This Week at Foraged and Found Edibles 6/24

I received a lovely email from a reader yesterday about finding wild trailing blackberries. Thought more people might be interested in her request....

Hello Christina,
I hope I'm not asking you to give away a trade secret but here goes. My husband and I are in our 60/70's, are natives of the PNW and have been spoiled to always have access to the wonderful trailing blackberries on property owned by the family. Every year it has been a ritual to go pick and freeze for my husbands favorite winter treat...blackberry pie. And I always make him a pie for his birthday in May. And no, using the big seed ridden things is not an option.

Last summer we were forced to sell the property and hence lost our happy berry hunting grounds. We live in South King County and just don't know where we might find a good patch. we would be happy to pick enough for even a couple of pies. I was searching the net for possible leads and ran across your blog and thought you might be able to help me out by suggesting an area to look.

Sincerely and hopeful, Nan Peterson

Hi Nan,
Wonderful to hear from someone who understands the greatness of these little berries. I can't give you specific spots but there are many areas these berries grow. The best places to look for them are clear cuts. They like to grow in disturbed areas and often take over slash piles in old clear cut areas. These are not the most picturesque places to pick them, but the most prolific. The best spots are west of I-5 in south west Washington. There are miles and miles roads in tree farms north and south of highway 12.

Another tip is these clear cuts also have other berries growing there this time of year, but not in as big of quantities- black cap rasberries, red huckleberries, and salal berries. Unfortunately, searching for new spots to pick any wild edible usually takes a lot of road time straining to look out the window for the perfect patch. But there is nothing like coming home with blue stained fingers, a sweet taste in your mouth, and a bucket of the best berries.

If you are interested in just purchasing some berries Foraged and Found Edibles sells frozen trailing blackberries for a fair price. It is a great berry year so far so we should hopefully have a stock for a few months. We sell at farmer's markets in Seattle and do special orders for pick-up at the market or the warehouse. The best way to connect with the company and place an order is through the business email- foragedandfoundedibles@gmail.com.

Good Luck, Christina


You can read more about trailing blackberries in my post from last week.

This weekend we will only be at the University District Market.

We will have sea beans and wild trailing blackberries.