Blackberries - anyone tried the long ones?

[ChilliGirl]

I've seen some of these in my neighbor's garden, and I'm going to ask if she will take a cutting for me. They're about an inch to an inch and a half long, and take up the width of my palm! I've never seen such massive blackberries, as the ones I have are the regular round ones.

I love the new varieties of everything that seem to turn up year after year. Does anyone here grow the large blackberries?

 

[claudine]

I've just found a picture of large blackberries. I've never seen anything like this in real life. They're giant! And they look really yummy I'd love to try them. I'm wondering what do they taste like. I bet they're sweet

 

[Rosyrain]

Oh cool, what region do you live in? I live in blackberry country and have never seen any like those before!

 

[evelynmcgregor]

Here in North Alabama a lot of the wild berries are the long ones. They are so good and juicy. There is a place behind a horse stable where the manure from the horse stalls is dumped. The blackberry plants there are huge with the strongest stems. They produce the best berries. I also found tomato plants in the vines and the stems on them are so thick and sturdy that they grow tall without staking.

 

[zigs]

I think there's over a 1000 subspecies of Rubus fruticosus, that's a lot of different sizes and tastes

 

[ChilliGirl]

I've just found a picture of large blackberries. I've never seen anything like this in real life. They're giant! And they look really yummy I'd love to try them. I'm wondering what do they taste like. I bet they're sweet

They are are on the sweet side, a bit more so than the smaller ones, and quite a bit firmer too. It will be interesting to see how they hold up when used to cook/preserve etc.

Oh cool, what region do you live in? I live in blackberry country and have never seen any like those before!

I live in Yorkshire, in the UK. Not exactly known for its climate, but blackberries are everywhere here - even along bits of wasteland. It's a custom here to go 'blackberry picking' around this time of year, and there are lots to be foraged! You must get some very different and stunning varieties where you are.

Here in North Alabama a lot of the wild berries are the long ones. They are so good and juicy. There is a place behind a horse stable where the manure from the horse stalls is dumped. The blackberry plants there are huge with the strongest stems. They produce the best berries. I also found tomato plants in the vines and the stems on them are so thick and sturdy that they grow tall without staking.

That's interesting - that manure is working miracles on those plants! I find these larger berries much more juicy than the smaller ones too. I think they'd be excellent for wine-marking.

 

[claudine]

They are are on the sweet side, a bit more so than the smaller ones, and quite a bit firmer too. It will be interesting to see how they hold up when used to cook/preserve etc.

This sounds great! Small blackberries aren't sweet enough for me, so I rarely eat them. I think I'd like them much more if they were big and sweet
I really want to try growing large blackberries! Maybe I'll try to do it next year.

 

[Rosyrain]

We have really fat round ones where I live and they are excellent for making pies with...or just to eat if you want a healthy snack.

 

[ChilliGirl]

We have really fat round ones where I live and they are excellent for making pies with...or just to eat if you want a healthy snack.

One of the things I really like about them is that you can eat them just as a snack. I've often thought that it's a shame that you can't eat the smaller and more common ones as snacks, but they are just not sweet enough for my tastes, so they usually end up as jam or in chutneys, or sometimes cordials and wine. These large ones will be a welcome addition to my collection of soft fruits.

Incidentally, if you've never tried blackberry chutney - you don't know what you're missing! Makes a lovely change from the usual apple, plum and pear ones.

 

[prettyrose16]

No I don't grow large blackberries at the moment but they do look very nice and tasty. These will be perfect in a fruit cup or on top of ice cream and there are many things you can do with them.