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This is a badge bit (BB) that is part of the PEP curriculum.  Completing this BB is part of getting the sand badge in Foraging.

Foraging is like gardening but without all the planting, weeding, nibbler protection or watering.  If you live in the country there are lots of road sides to search.  This must be wild foods - not gleaning or harvesting from an actively cultivated space.

Plant identification is the most important part of foraging.  Get one or two good books on the edibles of your region.  Be sure you know what you're picking!

To complete this BB, the minimum requirements are:
- one pound (total) of:
      o huckleberries
      o raspberries
      o blueberries
      o aronia
      o salmonberries
      o true cranberries
      o serviceberries
      o blackberries (tiny varieties)
      o strawberries
- two pounds of:
      o blackberries (large varieties)
      o highbush cranberries
      o elderberries
      o grapes
      o chokecherries
      o mulberries
      o sunchokes
      o asparagus
      o small cherries (pin, bush, etc)
- twenty pounds of:
      o apples
      o pears
      o apricots
      o plums
      o hazelnuts
      o walnuts
      o chestnuts
      o hickory nuts
      o tree cherries (hazelnut shell sized or bigger)

To document your completion of the BB, provide the following:
 - A picture of one of the plants the foraged food came from
 - A picture of the bounty on a scale showing the weight (or you have so much, there is no need to weigh it)

Clarifications:
 - The 1 lb list or the 2 lb list can comprise any combination of the foraged foods listed to add up to the required weight (ie one pound of chokecherries and a pound of mulberries satisfies the 2 lb list)
 - Apples from a neighbor don’t count here.  
 - Apples from a homestead that has been abandoned for at least five years does count.  
 - Apples oddly growing in a place where there has never been any cultivation counts too (probably a discarded apple core led to the tree).  
 - Apples that are the result of guerilla gardening do count.

COMMENTS:
 
steward
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This tree has the best tasting mulberries of any I have ever had. If anyone would like to point me in the right direction re: collecting mulberry scion wood and grafting, or air-grafting mulberry, I’m all ears. I’ve tried unsuccessfully for 3 or 4 years.

Harvested using the ol’ shake onto a tarp trick.
best-tasting-mulberries.jpeg
best tasting mulberries
best tasting mulberries
05EEABE7-6B38-4574-B764-4E8C7C714F24.jpeg
mulberry harvest
mulberry harvest
Staff note (Nicole Alderman) :

I certify that this badge bit is complete!

 
steward
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It's wild berry season here. I've been picking red hucklberries and blackcap raspberries and the tiny trailing blackberries.  Since there's only so many berries in a given day, I'm taking pictures as I fill buckets, working toward 1 pound

Huckleberries: 9.9 ounces (used the tare button on the electric scale...which promplty ran out of batteries, so the others are taken on the analogue scale)

Blackcaps/blackberries/huckleberries: 12.5-2.5 ounces= 10 ounces

mostly blackcaps and blackberries with some huckleberries: 13.5-2.5 ounces=11 ounces

blackcaps and blackberries=7.5-2.5= 5 ounces

9.9+10+11+5= 35.9 ounces

(16 ounces in a pound. 35.9/16= 2.24 pounds)
20190627_192548-1-.jpg
red huckleberries
red huckleberries
20190627_192541-1-.jpg
red huckleberry harvest
red huckleberry harvest
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berry harvest
berry harvest
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berry harvest
berry harvest
20190701_171704-1-.jpg
taring vessel
taring vessel
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berry harvest
berry harvest
20190704_182942-1-.jpg
wild berry harvest
wild berry harvest
20190705_183049-1-.jpg
more wild berries
more wild berries
 
Nicole Alderman
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Fine print is important to read! I found out I needed pictures of the plants, so I got pictures of some of the huckleberry, blackcap raspberry, and blackberry plants that I harvested from.

I also picked another pound of berries yesterday. and then more today (This should make 5 pounds, so I will have met this badge bit four times. Three of those times will go toward the "Big list")

blackcaps and blackberries=15.5-12.5=  3 ounces + 16-2.5=13.5 ounces  = 16.5 ounces

blackcaps and blackberries=15-2.5= 12.5 ounces +  =15.5-2.5= 13 ounces  = 25.5 ounces

Total from all berry picking: 74 ounces = 4.65 pounds
20190707_192538.jpg
taring vessel
taring vessel
20190707_192516.jpg
berry harvest
berry harvest
weighing-berry-harvest.jpg
weighing berry harvest
weighing berry harvest
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berry harvest
berry harvest
20190708_185943.jpg
blackberries
blackberries
20190708_190527.jpg
huckleberries
huckleberries
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blackcaps
blackcaps
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berry harvest
berry harvest
20190710_122956-1-.jpg
berry harvest
berry harvest
20190710_123015-1-.jpg
[Thumbnail for 20190710_123015-1-.jpg]
Staff note (Mike Haasl) :

I certify this BB complete!

