One other interesting thing about raspberries we learned at Hedgehog Hill Farm last weekend is that, like apples, they don’t germinate true to type. If you want cultivated raspberries, you need to buy a plant that’s grafted from the variety you’re trying to grow. Wild raspberry seeds have a thick husk that keeps them from germinating until the husk has been worn down in a bird’s crop. That is, they mostly germinate from bird poop.
Knowing that didn’t keep me from going out and picking all the wild raspberries I could find. I got almost a pint in each of three sessions. The Certo recipe for jelly calls for five pints. Maybe I’ll try to make half a recipe. The best thing about the raspberries is how good they smell when you’re picking them.
The raspberries are growing more or less in a thicket. For a ways I can stomp through it, so long as I’m wearing good shoes and long pants. After 100 or 200 feet it gets to a point where I want to cut some of it down just so I can get to the rest of it. Chances are that will have to wait until next winter. Let’s sort of zoom in on some raspberries:
There’s the thicket, with tantalizing glimpses of ripe red raspberries throughout, mostly hiding under leaves. Where the bushes are farther apart I took more time to look for the berries. Where they’re thicker I mostly picked the easy-to-see ones.
One bush, easier to see where the berries are growing.
Close up. The berries are pretty small, typical of wild as opposed to cultivated fruit.
Here are some blackberries, I’m pretty sure, getting started. These look as though they’re easier to find — if you find one, you get a lot from the plant. However, they’re also easier for the birds and animals to find. Also, they have bigger, heavier thorns than raspberries. They guy at Hedgehog Hill Farm said that you can pick raspberries and emerge unscathed, but that you’ll get all scratched up when you go after blackberries. Stay tuned.
And, of course, there are things you want to be sure you don’t get mixed with food you’re collecting. I don’t know about mushrooms, but I know I don’t want to take chances on them.