Berry Pickers's topics - tribe.net

Blueberries

welsh — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 15:29:36 GMT

My favorite time .. there is a blueberry field north of Asheville with about 2 acres of mature plants, many different varieties. I love to go and eat the entire time I pick, soooooo good! I hope to go out this week for my first visit of the season.
An added plus, the plants are not sprayed, the price is $10 a gallon and the field is not open to the public, so I can pick in solitude, for as long as I like. Does it get any better than that?

posted in Berry Pickers - 2 replies

hey y'all - i'm looking for recipes

missyb — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:00:52 GMT

does anyone have a good way i might be able to send the last bit of blackberries i harvested to my pa?

i have not made anything out of them ever, as i always just eat them straight away!

but i was thinking perhaps i could jar them or something for him and send them down to him, they're his favorite.

thanks for any help!

posted in Berry Pickers - 2 replies

Berrytime!

timbo — Fri, 13 May 2005 18:47:05 GMT

Yes, its spring again here in the Northern Hemisphere. Blueberries should be maturing soon. The wilds will be filled with grapes and blackberry, thimbleberry, all the wonderful berries. Post your 2005 sitings here!

Since I'm back in the Bay Area at the moment, I may actually try to organize an actual outting at some point. Anyone interested in doing a Presidio pre-run in the upcoming weeks to map out the berry patches? Let me know if anyone wants to go scouting anywhere else...

posted in Berry Pickers - 4 replies

Most berries ever picked at once?

timbo — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 18:02:59 GMT

Foraging and not field picking, I have picked a third-bucket by myself. Made three pies from it and some ice cream with those blackberries. The most I've ever seen foraged as a group was 1 bucket in an afternoon. I suppose most of us just forage enough to eat out of hand, a small amount.

I've had better luck with mushrooms. Once picked an entire large grocery bag of queen boletes in Maine...and could have taken bags more but...what would have been the point?

posted in Berry Pickers - 0 replies

Tar berries

timbo — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 05:53:09 GMT

Okay, I just learned that there are berries called tar berries. Has anyone tried them? What do they taste like? Can you make pies with them? Are they only available wild? And where do they grow?

posted in Berry Pickers - 4 replies

lingonberry juice

welsh — Sat, 26 Aug 2006 04:22:29 GMT

A friend of mine in Seattle is looking for a place that sells lingonberry juice, obscure question ... anyone know ?

posted in Berry Pickers - 3 replies

Mature Organic Blueberry Plants (noe valley)

Spark_a_liscious — Fri, 09 Dec 2005 17:32:53 GMT

Sorry to post this as a topic....
Hey, if someone has a yard....

http://www.craigslist.org/sfc/zip/116945901.html

posted in Berry Pickers - 2 replies

Berry Picking and Pie Making Workshop

chaiguy — Tue, 12 Jul 2005 21:32:44 GMT

Hey Everyone,

Just wanted to invite you to my Pie Making Workshop:

Where: San Francisco, CA
When: Saturday, July 30th, 10:00am
Why: Because you like pie and want to learn how to make your own, from scratch!
How Much?: FREE ($5.00 suggested donation towards site rental, you provide your own materials and if you wish to get in on the BBQ Potluck you must bring something to share)

We will be learning how to make our own dough, then heading out to Chai Guy's Secret Wild Black Berry Patch where we will pick wild black berries for our pies! YAY! Then head back to Pie Central and begin baking. While waiting for our pies to cool, we're going to fire up the BBQ and begin grillin and chillin summer style!

Hope you can make. If interested PM me for more details (like address etc.)

Thanks!
- Chai Guy : )

posted in Berry Pickers - 4 replies

Mulberries

timbo — Sun, 31 Jul 2005 23:58:22 GMT

The mulberries are in season...I just had a fine one today. Its not the best though when you have to shake the tree and wash off the ones that fall on the ground...

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Berries

Steveflanagan — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 23:27:53 GMT

Anyone know any good recipees or facts about Service Berries, Elder Berries, or Goose Berries?

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The Berry Bible

Exploriment — Sat, 18 Sep 2004 16:03:26 GMT

Hey Fellow Berry Lovers
just saw a review of this book in the local paper and thought you'd like to know about it if you don't already.

http://www.harpercollins.com/catalog/book_xml.asp?isbn=0060085487

posted in Berry Pickers - 0 replies

from

Steveflanagan — Sun, 18 Jul 2004 18:23:22 GMT

Lets start off to get to know each other. Where is Everyone from?

posted in Berry Pickers - 12 replies

Meditating on Berry Picking

timbo — Tue, 06 Jul 2004 02:43:29 GMT

Berry picking has a special place in my heart. During a peace meditation in 1990, a meditation facilitator directed us to think of a single thing we'd like to be doing if we could only do one thing throughout eternity. I chose picking berries, specifically blackberries.