 
Posts: 133
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That’s a 3 gallon bucket. Well over 2 pounds of black berries.
blackberry-patch.jpeg
blackberry patch
blackberry patch
blackberries-.jpeg
blackberries!
blackberries!
blackberry-harvest.jpeg
blackberry harvest
blackberry harvest
Staff note (Mike Haasl) :

I certify this BB complete!

 
steward
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Here's three bags of cleaned and frozen chokecherries weighing in at 17+ lbs.  Picture should've been taken a month ago but it's a chokecherry (one cluster of berries survived and has dried up).

As I read the requirements, I think this qualifies for this BB multiple times (8 times).  So I believe it also qualifies for the Big List item called " - do 4 more items from the fresh list (duplicates are okay)"

Edited to add a pic before the bags were frozen (when I had more).  I've since made wine with some of them.
frozen-chokeberries.jpg
frozen chokeberries
frozen chokeberries
chokeberry-harvest.jpg
chokeberry harvest
chokeberry harvest
100_0570.JPG
chokeberry patch
chokeberry patch
100_0572.JPG
chokeberry patch
chokeberry patch
DSC03633.JPG
chokeberry harvest
chokeberry harvest
Staff note (paul wheaton) :

I certify this BB as complete.

 
Nicole Alderman
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Finally found my last pictures of berries to meet this badge bit 5 total times. Whew!

These are the big ones. Total of 21.28ounces minus tare of 2.5ounces = 18.78ounces =1.17 pounds. That's 1/2 of meeting this badge. Added to the other berries (of 4.65pounds of the smaller stuff), it gets me, FINALLY up to 5 times!
20190911_183536.jpg
Blackberries tare 2.5oz, weighs 1.33pounds
Blackberries tare 2.5oz, weighs 1.33pounds
20190911_183552.jpg
Himalayan blackberries
Himalayan blackberries
Staff note (Mike Haasl) :

I hereby certify you for the 4 additional "fresh" BBs from the Big list

 
pollinator
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Most of these species listed aren't available locally. Can others be substituted? It is about to be sloe berry season here :D
 
Mike Haasl
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I'm not sure.  I think we'd need Paul to officially weigh in on it since it's Permaculture Experience according to Paul.  

If we had proposals of berries that could be added to the list, along with the suggested amounts, maybe it would be easier for him to say yes or no.  I'm thinking we'd want to say how many fruits you could harvest in a half an hour so that they could be put in the correct section for "minimum requirements".

I'll get it started:
wild blueberries          1 lb
aronia                       1 lb
highbush cranberries  2 lbs
elderberries               2 lbs
tree fruit (apples, pears, oranges)    40 lbs
bog cranberry            1 lb
wild grape                 ? lbs
 
Michael Cox
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Sloe berry - 1lb in 30 mins

Sloe berries are found on the blackthorn bush, also known as "Mayflower". It is a fairly common hedgerow plant here, with vicious thorns. The berries are very astringent, but are a great ingredient for syrups and for making sloe gin. They are best harvested after the first hard frost, which is due in a week or so here.
 
pollinator
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Wild black cap raspberries.
20200711_133445.jpg
Raspberry plants
Raspberry plants
20200711_133450.jpg
More plants
More plants
20200711_140357.jpg
Scale with berries
Scale with berries
20200711_140405.jpg
Larger version scale and berries
Larger version scale and berries
20200711_140522.jpg
Empty basket weight
Empty basket weight
Staff note (Mike Haasl) :

I certify this BB complete!  Along with your new air badge for Foraging!

 
Penny McLoughlin
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Here is my black cap raspberry harvest for this year.

I'm hoping that this will count for one of the foraging electives?

Weights are #1 - 2 lbs 4oz
 #2 - 3 lbs 10oz
#3 - 2 lbs 1oz
#4 - 1 lbs 14 oz
#5 -  2 lbs 5 oz
20200801_125332.jpg
Empty bucket zeroed on weight
Empty bucket zeroed on weight
20200801_125404.jpg
Black cap raspberries #1
Black cap raspberries #1
20200801_125430.jpg
#2
#2
20200801_125523.jpg
#3
#3
20200801_125606.jpg
#4
#4
20200801_125640.jpg
#5
#5
Staff note :

Can you please provide the required photo of the plants the berries came from?

