AND SO IT BEGINS...

 

It starts with a single berry. 1 glossy purple globe. Fully ripe, bursting with flavorful goodness. Sweet doesn't describe it's flavor. It's the start of blackberry and boysenberry season in Tennessee. Few things indicate summer better than berry picking!

The rain has been plentiful for us and the berries are going nuts. This is just 1 bush of Boysenberry's. Boysenberry's are not as sweet as black berries and their fruit is smaller in comparison. I'm thinking of freeze drying some of the Boysenberry's to use this fall in cereals and oatmeal.

Blackberry's must be picked by hand. The berry will not ripen after picking so it's crucial to wait until they are fully ripe. I judge the ripeness by how easily the berry pulls off the plant. If there is any resistance then wait a day to get the most out of the berry.

Every bush we have are solid with berries. In the picture above you'll also see muscadine grapes growing in with the blackberries. There is plenty of rain in the forecast so we are expecting a bumper crop. Once they start ripening we'll have to pick everyday.

The blackberry's will be picked and frozen the same day of picking. We tend to freeze a minimum of 12 gallons. We later thaw the berries and convert to blackberry juice, which I will can in pint jars to be used in my blackberry kombucha.