I don't know if you have snakes there but here the snakes love them and are drawn to them so be careful.

We live in the woods and have lots of Blackberries. Last year I made 23 pints of jam. My DH just loves it. Great find. BTW, I have never heard of packsaddles. This is the only insect listed on Google. http://bowilliams.com/2007/03/beware...d-pack-saddle/. It seems they are quite large and colorful. They are the caterpillar that turns into the Regal Moth.

YES! YES ! Eat whil you are pickin` clean them lil` monsters and save `em for winter and holidays pies ,turnover, cobbler yum yum you can sell them by the quart,pint,ect,ect... and make you some extras fabrics,sewing supplies moneys GO GIRL!

I love it! I love it! I have a story for you and it is true. We had a pump house with heat naturally and that is where all my canning went from jellies to peanuts. One day two men knocked on my door. . .long story short. . .they were "revenue ers! ha ha. I was on the list of "extremely" high sugar use. They wanted to see what I used it for. Out to the pump house we went. The rest of the story is. . .okay mam we just have to check. They went away with a jar of jelly. My pump house is large and one whole side was shelves with full jars, freezer opposite that. My close incounter with reveners and I don't drink. ha ha ha.

Don't forget pies and tarts! If you use a couple of tablespoons of tapioca in a large pie it won't be so runny. You can do deep dish with one crust, or a regular two crust pie, or a flan with black-berries on top 1/2 way through cooking or fresh on top after it's cooled.

I've had a good laugh from some of this. I can just imagine wearing all that gear and going out to pick berries.LOL
We pick ours out in a pasture and the only thing we might see are a couple of cows and our own dogs that accompany us!
Some of you live in some very interesting and scary environs. In Selma AL she is likely to only need to watch out for snakes and spray for ticks.
And those of you who pick buckets and pails of berries!! Wwwow!! They don't grow in that quantity around here.
Also where she is out from Selma unless the roadside grass has been sprayed to kill it back, the berries probably haven't been sprayed. It is pretty rural and probably not been touched with anything dangerous to humans.

blackberries in the wild - free food from God!, it would be sinful not to pick them, lol - (as long as they dont belong to anybody). I have a field full and am picking them now. I just hate to let them die on the stem. Eat them fresh or can, freeze, jam them. sharet

better pick them b4 the deer or other critter get them. Yes they are good to eat. If you freeze them don't wash first as they will get soggy when thawed. Enjoy

Yip me too.. Wash and let dry. when dry put on wax paper lined cookie sheet and freeze.. I measure out four cups and sucky bag them (foodsaver). I will can them, make pies, cobblers, jams, use for cooking and baking..

I can honestly say thanks for the laugh.. I guess im spoiled, mine are in my orchard so there's no bears, coyotes, Possible snakes but my doggie will ward them off.. No poison, only organic pesticides and the only fighting ill do is with the birds.. and that's to see who can get to them first! but i think there will be plenty my hedges are almost 10 feet long. So i think sharing with the feathered friends would be ok..

We used to eat all the ones we didn't make jam out of. Yum - purple tongue, purple lips...

My husband eats some on his cereal each morning. Just wash them, spread on cookie sheet, freeze, then put them in plastic bags. They can be used for pies, cobblers, etc. this way. If we have a good crop, I make pies and freeze them, unbaked. Then when I need one I just pop it into the oven, frozen or unfrozen and bake as usual. If frozen it takes a little more time. Can't express how many times these frozen pies have saved me!

In GA neighbors had ones they grew which were good but some wild ones came up in our yard. I convinced my DD not to mow them down .They were the best berries I ever put in my mouth. Although running across the street to pick the neighbors was pretty darn cool too.

I don't mind waiting til August for my berries and miss the chiggers - they sound awful!!

On the other hand, I am seeing deerflies in the house already - they are our biting fly that usually does not come out until later in the spring.

I made BB jelly twice last year - once with pectin and once without. Without came out better as it got more concentrated with the longer cooking, and had more flavor.

Thanks for all suggestions. Mommas place is right. Here in Selma where I live is down a private road. I am the only one who built here at this time. The other property is sold but I know the owners. Since road is private no one hardly drives on it and it is never sprayed. These banks of berries are about 5 feet off the road and easy to get too. So, guess I am going to be berry picking for a few days. Oh, forgot to mention I took my Shephard with me yesterday to pick a few and he loves them. I would put one in the bucket and he would wait for me to give him the next one.