 
Penny McLoughlin
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Black raspberry plants.
20200801_223812.jpg
Black Raspberry plant
Black Raspberry plant
20200801_223938.jpg
Picking
Picking
Staff note (Nicole Alderman) :

I certify this BB complete!

 
gardener & author
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3 pounds of elderberries. My first foraging badge bit.
20200210_185657.jpg
Elderberries
Elderberries
20200207_181050.jpg
Elderberry harvest
Elderberry harvest
Staff note (Mike Barkley) :

I certify this BB is complete.

 
pollinator
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Hi. This is my first post for the PEP Foraging.
It wasn't my first time foraging, but the first time I made photos of it and tried to follow certain 'rules' (what amount of berries to pick, to weigh them).


It's the time for Blackberries. They grow everywhere alongside roads and paths. Probably this is the kind of blackberries I have to pick 1 pound of ...


I started putting them in a paper bag I happened to have with me. But the next morning I went out with two containers to pick a lot more blackberries.


These are not yet 200 grams. So now I know how many blackberries I have to pick. As I said: I went picking more blackberries the next morning.


A good start! This bush loaded with blackberries I found at the side of the path. I had to leave many berries for the birds, they were too high up for me to reach.


Now I have more blackberries than I can put in the bowl of the scales. I put the colander on it and turned the knob so it points to zero again.
This scales weighs grams and kilograms, not pounds. I found 1 pound = 453.59237 grams. So a pound is a little less than half a kilogram.


This is what I picked today: almost 1,5 kilograms. So that's over 2 pounds!

This must be enough for the first step. At least to get the Air Badge in Foraging.
Soon I will go picking Elderberries too, I saw they are ripening.
Staff note (Mike Haasl) :

I certify this BB complete, along with your new Air Badge!!!

 
author & steward
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I'm having the best year ever for elderberries!

Beautiful bunches of elderberries.


Teasing off the berries into a bowl.


I even remembered to tare the bowl beforehand.


I'm using some of them for my Natural Medicine PEP badge. :)
Staff note (Mike Haasl) :

I certify this BB complete!

 
Inge Leonora-den Ouden
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Last week I saw lots of those fruits hanging in small trees in the wood. I want to be certain what they were before picking them. Now I am sure of the Dutch name and I know the Latin name and English names. Here is what I found (Wikipedia):

Amerikaanse vogelkers / bospest (Prunus serotina)
Prunus serotina, commonly called black cherry, wild black cherry, rum cherry, or mountain black cherry, is a deciduous tree or shrub belonging to the genus Prunus. The species is widespread and common in North America and South America.
Black cherry is closely related to the chokecherry Prunus virginiana)


So they are on the list: black cherries. Considered an invasive non-native here. The problem is: the birds love those American cherries more than the native cherries. So they eat them and they spread them by pooping out the pits. Advised (on a foraging website) to pick as much as possible so the birds won't find them anymore!


One tree of Prunus serotina, Black cherry.


The black cherries closer up. Not all are ripe. I will pick the ripe ones.


Start of picking black cherries


Another tree I picked from


Empty = 0 grams


Full of black cherries (sorry, you can hardly see them) is 1 kilogram = 2,2 pounds!

Staff note (Ash Jackson) :

I certify this BB complete!

 
Inge Leonora-den Ouden
pollinator
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And now I read and control everything again and I see: they were NOT on the list!
Why not? Shouldn't they be?
Staff note (Mike Haasl) :

Good catch Inge!  I just added bush and tree cherries to the list

 
Kate Downham
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Apples harvested from a wild apple tree on the side of the road.

Apples are in 20kg feed sacks in the photo, so there's more than 20 pounds there.
_3034405-foraged-apples.JPG
Foraged apples
Foraged apples
34_3024401-apple-tree.jpg
Roadside apple tree
Roadside apple tree
Staff note (Mike Haasl) :

I certify this BB complete!

 
Inge Leonora-den Ouden
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Thank you Mike, for adding the wild cherries to the list and for giving me the BB
 
Mike Haasl
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Our pleasure!  Actually Ash granted your BB
 
Inge Leonora-den Ouden
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Twenty pounds of hazelnuts? I don't know how long that will take. But I made a start.
There's one spot where I know are large hazelnut trees which give nuts. I'll have to go and search for more of those ... And I have to be quick, because the nuts already fell off the trees, I had to pick them from the wet ground. No problem for me, I will not eat them but put them in pots with soil and hope they'll become new hazelnut trees!


