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An abundance of blackberries have been fully out for the last 2 weeks. I picked some hazelnuts whilst walking the pooch this morning and they too are mostly ready too.
They appear a good month earlier than I can ever remember.
Anyone else seeing such an unseasonal shift in such things?
Yes, the blackberries are ready in Essex with 3 kg in the freezer already. What is worrying are the sloe berries which are also coming in .....
Yep, filled two Celebrations tubs with blackberries last week, now got two crumbles in the freezer.
Going over quite quickly round here though.
Looks like being an amazing year for sloes here in the Midlands as well.
I hav noticed how early the acorns and beech masts have emerged as well as hazel and wild cherry. This could be an indication of water stress on the trees
Thats interesting about water stress being a possible contributing factor; thank you - I had assumed our mild messed up our seasons.
We have an absolute abundance of sloes on the bushes here too. Last year they were almost non existent, so I did expect a bumper crop this year. But of course they are very early again .. traditionally it is suggested to not pick them until after the first frost to soften them; I expect they shall be fully ripe and softened by end of August at latest.
Will we see chestnuts falling before on of September?
I have read that such an early harvest will have negative implications on wildlife going into winter.
all a part of climate change.
Yup,all very early.
It's the end of the world as we know it,get those prepper freezers stocked up.
Wild Blackberries are no earlier than last year, not saying they aren't earlier than they used to be, just that i was picking them this year and last in early July.
I did* have some ripe figs in the garden, *sparrows, which is a first for this time of year. Will have to see how many i get and how many will go the same way.
Yep, blackberries and sloes early here this year.
Yes, my apples seem to have ripened very early this year too. I think a sunny spring followed by a wet and warm summer has helped them
Blackberries also depend on the variety, some around here have been ready for weeks and others are just starting. Sloe berries are well on their way though.
This could be an indication of water stress on the trees
Water stress from a rainier than average 2024. and a very wet autumn and winter, or from a drier than usual spring followed by a wetter summer?
very wet autumn and winter, or from a drier than usual spring followed by a wetter summer?
Where I live, we have had a drier than usual spring and a drier than usual summer. We have not had any significant rain since May. I have lived here for 35 years and can’t remember seeing the ground as dry as it is at the moment.
Our garden blueberries, blackcurrants and redcurrants are *dripping* - bending the bushes down under the mass of berries. We have had to share with neighbours due to lack of freezer space.
Off this weekend to go blackberry hunting.
Water stress from a rainier than average 2024. and a very wet autumn and winter, or from a drier than usual spring followed by a wetter summer?
Stress from the drier than normal winter, spring, summer and higher temperatures than normal.
Yup,all very early.
It's the end of the world as we know it,get those prepper freezers stocked up.
Now stored in crumble form
The kids will be disappointed when the open those tubs up, nice one.
Early but the bushes are scrappier than last year due to lack of rain.
The local Blackthorn trees here in Dorset are bending over with large and very blue Sloe's. Amazing crop, but worrying in terms of their early arrival, 20 years ago we picked them after the first frost, usually in October, picking them mid summer just seems wrong.
I had a terrible crop on the apples in the new orchard I planted few years back. I`d tried a homemade organic treatment for scab last year .. which i made a bit too strong and almost killed them all; I think this year they were still recovering.
It will be interesting to see if/how early the chestnuts are ready. We have a few mature trees on the boundary which we typically start collecting them from around early/mid October ... last year was a very poor year so hopefully a bumper one this year again
I have read that such an early harvest will have negative implications on wildlife going into winter.
Very much this.
The hawthorn, yew and Rowan berries which are needed to feed the incoming thrushes from Scandinavian countries (also our own birds that venture south) will be gone and over as they've all come too early.
The fruit such as blackberries and bilberries that feed small mammals and birds ready to fatten up for a winter are far too early.
Very nice for us humans, as I made a rhubarb and blackberry crumble last night, all picked from the garden, but really quite bad for the wildlife (our local badger loves the blackberries).
Article in the Guardian
It's not all bushes laden with fruit. This time last year, the track pictured was stuffed with bushes that produced well into September. This year? Nothing, just dead stalks and, lower down, sickly plants without viable fruit. Situated on a steep slope, I think it's been left stranded above a lowering water table after months without significant rain.
But you also have to factor in the spring that preceded that graphic:
Storm Floris back on the 4th took half of the rowan berries off the tree in my garden so may be less bird shit to clean off my car this year and berries to remove from the gap between bonnet and windscreen
We have an apple tree full of huge apples. It's only a small tree so I usually only get a couple of dozen for eating and maybe a couple of crumbles, but this year I really don't know what to do with them all.
I make apple chutney with ours. It's ready by Christmas and I'll usually hand out a few jars to friends.
At the in laws at the moment in the Coswolds and they have a huge blackberry bush in the back garden covered in fruit, but they are full of grubs so we have left them for the birds.
That's the last tub here, I think.
Final pick last year was September 10th, and I could've got more later if I hadn't gone to the Highlands, so that's at least nine days later last year.
We did the vendange in the Medoc in 91, it was the first week in October which was pretty typical for the red grapes. Mid September to mid October covered the variation from year to year at the time. Local TV announced they've already started, a week earlier than even the ever advancing trend.
Blackberries have been out for a couple of weeks now in Lancashire. Also had a bumper crop of plums at the bottom of the garden this year (although they’re now been finished for a good two weeks now). Also noticed a some flocks of geese travelling south last week. They seem quite early to me.
Until this summer, I never realised all the brambles in our overgrown back garden were berry producers, loads of them and thankfully my better half didn't think to investigate until yesterday (too late, far too overripe)! From our window, they looked ripe in late July, which seems very early... I do worry how wildlife will do this winter, that depend on fruits like this.