Wild Blackberries

In my neighborhood, we have community open space, which is basically a fancy way of saying green spaces with no houses on them that everyone is welcome to use. While walking near one such "open space" last week, I saw something that looked like a blackberry. I stepped closer. 

It was a blackberry. Growing all by itself in the wild! (I mean, as wild as it can be inside a residential area.) I texted a photo to my dad to be sure it wasn't something poisonous, and when he confirmed that it was indeed a blackberry, I ate the ripe one that had caught my eye. Yum!
I went to visit again yesterday and realized that all the surrounding plants are blackberry bushes too. So exciting! Now all future walks must be planned to pass the blackberry patch and enjoy a little snack. I can't resist those warm, fresh berries. :)

Any edibles growing near you? Would you eat food you found?

Comments

  1. Blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, a few tiny wild strawberries...and probably some mushrooms, too, but I wouldn't dare!

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    1. Oh yes, forgot about mushrooms. They grow around here too, but I don't like mushrooms.

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  2. Ooh - they don't spray them, do they? (sorry to be a worry-wart - here we don't pick them as they are regularly sprayed with pesticide by council - they grow very out of control in our climate.) That said - yum!

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    1. You're not being a worry-wart - it's a valid concern! They wouldn't be sprayed in neighborhoods, no. Maybe if they were growing out of control along the road? And I'm sure blackberries love your climate! :)

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  3. Seriously YUMMY pic! <3

    http://www.homeofohm.com/2014/07/wordlesswednesday-peek-at-my-week-0723.html

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  4. I always pick your posts out of the Wordless Wednesday list because the titles always entice me! When I lived in Oregon there were blackberry bushes along a trail I used to walk, or they have been marionberries( a funny name).

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    1. I try to make the titles interesting, so I'm glad you think so! :) And I just googled marionberries, and they do look a lot like blackberries! I'm not sure I could tell them apart side by side.

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  5. Wow! Now that sounds like a treat! Maybe you could gather them and freeze them if there were too many to eat. I tried planting some blackberries a few years ago but most of them died. There are now about 3 leaves sticking out from the ground that I try to remember to water. Sigh.

    My neighbors have a tree that is dripping with apples though, and I'm trying to gather the courage to ask them if I can pick some. I'm quite sure they never use them and they're just fodder for squirrels, but still... I'm afraid they'd think I was being rude - we're not exactly the kind of neighbors who chat over the fence, so it's not like I can casually bring it up in conversation. Would you do it?

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    1. I've visited a few times and haven't come home with a single berry. But maybe if I can exercise a little more restraint during one visit, I'll have some to bring home and freeze. They'd be delightful this winter :)

      I'd definitely ask your neighbors, especially if the apples don't seem to be picked or used. It would make me a little nervous, but maybe emphasize that you only want to pick some. The worst they can do is say no, right?

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  6. I love eating wild blackberries, and have done so on some properties, but like Fiona, I'd worry in some places that they had been sprayed, so only eat them where I've been assured they weren't.

    When I was young we had fennel growing wild and some older Italian ladies would pick it. At the time I thought it was strange both the picking and the eating of a weed. Now I know it is yummy and wish there was some here. I'd pick and eat it!

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    1. I would've had the same reaction to people picking and eating fennel - it does look like a weed!

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