One of the trees


Some of the nuts I found there, under the trees


All nuts I found there


That's about half a pound, unsorted and uncleaned hazelnuts

 
pollinator
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Here goes for my first badge bit!  I foraged some bullaces - very similar to sloes except the bushes are not spikey. You use them as you would sloes, they are sitting in vodka for a couple of months



bullace_weight.jpg
bullace weight
bullace weight
bullace.jpg
bullace plant
bullace plant
 
Zoe Ward
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Can I not have bullace's towards this badge bit? I can do something else instead if not.
 
Mike Haasl
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Sorry Zoe, I just saw this.  Please give it another shot with one of the fruits/berries/nuts on the list.  It's hard for us to certify things that we don't recognize.  Thanks!
 
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I harvested Autumn Olives (sometimes called Autumn Berries), it is an invasive species that happens to also be edible.  They are mostly on the east coast/rust belt, but they are spreading west.  They have even shown up in one county in Montana.  You can eat them raw but it is better to cook them because that kills the seeds and prevents them from spreading further.  I foraged them over two afternoons, ~7.25lbs in total.  They aren't on the list but hopefully the spirit of the BB has been met.
Autumn-Olive-Tree.jpg
autumn olive tree
autumn olive tree
Harvesting.jpg
harvesting
harvesting
Weighing-1.jpg
weighing 1
weighing 1
Weighing-2.jpg
weighing 2
weighing 2
Staff note :

The spirit has been met but the required species haven't.  Sorry

 
Zoe Ward
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So this took me a while, mostly because I didn't get quite enough elderberries and the blackberries were nearly all gone. Apologies for all the pictures I have small scales and it was lots of individual foraging walks (for the blackberries).


Elderberries (9+5+10 =24 ounces)

Blackberries (2.5+2.5+3 = 8 ounces)



blackberry1.jpg
[Thumbnail for blackberry1.jpg]
blackberry2a.jpg
[Thumbnail for blackberry2a.jpg]
blackberry2b.jpg
[Thumbnail for blackberry2b.jpg]
blackberry3a.jpg
[Thumbnail for blackberry3a.jpg]
blackberry3b.jpg
[Thumbnail for blackberry3b.jpg]
blackberry4.jpg
[Thumbnail for blackberry4.jpg]
elderberry1.jpg
[Thumbnail for elderberry1.jpg]
elderberry2.jpg
[Thumbnail for elderberry2.jpg]
elderberry3.jpg
[Thumbnail for elderberry3.jpg]
elderberry4.jpg
[Thumbnail for elderberry4.jpg]
Staff note (Mike Haasl) :

I certify this BB complete along with your new air badge!

 
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Shook some huckleberries (and spiders!) from a few bushes today.  I don't have a small scale.  Anyone know how much by volume equals a pound?
 
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Depends on the density of the item so hard to tell.

Go for overkill. If you have a 2 gallon bucket full that will be well over a pound and I would say "visual proof"
 
Inge Leonora-den Ouden
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For the BB I need to forage 20 pounds of walnuts. I hope I can count them up over the years, because there are not so many walnut trees here in the wild now (I say 'now', because of my 'guerilla gardening')
I was on my way to a chestnut tree (this one is in a garden, but some branches hang over the fencing hedge and some chestnuts fall alongside the road, so I am allowed to pick them up. But can't count them for foraging). Then in a small wooded place NEXT TO a garden (not cultivated) I saw this brush-shaped walnut tree, with low branches full of walnuts. I picked all walnuts I could reach (and found some on the ground). The amount of nuts filled my hat:

Hat full of walnuts


with the walnut-tree-brush on the background (it has yellowing leaves)


The walnuts, after cleaning, were about 1 pound

... to be continued ...
 
gardener
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I harvested some wild apples today.  Here are my pics for it.