I plan to pick blackberries this year too. I used to pick them when I was a kid and walk to town and sell them. $1.00 a gallon. I like to eat them right off the vine.

I live in western WA. (state) and blackberries grow wild here. They are yummy in pies, cobbler, dumplings and jam or just with sugar on top. To freeze them I wash them in a LARGE bowl of water. The bugs and lief's float to the top. Then drain, repeat this step. Spread them out on a cookie sheet, freeze, now put them in a zip lock bag. They will stay whole and easy to take out as many at a time as you need returning the rest to the freezer:)

I live near Warrior, Al. and our blackberries are a long way from being ready to pick. We only had Blackberry Winter about 4 weeks ago. We have lots of berries on the vines but not ready , yet. You can use blackberries any way you use any other berry.

You have got to watch those dogs. We had a small dog named Chance.He could find and eat the ripe berries faster than we could pick. He was a silly little dog.His lips and white hair would be purple.

you are LUCKY eat and cook away

We pick gallons of wild blackberries on our property every year to freeze. They are great on ice cream or just with cool whip!!! Enjoy ;)

they make wonderful jelly, and blackberry cobblers yum, lucky you ,its hard to find blackberry vines in oklahoma , unless you trespass. lol

Oh My............can you safely use them? You betcha. Pies, jelly and jam, on your cereal, shortcake like strawberries, plain with just a little sweetener. Wild blackberries are great!

Blackberry cobbler is the BESTEST!!!

Wild blackberries are the best!! Unless they are near a highway where exhaust fumes are on them or unless someone has sprayed them in an effort to get rid of them (next to IMPOSSIBLE to do!!), eat to your heart's content (and send some to me)!

No Blackberry bushes in Hawaii...how I envy your ability to pick your own fruit and wish I had the opportunity to do so.

I thought you were going to ask about cell phones. lol
Sign of the times.

Blackberries (fresh or frozen) with Pound Cake or Cheesecake! Or fresh blackberries served with eggs, bacon, and muffins for brunch. Those are my favorites.

Since your question was whether they would be safe to eat and this is away from a highway? The answer is YES! Go for it! You'll love the results! A leather glove is a must and I use a step ladder (since the best ones are on top) and take my garden pruners with me. Enjoy!

Use bug repellent all over and put trash bags on your feet and legs to ward off the chiggers or you will be miserable for days. Also, when you get stuck on a thorn, don't pull back hard and fast, undo it gently and you won't tear your skin. The berries are worth the effort.

What you found may be some other type of native berry. They are not usually ripe until a little later. Also, watch carefully for snakes!

yes, blackberrie cobbler, jam pies . gooooood Barb

These days I thought you were talking about the phone......LOL



I love black berry anything. Yummy

I have picked blackberries all my life, but the other day I saw a small tree that looked like it had blackberries on it. Does anyone know what kind of tree this is?

eat eat eat bugs and all. I have to wait until July to have ripe blackberries. I pick and freeze. Make blackberry cobbler, blackberries in my oatmeal. My GD likes frozen berries. Sometimes I put a little sugar on them

We to have blackberries growing wild on our farm. My problem is keeping DH and his tractor out of them until they ripen. He has a bad habit of mowing them down. Just checked yesterday and my Raspberries are going to be bountiful this year if I can keep the birds and dogs out of them. They are safe from DH mowing as they are in the fence row. Can't wait for fresh jam from both.

It is probably a mulberry tree they are almost the same thing and good for jams, cobblers and pies also.

ME TOO!!! I love blackberry jelly & blackberry pie or just to eat or on ice cream. I think you know where I stand on them.

Take off any stems, wash them, spread them out on a cookie sheet and freeze them. After they're frozen, put them in quart freezer baggies and you'll have fresh berries all year long. I pay $3 and up for these in the grocery store.

Blackberry cobbler, black berry pancakes, jelly (remove the seeds), jam, cheesecake topping, pies, etc. Anything you can do with strawberries you can do with blackberries.

When we lived on the farm, my Mom made pies and cobblers, jelly and jam with them. Delicious!

You can do a lot with them pies,jam, on cereal in the morning, on ice cream etc. I don't know now far you are in the country, just beware BEARS like berries too. I always took my dog with me if he started barking I made sure it was safe to finish picking.