Harvesting Blackberries

It’s blackberry season - somewhere in the country. Enjoy this nutritious low-calorie fruit fresh from the garden, cooked into your favorite dessert or made into jam and jelly.

Blackberry season varies with the variety grown and the local growing conditions. Prime harvest season is spring or early summer in the south, later summer to the first fall frost in the Pacific Northwest and July and August in the rest of the United States. There are also ever-bearing types that produce a summer and fall crop.

Harvest blackberries during the cooler parts of the day, like mornings after the dew has dried. Pick fully ripe berries that are plump and completely black and easily come off the plant.

Once the berries start ripening, you’ll be harvesting every few days. Place berries in the refrigerator right after harvest to prolong freshness for 3 to 4 days.

A bit more information: The core remains in the blackberry when picked unlike raspberries. Try the compact thornless Babycakes blackberries for containers and small space gardens.