554113 Tue Sep 02 10:57:20 -0700 2008 9 4 Pacific Northwest 0 4003522 Hello, I am relatively new to Seattle and have seen how wild blackberries grow everywhere. Do you know of good places to pick? Thanks! Tue Sep 02 10:57:21 -0700 2008 84601 icecreamgal 1 4003738 It is true; they are all around. My concern has always been if there is any pesticides applied to the berry bushes. I spent a lot of time on Vashon as a kid and we knew the berries near us were clean. Does anyone know if there is a herbicide/pesticide policy in Seattle. I, too, wouldn't mind just pulling over on the side of the road and grabbing some fresh berries to make a cobbler. Tue Sep 02 12:20:21 -0700 2008 4003522 164782 BallardFoodie 2 4003868 Hi BallardFoodie, Where would you go in Ballard? I live in Queen Anne and have seen bushes here and there, but am wondering if there are more extensive patches elsewhere... Tue Sep 02 13:20:30 -0700 2008 4003738 84601 icecreamgal 3 4003920 I haven't really gone. But I'm pretty sure there are some bushes in the sunset hill area. If you take 65th all the way to where it ends, take a left, and there is an area where the road Ys into a high and low road. I've made a mental note that there are bushes there (I believe). If not, I'm sure there are more right around that area (and probably near the new Paseo on Market heading towards Golden Gardens). Tue Sep 02 13:38:41 -0700 2008 4003868 164782 BallardFoodie 1 4004162 I've gone to Discovery Park the past couple of years. There are tons of bushes and I've always come back with a few pounds of berries. However, we went last Saturday and most of the berries were still green and the purple ones were not ripe at all. If anyone knows of a place with ripe fruit, please share your location!! I have blackberry upside down cakes to make!! Tue Sep 02 15:14:55 -0700 2008 4003522 110206 amyh18 1 4004998 Check alleys, parks, green spaces. If your neighbor's lot is overrun and he/she isn't picking, ask if you might pick. They're really everywhere. Icecreamgal, welcome to the world of summer blackberry addiction. About picking the berries and our love/hate relationship with blackberries: http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/deliciously-invasive-himalayan-blackberries-in-the-pacific-northwest/ Debs www.seattlelocalfood.com Tue Sep 02 22:45:19 -0700 2008 4003522 11377 seattledebs 1 4005378 I always look for vacant lots which in the NW are usually overrun with brambles. There is a place next door thats empty and going to be turned into condos - I get my blackberries there. Wed Sep 03 07:09:37 -0700 2008 4003522 82739 Jeters 1 5040767 There is a productive bush behind the Catholic church on 48 & Wallingford. There is a huge patch behind the Jewish cemetery on 115th, just East of Aurora, but a ground keeper there advised me that they had been sprayed by pesticides to try and control the population and that they were not safe to eat. Fri Sep 18 16:02:15 -0700 2009 4003522 1110354 dace 1 5040894 For those of us who are natives, "wild" blackberries are superior to the domestic "Himalayan" blackberries, being much more flavorful and a lot less seedy. Himalayans are everywhere. "Wild" blackberries are much scarcer and anyone who knew where they were wouldn't be telling. Fri Sep 18 17:03:36 -0700 2009 4003522 19003 PAO 2 5041384 And that's a fact, Jack. Mostly those are rare in-city, anyway. Get down to the Burke Gilman and go for a ride. Railroad tracks (which the BG was) are great for Blackberries. Parks (bigger and wilder is better) can be pretty good, too, because we keep cutting taxes and starving budgets, but pesticides may be more a concern there, too... Fri Sep 18 21:50:51 -0700 2009 5040894 15855 mrnelso