Our Annual Mountain Blackberry Harvest

It’s that time of year again for our annual blackberry picking trip. Here in Western Maine toward the end of summer marks the beginning of blackberry picking season. The blackberry season can run from the end of July through September and in some years until October. This has become a very sweet annual tradition for us. We hop in the truck and head up to the mountains with containers for the berries, mosquito netting and bear spray, because you just never know. The blackberries grow along the dirt trails that were once used for logging trucks. During the winter, these trails are used for snowmobiling and hiking. We discovered the blackberries by accident while hiking and we now have a few favorite blackberry bushes that we like to visit every year. These bushes yield really big and juicy berries that just fall right off the branches for easy picking.

We made out pretty well with our blackberry booty. We ended up filling two glass gallon containers and not to mention the many berries consumed while on the trail. If you purchase blackberries from the market, I believe they are running about $3.49 for 6 ounces or $9.31 per pound. Blackberries offer many health benefits such as providing high amounts of antioxidants and being full of vitamins and minerals, like C, K, and manganese as well as being high in fiber. We freeze them and use them during the year in smoothies, on top of oatmeal and salads and for baking, of course. The following photographs are from our annual mountain blackberry harvest.

Taking the pickup truck to go blackberry picking.

The blackberry trail.

Blackberry bushes (Rosaceae) along the trail.

Blackberry picking in Western Maine.

Blackberries ready to be picked.

A white admiral butterfly (Limenitis arthemis) resting on the leaf of a blackberry bush.

Ripe blackberries ready for picking.

A mixture of ripe, ripening and unripe blackberries.

A handful of freshly picked blackberries.