Seasonal Guide to Blackberry Picking in Hedgerows

Why Hedgerows Reward a Late-Summer Walk

By the middle of August the hedge is doing two things at once. The hawthorn and hazel have finished their growth for the year, and the brambles — those arching, thorny stems that thread through almost every field boundary in Britain — have started to load themselves with fruit. A well-grown hedge on a sunny lane can yield a couple of kilos in an hour, and the walk there is often as good as the picking. This is the season for keeping a tub in the boot of the car and a pair of old gloves in the door pocket.

Timing Your Picking: When Blackberries Are Ready

Blackberry season runs roughly from late July in the south to early October in the north, but the best window is usually the first three weeks of September across lowland Britain. Blackberries ripen in waves rather than all at once. The first flush is often small and sharp; the heaviest crop follows a fortnight later, especially after a spell of warm, dry weather. Pick in the morning once the dew has dried but before the heat of the afternoon, as berries gathered warm go soft quickly. Take a shallow container rather than a deep bag — a punnet, a mushroom tray, or a plastic tub with a lid — so the fruit does not crush itself under its own weight.

Reading the Bramble: Which Berries to Take

A ripe blackberry is dull black, not glossy, and it comes away from the stem with a gentle tug. If it fights you, it is not ready. Unripe berries are red, then purple-black and shiny; leave them, as they will sweeten within a week. Overripe berries are soft, dull and often mouldy at the tip.

• Best eaters: Large, fat berries with even colour and a faint bloom on the skin.
• Best for jam: A mix of fully ripe and slightly under-ripe fruit, which gives natural pectin and a sharper set.
• Leave behind: Berries low to the ground where dogs and foxes pass, and any fruit with white or grey fuzz.

A word on lookalikes: the dewberry, common on heathland and moorland edges, is a close relative and perfectly edible, though it ripens earlier and has a more sprawling, ground-hugging habit. It is smaller and less sweet, but it is not to be confused with anything dangerous.

Picking Technique That Spares the Hedgerow

Brambles are tough, but hedgerows are not. The whole hedge is a living structure — nesting site, shelter and larder for insects, birds and small mammals — so treat it as something you are borrowing from rather than clearing.

• Pick with one hand, hold with the other. Cup the berry between thumb and forefinger and lift; do not pull hard enough to tear the stem.
• Never strip a whole stem. Leave at least half the berries on each branch; they feed birds through the autumn and seed next year's growth.
• Do not snap or bend branches. If a stem is in the way, let it be; forcing brambles back damages the thorns and the tissue.
• Watch your feet. Keep to the field edge and the path; trampled hedge banks take years to recover.

For your hands, thin leather gardening gloves will save you a dozen scratches, though you lose a little delicacy of touch. Go bare-handed and expect it — bramble thorns are part of the bargain.

Heathland Edges and Other Places to Look

Heathland is not normally bramble country; the dry, acidic soils of lowland heaths suit heather, gorse and bracken better. But brambles do grow on heathland margins, along the scrubby edges where the heath meets woodland or a sandy track, and these are often the sweetest of all. Sun on the fruit and shelter from the wind is the combination to look for.

Other reliable spots include sunny sides of lanes, old railway cuttings, churchyard walls, canal towpaths, and the bright edge of any oak or ash wood. Avoid picking within a metre of a busy road, where spray and exhaust settle on the fruit, and skip hedges beside sprayed arable fields.

Stains, Storage and What to Do With Your Haul

Blackberry juice is a dye, and it does not care what it lands on. Wear old clothes — a dark shirt and jeans you are not fond of — and keep a spare bag for the stained ones. To limit the mess on your hands, keep a damp cloth in the car and wipe your fingers after every handful. Lemon juice or a dab of vinegar lifts fresh stains from skin; on fabric, rinse in cold water before anything warm touches it, then wash as normal. Hot water sets the stain for good.

Plan to use the fruit the same day if you can. Ripe blackberries keep a day or two in the fridge, spread out on a tray lined with kitchen paper, but they bruise and mould quickly. For longer storage, freeze them in a single layer on a tray, then bag them up; they hold their shape well for crumbles, pies and compote. A kilo of fruit makes roughly three jars of jam, or enough crumble for a large family and a couple of neighbours.

If you only take a handful, eat them on the walk. That is half the point of going.