There is nothing like the adventure of gathering fresh fruit right off the vine. You may run into unexpected animals, weather problems, and other folks gathering. Its a new experience everytime. Its also fun to do with friends and family and as a way to meet people. In urban setting, I've found random folks enthusiastically joining in once they figure out what's going on.

Once you've got enough fruit gathered, the next step is what to do with it. Its always great to make wild berry ice cream, pie, pastries, or candies. Some folks dry them. Some folks can them. But, mainly there aren't many people that don't love fresh berries. There's an enthusiasm for them shared by most of humanity.

Have a great day and may your bucket always be full by the end of the day!

posted in Berry Pickers - 2 replies

manzanita

Steveflanagan — Sun, 18 Jul 2004 19:16:07 GMT

what can be told of this?
is it truely a berry?
Edible?

posted in Berry Pickers - 2 replies

what?

Steveflanagan — Sun, 18 Jul 2004 23:52:22 GMT

Im not sure what this is, i added 2 pictures. anyone have any ideas?

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What to wear when you're huntin' blackberries

timbo — Fri, 09 Jul 2004 06:37:08 GMT

Here's what I like to wear berry picking--

-Loose thick denim jeans or workmans pants or overalls

-baggy, heavy cotton longsleeve shirt with t-shirt underneath

-hand fitting leather gloves with just the tips of the thumb, pointer, and index fingers removed

-good hiking boots, never tried calf or knee boots but I'm betting their even better for protection from the stickers!

-wide-brim hat, straw is good, although any hat will do; tie string recommended

-a one gallon and a one quart pail (in case you meet someones whose interested in helping and/or are gathering lots and lots of berries)

I generally use only clothes I don't care about any more. I don't recommend dressing up for the occasion...although it is pretty funny watching someone put berries into their lamé handbag! Which reminds me, the other reason to bring a hat--it doubles as a pail in emergencies.

Does anyone use bags instead of pails? If so, how do you use them? I don't have any experience with them at all.

posted in Berry Pickers - 2 replies

Medicinal properties of Blackberries

gypsistar — Fri, 16 Jul 2004 02:42:48 GMT

altnature.com/library/blackber.htm

BLACKBERRY RUBUS

By Lori Herron

Blackberries have been used through the ages for a variety of medicinal purposes, from diarrhea to a general restorative.

The main chemicals present in blackberries are gallic acid and tannin, and it is present in every part of the plant.

Blackberries picked and dried then powdered can be stored and used with a small amount of water to counter act diarrhea. The tea made from the leaves, steeped in water for five minutes, or simmering bark of the root, can be used in 1 cup increments several times a day. Blackberry leaves are available at most health-food stores, or you can dry your own. Cordials have been used in the past for those with colds and flu, along with vinegars. Also old folk tales state that mixing vinegars with water seems to aid those with gout and arthritis. And the use of vinegars for a fever is suppose to be lowered by the use of blackberries. Blackberry shoots boiled into a tea is said to have been used for mouth irritations such as canker sores. Possibly because of it's astringent properties. A tea from the leaves and the drinking of the juice has also been used in the past for an upset stomach.

A cordial from the juice of the blackberry has been used in the past as a stimulate for the body and heart, and is helpful in overcoming an illness. To make a cordial, press out the juice, for every quart of juice add, 1/2 - 1 oz of nutmeg and cloves and about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds of sugar (honey also works well, about 2/3 cup of honey is equivalent to on cup of sugar, the amount of total liquid also needs to be monitored, about 3 tablespoons less liquid per amount of honey used) Heat and simmer this mixture till it reaches the point of becoming a syrup. This syrup can be mixed with brandy to taste. Note: Using honey does cut down on the shelf life of this cordial and it may cause it to ferment if not kept cold.

Vinegars can be used to sooth the throat, and be made into compresses. Dip a cloth into the vinegar and wrap around the throat, then wrap with a couple of layers of dry cloth and then an old sock. (my mother use to do this for all sore throats.. what the sock has to do with it I have no idea.. but it does work) To make Blackberry vinegar, take the berries make sure that they are cleaned of stems branches etc. Place them in a covered non-aluminum container, poor apple cider vinegar or malt over them and let them sit for a min. of 3 days. Then strain the mixture through cheesecloth or a strainer do not force it through. Let it drip on it's own. To each pint of juice measure about a pound of honey, simmer, remove the scum that rises to the top and bottle. Make sure that your bottle is closed tightly with a cork or lid.

