Have you noticed more people picking apples and blackberries?

[autyspauty]

And is this a good thing?

I pick loads of both and freeze, process or store as much as I can for the coming year. This means I am at the bushes and trees basically every day or every other day.
I have noticed this year loads of people coming with boxes or bags.

For blackberries you always see someone but not many people go for the apples. I've seen loads of people with bags and boxes, and not just the old couple I always see or people with children, people are coming on their own and staying for ages. it's quite nice.

But aibu to think this is most likely because of the increased price of food and, well, everything?
It seems like the value of these free fruits has gone up with the cost of everything else.

No, it's not poor/hungry people I don't think

I think it's middle class wannabe foragers

Foraging is very much of the moment

Leave the produce for the birds and beasts. You will upset the eco system

I've seen one person presumably blackberry picking. That's it. I don't know of any apple trees around here that people can just go and get apples from.

That said blackberries are horrible, I don't know why anyone would want to eat them. Full of seeds.

We never take more than we can eat in that moment- why would you bring a box or bag to forage for wild fruits that feed the animal population!? I saw a woman snaffling through the brambles with what looked like a washingup bowl and honestly I was just embarrassed for her

Going every single day and picking enough to fill your freezer for the year is gross and greedy.

Total opposite. There are a lot of blackberry bushes where I live. I have not seen anyone go foraging for blackberries. They have all been left to rot on the bush.

Who does it belong to?
I don’t begrudge anyone but one poster said she had something like 8 bags in the freezer. That’s a lot . Plus the wildlife needs some too

We have a community orchard so lots of apple picking going on this time of year. Apples will last ages if you store them properly. Lots of wild raspberries where we are, raspberry gin is lush.

People have traditionally picked fruit at this time of year to preserve for the winter for centuries. I think you're incredibly wise to be so organised.

What's a wannabe forager? Why is it a bad thing (wannabe)?

I'm not even middle class, I'm just done one who loves plants and picks blackberries with the kids. It's good in porridge or in crumble. Sure that's why most people do it. If it's available and edible, eat it.

The opposite actually - there are loads of blackberry bushes a short walk from my house and we usually pick some every year. About 10-15 years ago lots more people picked them. This year I’ve been out twice, 10 days apart, and have picked just over a kilo in total (have frozen more than half). The bushes are groaning under the weight of them in places and I haven’t seen anyone else taking them, not just when I’ve been picking but other times when I’ve just been out for a walk. I’m going to get more in a couple of days.

No one is eating the blackberries I saw today. But then you'd have to have paid £3:50 parking to be picking them (or a long bike ride) so probably not with it if you were struggling financially. I was the only person eating them as I walked by - they're good for you, so why not?

It's Mumsnet types rather than hungry waifs storing blackberries and sour wild apples for winter. Absolutely nobody is harvesting them to meet a financial need.

I doubt you’d upset the eco system,people have been blackberry picking for centuries. I came back to my favourite spot with them all mostly rotted on the branches. There are hoards of bushes where we live.

I've been picking the odd box along the paths but haven't seen anyone else taking more than one or two to eat there and then.

It seems a shame as lots are just rotting on the brambles. There are more than enough for birds and other creatures. I've made a few crumbles and frozen a few small boxes.

As long as it’s on public land. We are apple farmers, we spend the whole year and £££££ preparing our crop and you wouldn’t believe the cheeky buggers come into our orchards and steal our fruit off the trees. They know we are an apple farm. Worse still they damage the trees as dont
pick them properly. It’s our livelihood so I have no idea why people feel entitled to pick them.

It's also ironic and hilariously middle calls to think picking blackberries and sour apples is how people get through winter😭

People do it for fun/if it's just there, nothing more

We have blackberries near us and I sometimes pick a few to go with our own grown apples. We usually collect sloes on our walks, too, but I haven't noticed any more people collecting than usual.

Ds loves ti!

His grandad has an allotments and he's often elbow deep

He discovered an apple tree and some pear trees last time he was there. It's in a different allotment but the owner invites people to pick what they like

Ds rang his gran yesteryear to ask her to grab him some before she comes over to pick him up from school on Thursday as he's not had chance to go this weekend

Could it be that people want to do what you have been doing previously?

Trying to tie it into the Cost of living is a bit of a stretch, it is more likely that it is widely known in your area since lockdown and has just become a dayout that results in a nice crumble, I'm sure you are gutted you can't stock your freezer though..

We had tons of blackberries in the garden this year. They are well past their best now.

There are loads and loads in the hedgerows round us. I think I've probably seen more people than previous years, but not by much. It is, however, also a very good year for them here - lots of the bigger juicier ones. Whether it's more people because it's because it's a cheap way to get some of an otherwise expensive fruit, or it's just that they are very nice.this year I couldn't say.

I haven't seen any one picking the crab apples though, you can make jam with them but I'm not sure what else you'd do with them!

Your 'garden' would have to be massive to manage that!

Actually yes. We've been picking blackberries this year. There's loads of blackberries right opposite our house. It's partly for fun for my boys, but they eat so much fruit and it's so expensive that it I was pretty happy that they could snack on blackberries for a few days instead! We picked a couple of bowls' full.