It’s best to pick the fruit in the early morning when the temperature is cool and the berries are plump with moisture. During the fruiting season, you’ll want to go out to pick at least once a week until the fruit is depleted for the season.
How to Harvest
Unless you’re growing a thornless variety, you’ll need a pair of good garden gloves to pick these. Things will get prickly!
The berries should come right off the plant when they’re plucked. Unlike raspberries, the core of the berry should remain intact when you harvest, rather than being left behind on the plant.
When harvesting, lay the berries gently in a flat-bottomed basket or shallow container – this will keep them from being bruised under the weight of other berries, and will help prolong the storage life of your fruit.
Something like this 16-inch woven basket by Winco that’s available on Amazon will do nicely. The fruits are very delicate and damage easily, so handle with care.
While you’re harvesting, remember to reward yourself for your hard work with a few fresh berries. They are so tasty right off the cane!
Storing and Preservation
Here’s the bad news: this fruit is highly perishable and needs to be enjoyed or preserved within three to six days after harvesting. Refrain from washing your berries until you are ready to eat or cook them, to prevent rot.
Refrigeration
You’ll want to place your fresh berries in the refrigerator in a shallow container until you’re ready to use them.
Cover your container with either a paper towel or plastic wrap with holes for ventilation.
Freezing
There is a special technique used to freeze and store blackberries. In fact, you can use this technique to freeze your blueberries too.
Following these steps will help to keep them from forming a solid ball of frozen fruit in your freezer:
- Rinse and let them dry completely.
- Grab a cookie sheet, and simply spread your berries across it in a single layer.
- Place your cookie sheet in the freezer to freeze the berries individually – this makes it easier to take out only what you need in the future.
- Once they’re fully frozen, transfer to zip-top freezer bags, label, and store.
You can keep frozen berries for up to one year!
When thawed, the texture will be slightly mushy. Using the freezing method for storage is great for making recipes like pies, dessert casseroles, or smoothies.
You might also enjoy the selection of blackberry recipes that are available on our sister site, Foodal.
Canning
Canning is my absolute favorite way to preserve acidic fruits. If done correctly, canning your blackberries will give you delicious flavor for up to one year.
This fruit holds up surprisingly well to canning and can be used in baking, or as a topping for your morning cereal or yogurt.
