brambles from below knie height...

[mousymouse]

I know you are not supposed to eat them because of the foxes.

but can you cook them, make jelly or jam?
or would you need to cook them too long to get rid of all the nasties?

the brambles are full of berries this year but most over knee height is out of reach.

As in foxes pee????

Depends on how you feel about trying to cook out pee, and the bacteria which grows in it, I guess.

I think I'll give that a miss...

You need a long hooked stick to pull out of reach branches towards you. Don't use those low down ones that are weed on please :)

Its not just the foxes: ds told me yesterday which ones in our hedge not to eat "because I've just peed on those ones"

Wouldn't risk it, sorry! Not just foxes but dogs too. Ugh.

MMB - YUK! And that sounds exactly the sort of thing my DH would do too (DS is still a bit young )

Actually, I do ask dh to wee on the hedge - repels foxes apparently. We have hens.

I have never heard this before.

For 40 years I have been picking blackberries and eating them (cooked) and never once worried about the height they were picked.

BeenBeta - you weren't warned? My Dad and my grandparents all warned me about this. Your family have been somewhat remiss.

Mind you, I think if you take them home and wash them then cook them it's probably ok (I still wouldn't) - whereas we used to eat them off the brambles while out walking, which is definitely icky.

I am a farmer's son so maybe I didnt get the memo.

Arent you supposed to be in Australia by the way or are you just awake?

- am in Australia yes, and am just awake too! it's nearly midnight here so relatively early for me, the night owl.

Wow, I never knew that either. Apparantly fox urine can transmit the disease Leptospirosis which causes liver failure in humans. Blimey.

How high can a fox pee though?!

If they cock their legs like dogs (do they?) then it could easily reach knee height.

I always worry about rat wee on the lower levels too - also a spreader of Weils disease (leptospirosis).

Am now imaging rats doing handstands to target-piddle on brambles 10cm off the ground.

Why are we only worying about blackberries? Or are they the only produce that foxes like? What about other soft fruits?

Other soft fruits are all higher - except blaeberries.

My raspberries aren't!

I have never heard that before..the things you learn on MN eh

What about strawberries?

They are ankle height. People eat strawberries raw all the time! Pretty much every animal on the planet could hit those without effort.

LOL @ BB.
And doesn't the fox's leg get a nasty scratch on it being raised so close to the brambles? -- plus wouldn't you find lots of fox poo just there marking their territory as well?

I've never distinguished between which blackberries I pick and eat and which I don't. Unless they have cobwebs on them, obviously. Or those weird little maggotty bugs.

I've probably had a hell of a lot of fox pee along the years then - doesn't seem to have done me much harm. Good for the immune system.

I never considered the possibility of random dog/fox pee in my Dad's garden (no dog) - the blackberries are usually out on rough ground/canal paths/ common land where dogs and foxes are much more likely to be.