Want to go berry picking? If you do it is your lucky day, as I have put together the ultimate U-PICK -IT TEAM TIPS for grandparents and any one else that wants to go berry picking and can round up a kid or two.

Putting up jams and other summer crops is a favorite of mine. The only downfall is that it takes a good bit of time and planning to do. Right now I am over planned and have fresh run out of thyme time.

So what is a girl to do? This is where the quick and easy-no sterilizing jam jars come in. Making just enough jam to last for a month is the solution. The downside of this plan is that when winter comes I won’t have any jam made from summer picking.

Do yourself a favor and go for an outing to pick some berries while they are still available. It is loads of old-fashioned fun. My grandson and I went berry picking and our U-PICK-IT team effort paid off.  Well, sort of paid off.

Here are my U-PICK-IT team tips for blackberries.  These tips are especially important if you decide to pick blackberries during the early part of the week after the bushes appear to be picked clean. Follow my tips and you are guaranteed a berry stash that would make you the envy of any U-PICK-IT team.

U-PICK-IT TEAM TIPS

1. Bring a kid or two;they should be at least 3 yrs. old and potty-trained.

2. Make sure your kid is no taller than 4 feet, use a ruler for acurate measuring.

3. Make sure everyone wears long sleeves, especially your kid- who will protest that it is too hot to wear long sleeves. Don’t give in on this one; if you do, you might as well not even get in the car and go. Blackberries have thorns, huge thorns.

4. Wear a baseball cap and bring one for your kid.

5. Bring juice and/or water.

6. Put on sunscreen and bug spray, bugs love berries. Bugs love people, especially kids.

7. Bring extra money to pay for an ice cream cone. This is important, as about 15 minutes into the outing you will hear protests; “berry picking  is boring,” “it’s hot,” “the bugs are hurting me” (I forgot bug spray),  ”it’s time to go home,” and “we picked enough.” Getting them to hold out for an ice cream will guarantee you more time of berry picking.

8. Practice your squats about 2 weeks before your outing. This way you will be in relatively good shape to spot  berries.

9. Wear long pants so that if squatting gets the best of you, it won’t hurt when your knees suddenly hit the ground  if  when squatting becomes too difficult.

10. Bring gloves just in case the thorns become too challenging to avoid.

11. Bring extra money for further bribing.

Using the above tips, you are now ready to follow the following steps for getting the best berry stash. Why the best? Because under the barren berry bushes lies a stash of untouched berries that no sensible grown-up would attempt to get without a kid’s help.

U-PICK IT TEAM STEPS FOR PICKING BLACKBERRIES

1. First locate a bush and squat down as far as you can go. Turn your head and peek up under the branches for berries. The first time that you do this it might be wise to keep one hand on the ground to keep you steady, as you will be stunned by the amount of gigantic berries that you have discovered.
2. Call your kid helper (in my case it was my beloved grandson) and tell them that you need their super powers. They will run to your side immediately. This is where their small size comes in handy.
3. Hold back the branches while they squeeze their tiny body up and under the branches. As they pick the berries hold the bucket near them and encourage more picking with lots of compliments and enthusiasm. “Great job!”, “Wow,you are doing so good!” and other affirmations is of the upmost importance.
4. Do not let go of the branches. They have thorns which hurt. One mishap and you won’t  have a chance of getting your kid helper back under the bushes, no matter how many promises you make.
5. When you have picked the bush bare, find another bush and repeat the above steps.
6. After the third bush, your bribing skills will come in handy. Use the ice cream bribe first. This should get you at least another ½ hour of berry picking. If you need more berries than that, here are a few suggestions for more kid friendly bribes that work.

EFFECTIVE BRIBES FOR A 4 YEAR OLD

1. Promise to  make pies as soon as you get home, they get dibs on the first slice.

2. Promise to take them to McDonalds after you get ice cream.

3. Promise to help them fight the bad guys that are hiding in the berry bushes. Use the  pretend weapons that you are given. Do this, despite the fact that you will most likely not know how to shoot a web and other fighting techniques. Kids appreciate your enthusiasm, so just give it your all.  (This bribe works best with boys as girls don’t care about fighting the bad guys.)

4. Promise to take them to the beach for a swim because they are so hot. DO NOT promise to swim with them unless you are prepared to wear a swim suit. I learned this lesson the hard way.

5. Promise to buy them another drink from the farm stand as soon as you finish picking your berries.

6. For their hard work, promise to  play games and read extra books at bedtime.

7. Promise them that if you get  lots of berries, they won’t have to do this till next year. Don’t use this promise unless all else falls, in case you want to go back to the farm again. If you have access to more kids, then go ahead and use this bribe.

If you are a determined U-PICKER you might have to resort to using all of the above bribes. Don’t despair it will be worth it, except when you forget the most important part of U-PICK-IT.

TASTE THE FRUIT WHILE YOU ARE IN THE FIELD!

I don’t know what I was thinking but I failed to taste the blackberries when out in the field. Before tasting the blackberries, I already made 6 galettes which were ready for sugaring and had the blackberry preserves simmering on the stove.  It wasn’t until this point that I discovered they were bitter and that no amount of sugar was going to fix the problem, it was not fun.

So, we resorted to making jam from strawberries and blueberries that WE-PICKED from the produce department of the grocery store. Not what I had in mind, but what else could I do?

 We always have next year for blackberry picking. Though I imagine at 5 years of age the stakes will be higher.

 

Strawberry Preserves

4 cups quartered ripe strawberries

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

Combine the above ingredients in a small saucepan, bringing to a simmer, cooking until the juices thicken to a jam-like consistency, 30 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, allow to cool, skimming off any foam that settles on top of the mixture

 

Blueberry Preserves

2 cups blueberries

½ cup sugar

¼-1/2 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

Wash the blueberries and put them in a small saucepan. Crush them briefly then add the sugar and lemon juice. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Continue cooking for about 15-20 minutes until the blueberries reach the “jelly stage”. This will take about a shorter amount of time than the strawberries.

When cool put mixture in a glass jar and seal tightly. The jams will keep in the refrigerator for 4 to 6 week, if they last that long.