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Here is a photo of the various bags of apples. I kept the apples from each tree in their own bag since they each have a different flavor.
Here is a photo of the various bags of apples. I kept the apples from each tree in their own bag since they each have a different flavor.
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Here is a shot of me picking the apples with a picker I just made. Hopefully you can see that these are not orchard trees. They are along an old rail line trail.
Here is a shot of me picking the apples with a picker I just made. Hopefully you can see that these are not orchard trees. They are along an old rail line trail.
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Weighing first bag at 11.5 lbs.
Weighing first bag at 11.5 lbs.
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Weighing second bag at 10.5 lbs.
Weighing second bag at 10.5 lbs.
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Weighing 3rd bag at 10 lbs.
Weighing 3rd bag at 10 lbs.
Staff note (Ashley Cottonwood) :

I certify this BB complete

 
Leigh Tate
author & steward
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Location: Southeastern U.S. - Zone 7b
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This submission is for the first of my two foraging electives.  "Do 4 more items from the fresh list (duplicates are okay)"

1st item: wild grapes, need 2 pounds.

Location - waaaay up there!

Zoomed in.

Because I don't have a ladder that tall, I gathered windfalls.

The total weighed in at over 2.5 pounds.

2nd item: the Southeast's most popular species of hickory, pecans! We have half-dozen or so wild pecan trees on our property. Need 20 pounds.

Pecan trees.

Zoomed in.

First group weighed, 7 pounds.

Second group, 7 pounds.

Third group was 6 pounds.

7 + 7 + 6 = 20 pounds!

3rd and 4th items are duplicates, thanks to tropical storm Zeta. My first gathering of pecans was a pocketful here and a handful there over a number of weeks. Zeta blew through with over 2.5 inches of rain and winds strong enough to knock down several trees, bring branches crashing down, and deposit a mother lode of pecans all over the place. I collected enough for the last two items in the elective, 20 + 20 pounds.

Zeta left a few leaves and a few more pecans.

We have pecans everywhere.

I'm going to invoke the "you have so much, there is no need to weigh it" clause because in a couple hours I gathered too many for my tiny scale. To compare, here is my first 20 pounds (item #2) in a 5-gallon bucket.

Shows amount of 20 pounds of pecans.

Here's how much I harvested today:

I estimate 60 pounds or more.
Staff note (Mike Haasl) :

I certify this BB complete!

 
pollinator
Posts: 112
Location: North Texas USDA Zone 8a Climate Zone 3A
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The blackberries and mulberries have begun to ripen here in Texas.
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Staff note (gir bot) :

Mike Haasl approved this submission.

 
Robin Swindle
pollinator
Posts: 112
Location: North Texas USDA Zone 8a Climate Zone 3A
92
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This is last year’s wild mustang grape harvest. I didn’t think to put them on a scale but I think this meets the obviously over 2 pound mark.
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Staff note (gir bot) :

Mike Haasl approved this submission.

 
pioneer
Posts: 261
Location: SF Bay, California Zone 10b
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I found wild coastal strawberries growing in different patches of decorative landscaping around the neighborhood. It grows as a weed here! I've included a bunch of photos of the various patches, although I didn't get photos of them all.
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Staff note (gir bot) :

Mike Haasl approved this submission.

 
Robin Swindle
pollinator
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Location: North Texas USDA Zone 8a Climate Zone 3A
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I harvested 3 1/2 more pounds if blackberries. These are the trailing variety know as dewberries here in Texas. I believe that with the Mustang grapes, this covers my elective if four additional BBs of fresh harvest.
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Dewberries (trailing blackberries) in the wild
Dewberries (trailing blackberries) in the wild
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Two pounds
Two pounds
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More left in the bucket
More left in the bucket
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The initial 2lbs in a bowel next to the additional 1 1/2 lbs from the bucket
The initial 2lbs in a bowel next to the additional 1 1/2 lbs from the bucket
Staff note (gir bot) :

Mike Haasl approved this submission.

 
Apprentice Rocket Scientist
Posts: 853
Location: 4a, high mountain dessert
410
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Could currants count?
 
Mike Haasl
steward
Posts: 15505
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I'm not sure if those are a foraging option in Montana...  
 
Posts: 37
Location: Northern Michigan (zone 5a)
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Raspberry season! It doesn't last long, so I like to collect as many as I can and freeze them for later. The entire hillside is covered in raspberries, so I'm only limited by the amount of time I spend foraging. They're mostly red, but I took a picture of one of the few black raspberry plants as well because I picked those too...
I can't seem to find my scale, but the internet says 1 lbs of raspberries is about 4 cups, and I got over 8 cups in one day, so I think I'm good?
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red raspberry
red raspberry
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raspberry slope
raspberry slope
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black raspberry
black raspberry
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4 cups
4 cups
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4 more cups
4 more cups
Staff note (gir bot) :

Someone approved this submission.
Note: Approved, but a pic on a scale would be much better

 
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