A modification of the above is to use glycerite in place of the honey, approx. 8 oz of glycerite is the equivalent amount. Both of the above I might add work can be used as external compresses for arthritic joints. Now the short cuts or when you don't have fresh berries or don't have time to wait. Take blackberry jelly mix it with vinegar heat and use as in the above
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http://www.healthy.net/scr/Article.asp?Id=1375

Bioflavonoids
These nutrients are found abundantly in flowers and in fruits, particularly oranges, grapefruits, cherries, huckleberries, blackberries, and grape skins. Besides giving pigmentation to plants, they have a number of beneficial physiological effects that can help decrease fatigue symptoms. Bioflavonoids are powerful antioxidants that help protect cells against damage by free radicals. They help protect us from fatigue caused by allergic reac-tions, because their anti-inflammatory properties help prevent the production and release of compounds such as histamine and leukotrienes that promote inflammation. Bioflavonoids such as quercetin have powerful antiviral properties that protect us from infections. Quercetin also inhibits the release of allergic compounds from mast cells the cells in the digestive and respiratory tract that release histamine.

Menopause, PMS, and Hypothyroidism
Many plants are good sources of estrogen, the hormone that helps control hot flashes in menopausal women. Blueberries, blackberries, huckleberries, and citrus fruit contain bioflavonoids. Bioflavonoids have weak estrogenic activity (1/50,000 the strength of estrogen), but are very effective in controlling such common menopausal symptoms as hot flashes, anxiety, irritability, and fatigue. Plants containing bioflavonoids may be particularly useful for women who cannot take normal supplements because of their concern about the possible strong side effects of the prescription hormones (increased risk of stroke, cancer, etc.). Other plant sources of estrogen and progesterone used in traditional herbology include Dong Quai, black cohosh, blue cohosh, unicorn root, false unicorn root, fennel, anise, sarsaparilla, and wild yam root. The hormonal activities of these plants have been validated in a number of interesting research studies.

Food Sources of Vitamin C

Fruits
Blackberries
Black Currents
Cantaloupe
Elderberries
Grapefruit
Grapefruit juice
Guavas
Kiwi fruit
Mangoes
Oranges
Orange juice
Pineapple
Raspberries
Strawberries
Tangerines

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Antioxidant nutrients, such as Vitamins A, C & E and the minerals selenium, zinc, manganese and copper all help to keep the arteries clear as do bioflavonoids, found in fruits such as blackberries, blackcurrants, blueberries and plums. These can also be taken as supplements.
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www.wilderness-survival.net/Appb.php

Blackberry, raspberry, and dewberry
Rubus species

Description: These plants have prickly stems (canes) that grow upward, arching back toward the ground. They have alternate, usually compound leaves. Their fruits may be red, black, yellow, or orange.

Habitat and Distribution: These plants grow in open, sunny areas at the margin of woods, lakes, streams, and roads throughout temperate regions. There is also an arctic raspberry.

Edible Parts: The fruits and peeled young shoots are edible. Flavor varies greatly.

Other Uses: Use the leaves to make tea. To treat diarrhea, drink a tea made by brewing the dried root bark of the blackberry bush.

www.prevention.com/cda/feat...002/0,2479,s1-3757-P,00.html

Instead of being merely delicious, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries appear to be awesomely healthy. As in stuffed to the gills with compounds that may fight everything from memory loss to cancer.

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Foray groups?

timbo — Tue, 06 Jul 2004 02:54:38 GMT

Anyone doing forays in their local areas on an ad hoc or more frequent basis?

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Toxics and fruit picking

timbo — Tue, 06 Jul 2004 02:52:19 GMT

I am not a toxicologist, nor do I pretend to know much about the subject. However, its seems to me that there are things that should be known about picking fruit with regard to pesticides, dusts from combustion engine cars, factories, toxic soils, etc.

When backpacking, biking, walking, and puposedly gathering, I've eaten cherries, berries, and other fruits straight off of trees without washing them. I've probably gotten a dose of some nasty toxin somewhere down the line somewhere. However, I've only ever gotten sick from eating too much fresh fruit (or too little!) as far as I know.

Can anyone shed some light on some of the ways to approach this issue? How do you clean fruits that fall apart when they're washed? How toxic are roadsides in places where moving vehicles have been passing by frequently? Is the toxicity generally lower once leaded fuels are phased out? How does one spot toxic or contaminated soils?

All thoughts and comments welcome!

posted in Berry Pickers - 0 replies