Picking Dewberries April 2014

There are quite a few crops that you really have to work hard to weed, water, and worry about pests.  And then there are dewberries.  These boogers just grow on their own in the ditch on the other side of the road in front of our house.  Dewberries are similar to blackberries, but they ripen a little earlier, and grow on sprawling, thorn-filled runners all over the ground as opposed to blackberries that grow on canes or bushes. Dewberries are a little plumper, juicier, and, I think, a little sweeter.  We keep a close eye on the wild crop that grows on its own in the ditch and when they are at their peak, we get out there with buckets and pick them.

Dewberries in the ditch

They are at their prime for only a short time, so after work, we get out there in the ditch and hastily fill our buckets.  We do keep a watchful eye for snakes and wasps. Benjamin got stung on the finger by an angry red wasp as he was picking dewberries yesterday, but he kept right on picking like a trooper.  A man can't let trivial annoyances sidetrack him when there's work to be done.

Dewberries at different stages - green, red, and black

We just stand in one spot, putting the bucket on the ground and use both hands to pick berries and drop them into the bucket.  It goes quickly like that.  The only problem is all the thorns.  Once you're done, your hands are all scratched up and itchy.

Berry Good

Benjamin keeps a quart sized container with him and hops over into the middle of the thorns.  He likes to pick in the remote, hard to get to, spots.  As he fills his container, he comes and dumps the berries in the bucket or other containers we're using to store the harvest in.

Professional Dewberry Picker

Just look at these nice berries!

A nice handful of plump berries

It takes a brave man to pick blackberries in a white T-shirt!

My container is full, Dad!

You have to sample a few of them to make sure they are sweet.  They are indeed sweet, warm, and juicy. When you come inside with the harvest, you have to wash your purple hands stained from berry pickin'.

Stained ha

We've only picked for two successive afternoons, maybe for 45 minutes each day, but the yield has been good.  I figure we'll get out there again tomorrow and pick before they become overripe.

Bucket 'o Berries

This was the haul from the second day.  I put it on the scale and it weighed exactly 9 pounds.  That ain't half bad!

Nine pounds of dewberries

Tomorrow I'll show you how we put these dewberries away so we can enjoy them long after the harvest is over.  Check back with us tomorrow for Dewberry Harvest 2014 Part II.