Berry Season (Bethel: live, eat, farm)

[spleenificus]

Hello all,

Just wondering, when is berry season and where are the berries?
(Specifically in Bethel...)

Also, are there any general tips on foraging for berries?
Are there any poisonous varieties?
Are bears really likely to be foraging for berries too?
And, what is this salmonberry I've been hearing about?

Thanks any and all who let me know!

Best,
-Merlin

[Rance]

In my area August is best for everything. And don't eat those little orange colored berries. Anybody else have watermelon berries in their area? Salmon berries to me...are like a sort of raspberry...only much bigger and more of a red/orange color. Very good eating. I don't have them in my area but I've picked and eaten a million of them across Cook Inlet (the west side)

[berries]

berries are foraged... Jeesh...I better hide. Do not eat the berries

[Blueberry]

Originally Posted by berries

berries are foraged... Jeesh...I better hide. Do not eat the berries

YIKES! I was talking about eating berries in another thread! Does that make me cannabalistic?

<Blueberry must repent. Blueberry must repent. Blueberry must repent. ...>

[msina]

I like pancakes with Blueberries Wanna do breakfast

[Blueberry]

Originally Posted by Rance

In my area August is best for everything. And don't eat those little orange colored berries. Anybody else have watermelon berries in their area? Salmon berries to me...are like a sort of raspberry...only much bigger and more of a red/orange color. Very good eating. I don't have them in my area but I've picked and eaten a million of them across Cook Inlet (the west side)

You forced me into a search, Rance!

What you call a watermelon berry is more commonly known as a cloudberry. However, in the Bethel area, it is what is known as a salmonberry. I don't care what it's called, I still think it's BLECH!

What you know as salmonberries is what I used to think they were until I moved to Bethel. There I was, anxiously awaiting the arrival of a big, red, plump, sweet, juicy fruit that looked like a giant raspberry . . . instead, I was met with a squashed, flat, orange, sickly thing that tastes like moldy dirt--BLECH! I like salmonberries of the Southeast area, but I intensely dislike the salmonberries of Bethel! BLECH!

For what it's worth, Bethel's blackberries don't resemble the black thing that looks like a raspberry. Bethel's blackberries are actually crowberries.

---

Oh, yeah . . .
Berry picking starts about mid-July in the Bethel area for blueberries. I believe the salmonberries and blackberries start getting harvested closer to the first of July. Conventional wisdom is to wait until after the first frost (late Aug - early Sept) to pick cranberries.

[warptman]

They're still black to me :P

[msina]

Cranberries Don't really "red up" until the first frost. Something about the cooler weather makes them ripen. I have family that farm cranberries and I used to work for Ocean Spray, lol

[Blueberry]

Originally Posted by msina

I like pancakes with Blueberries Wanna do breakfast

<Blueberry is going to run and hide in the Religion forum. It'll take a brave person to follow her there! >

[Dusty Rhodes]

I wonder if there is a way for me to ship live blackberry vines up to whomever wants some. I have quite a blackberry thicket on the west side of my clearing, it keeps getting thicker each year, volunteers abound and if I could ship them someplace and have them do more good than they are doing here, I already have more than we can eat, sounds reasonable to me, they are small and lightweight, USPS would probably do the trick. D