TODAY IN THE ORCHARD

Hayes picking blackberries - and eating them too

We had another 1.5” of rain in the past two nights - the Earth is well-hydrated. Blackberry season has now begun. In the orchard we call the BRC (Breathe, Rest, Center?) we have allowed the wild blackberries to have partially free-reign. Where they interfere with access to the apple trees, we cut the canes to the ground and let the snipped-off plants rot into compost. We have at least two distinct blackberry species. Our most prolific is the Common Blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis) which grows throughout the orchard. We also have what I assume is Dewberry (Rubus flagellaris). The fruit on both is black in color and relatively similar in shape. The Common Blackberry grows on long arching canes, while the Dewberry grows on a trailing vine. The porcupines love them, and you can often see signs of porcupine in our larger blackberry patches; the vines will be trampled and most of the fruit will be gone. Cammy and Hayes were out there picking blackberries today for an amazing dessert they concocted for dinner.