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.

I haven't noticed this, but it's a good thing. It makes me sad every autumn to walk around my neighborhood and see all the beautiful apples lying on the ground rotting.

This. Still got loads of apples though.

I usually make bramble jelly, which is the food of the gods but I didn't bother this year because it was so dry. I have got lots of courgettes and green tomatoes so will be making a fuckton of chutney.

Not just a "middle class" thing for the sneerers. Several of the community food projects in my area have a map of "unowned" or community fruit trees and harvest them every year. They make lots of fruit crumble and also give out surplus fruit.

I can't believe you all can make even blackberry picking about class😂😂😂

If it is a hedge on my land that I maintain, yes I consider it theft particularly as we grow our own hedging from seed such as hawthorn and blackthorn.

Sorry, you said the hedge bordered a public lane and I assumed that they had been picking from that side.

I pick blackberries. I just do it when I'm walking the dog and put them in a spare (unused!!) poo bag. We had a crumble last night. I've not seen anyone else doing it this year but have a few times in the past.

It's definitely not going to feed us through the winter!!

Blackberries, yes. I pick every year and used to get some strange looks from people who clean wondered what I was doing. Gradually there has been an increase but lots of people this year. Makes it harder to find a good crop but one of the great things about blackberries is there are plenty for all.

Although I agree you get enough for a snack or to add to a crumble but not as the fruit supply for a family for a week.

I live in the country side and regularly fill my washing bowl with blackberries. Seriously the ones wasted that go over on the plant are huge even with my picking there is no chance of hungry birds. They all get turned into apple and blackberry jam or stew or ice cream I don't buy any jam and have enough fruit to last most of the year for baked desert's.

I totally agree. Have you got no consideration for the wildlife around you, OP?

I've never seen wild blackberries growing anywhere near me. A shame, because I love them

But yeah, no. I don't think picking blackberries is the thing you'd be doing if you were actually struggling. More like going to a food bank.

Picked some blackberries on Sat morn for breakfast. Cant beat fresh fruit. Haven't thought of freezing. If there were many left maybe.

There are loads of Blackberries near us, we were picking them every few days and now have a freezer full. The only other people we saw doing it were a Polish family.
They literally rotted on the plant because nobody picked them, such a shame

It's been an amazing year for blackberries where I am, so it is easy pickings, which I imagine is the main reason for seeing more people out picking. I haven't picked and frozen any this year as I still have plums in the freezer from last year (friends tree) and don't have a big freezer, but I do tend to pick and eat my breakfast on the go whilst walking the dog.

My alpine strawberries are massive at the moment and have been producing fruit for a few months now too.

Not specifically, but it's been a good year for wild blackberries and good weather for picking. I really noticed the berries at the end of August. Picked the usual amount - a panful or two. We freeze them and use for blackberry and apple pies. And we had some ripen at home peaches that didn't so DH found a brilliant recipe for peach and blackberry cobbler.

I'm not worrying about the birds, there are plenty left and it's also a good year for rowanberries, hips, elderberries...

I was the only person eating them as I walked by - they're good for you, so why not?

Up to you but I prefer mine well soaked and picked over! Flushes out quite a lot of (ahem) added protein.

Blackberries are so expensive to buy in the shops and both of my young DC love them, they are easily their favourite fruits. My 3yo loves to pick them so I’ve saved a fortune this summer 😂 the pure excitement on their face when they see some “juicy ones” is the cutest thing. I haven’t really seen anyone else picking the ones around here and so many seem to have rotten on the bush so the birds and animals clearly have enough. I’m sure that in the 90’s it was more of a done thing, my grandma used to send me and my siblings out with ice cream tubs to pick for her and you’d see plenty of other kids doing the same!

Round our way they'll forage for anything, mobile phones, wallets, handbags, actually anything left in a car.

They do it in shops too.

And they're not all middle class, some of them wear baseball caps (but positioned incorrectly).

Berry picking is not upsetting anything for nature. I agree with pps that there are plenty of berries decaying on bushes. We berry pick every year. I wash and freeze in 500g bags as I need 2kg for my jelly making, so will bring cartons a couple of times. We also take a bit extra for a couple of crumbles.

No, and there’s an abundance of berries where I am.

I've picked blackberries/wimberries/sloes my whole life. I did it with my parents and I now do it with my children. My DH is the same.

I haven't noticed any increase in other people picking.

Sometimes we see another family, usually we are alone.
I've never understood why more people don't do it.

We've got a community orchard nearby and I've actually been surprised this year by how little people have taken! Usually by this time it's been stripped bare, even tho lots of the apples haven't fully ripened. We ambled up last week and there were loads still. Loads of blackberries shrivelled on the vine too, I think due to the crazy weather (we usually go picking but didn't manage in time this year).

We had another orchard planted a few months ago at a local park but unfortunately some thoughtless unsavouries pulled up and broke over half the trees, but I'm hoping the trees that are still there manage to establish, as it will be a lovely community resource in years to come.

DH took the kids out with a wee box and they've been having them woth porridge etc. We're going to go again and get some more and see if we can get enough to make a small batch of jam. We grow our own fruit and veg but nothing wrong with foraging a bit of what we don't grow as well, it's there for anyone who wants to do it, surely?

Definitely try the jam @ContadoraExplorer I started making jam a few years ago and can't buy shop bought any more. It's even nicer than bonne maman (?) the more expensive jam.
500g of sugar and 1kg of blackberries makes me about 5 jars (all collected from family so no cost there)
I never used to eat jam but now we have it almost daily, and on everything. yum! always sad when we run out and have to wait until next blackberry season 😢

I grew up in the countryside so have picked blackberries on and off all my life. I picked enough to make about 4 crumbles last year. Haven’t picked any this year they were on the bushes very early this year and looked smaller than normal and did not look very good, probably to do with the heat. As a child I remember having wild garlic, nettles, dandelion leaves in salad and rose hip syrup being made.

No I've been picking this year and hardly seen anyone.