing any flowering.

Hedgerow

Joined: 12 Feb 2010
Posts: 5
Location: Dorset

Posted: Sun Aug 11, 13 8:27 pm Post subject:

It's been good for wild gooseberries, cherries, red currants and strawberries so far. There are good numbers of damsons, crab apples, sloes and sea buckthorn (the business!) plus hazelnuts and walnuts on route. Some of the sloes were starting to gain some colour today. I've eaten the odd blackberry too. I am still to see any wild raspberries yet this year - not been to the right spots. I also need to keep an eye on some fantastic cherry plums (red, yellow and purple) to see how they are progressing. Without slowing down I can see when they are starting to fall off the trees on to a pavement underneath. We need a good year after the disappointment of last.

Hedgerow
https://www.hedgerow-harvest.com

Duane Dibbley

Joined: 12 Nov 2009
Posts: 95
Location: Between Newbury and Andover

Posted: Mon Aug 12, 13 7:59 am Post subject:
Blackberries are starting to ripen here now and there seems to be a very good crop. Cherry plums are very disappointing this year....trees that were loaded in 2011 hardly have any fruit despite a poor year last year. There seem to be loads of Hazelnuts as well.....just need to get to them before the squirrels.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16070

Posted: Tue Aug 13, 13 7:39 am Post subject:
Although the numbers will be building up because it will be a good year this year, haven't seen so many squirrels in the woods lately. Think the wet summer and cold winter did for a lot of them.

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