In praise of Brambles.

[oldclaypaws]

I think many of us on buying woods, like myself, look at a sea of brambles and initially think "Invasive prickly weed, we'll get rid of that then, where's the brushcutter?"

16 months on, while I've cleared a portion of them to gain access to the centre of my jungle, I'm starting to learn to love my brambles and think it may be good to resist the urge to clear them, they do have many benefits which some might overlook.

For a kick off, the fruit is virtually 'The British Wild Grape'. Fine wines are often described as 'full of plum and blackberry flavours'- well the blackberry has more blackberry 'hints or tones' than any grape !! Not only is the ripe fruit delicious on its own and there are several culinary uses including wine, jelly, pies, sauces, puree with icecream, etc- but apparently blackberry is off the chart when it comes to health benefits.

They are one of the most powerful antioxidants, which helps to prevent heart disease and cancer. A cup of blackberries has half your daily Vitamin C requirement. They are rich in vitamin K, which is currently very in vogue as a miracle supplement, full of fibre, and even have a healthy amount of Omega 3 oil in the seeds. They also have salicylic acid, aka Aspirin with its pain reduction and anti-stroke properties, and ellagic acid which inhibits carcinogens. No wonder the birds like them! People pay loads for multivitamins and posh foreign various miracle berries to mix with their cereal, but blackberries have loads of health benefits, are just as good, and are free!

They are also food for numerous butterflies, moths and insects, see link;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Lepidoptera_that_feed_on_Rubus

Mammals also graze on them, including deer, foxes and badgers, and they form an effective barrier in a hedge to deter unwelcome visitors. The pretty little pink flowers are also one of the few splashes of colour we have in the clearings in the summer.

I reckon from now on I'll create paths through them which I'll keep clear, and pull them off my Hazel where they are climbing on it, but I think rather than seeing every bramble as 'the enemy' to be hated, maybe we should value a few clumps as an important and useful part of the overall ecology. (?)

[Terry]

Good post Paws (lest I be accused of being a DH )

Agree with the gist of your post, but suspect that most, like me, have found their wood to be a bit gone to seed following a period of management whether coppicing, agricultural, forestry or some other form. Bramble is fairly good at getting in ahead of everything else given half a chance.
Here it was a case of knocking it back to get decent access to the house, never mind the woods, and then getting things in balance in the woods.
Once those battles have been won, as you say there are many benefits to be had.
I have also found that once you have knocked it back it is fairly simple to keep in check and find a much more constructive 'partnership' existing now.
That said, I still have a few battles to wage in some areas The new brushcutter is in the shed - shh............

[Zenith]

When we finally took possession of 'our wood' (how great that sounds!) a couple of weeks ago the ground was covered in brambles in many places. We've almost made our money back with the number of blackberries we've picked.

However, we need to be able to walk through the wood without being tripped up or scratched all the time so I have cleared several paths through it and also made a couple of clearings. The rest I have left for the habitat it provides for various fauna and for the fruit it provides for us.

[oldclaypaws]

My bramble wine is fermenting and only 4 days old, but already tastes like Claret ! A Gallon of it has cost about £2, mainly for the 2kg of Castor Sugar. I also used a 'bordeaux style' red wine yeast.

If it turns out like a St Emilion or better, (Chateau Pawstrus?) I'll be felling trees and planting brambles.

[SimonFisher]

My bramble wine is fermenting and only 4 days old, but already tastes like Claret ! A Gallon of it has cost about £2, mainly for the 2kg of Castor Sugar. I also used a 'bordeaux style' red wine yeast.

2kg - that seems a lot of sugar. I can't recall from my wine-making days a recipe that called for more than three and a half pounds per gallon and that would be for something that wouldn't have had much sugar in from the main ingredient. I hope it all ferments out for you otherwise it may end up being a bit on the sweet side. Do you know what the specific gravity (hydrometer reading) was at the start by any chance?

[Zenith]

It's been blackberry and apple crumbles with us. The wine comes next year when we get more organised.

[oldclaypaws]

My typo Simon, its a large bag which is 2.2 lbs, not kilos. You were quite right.

In terms of time required, Zenith, its about 40 minutes to pick the blackberries, which is quite easy if like me you have long arms and legs, 5 minutes to liquidise them, a minute to chuck in the pectic enzyme and later yeast, and maybe another 30 minutes later on to complete the process- plus about 3 hours to drink the lot and two days off to recover!!

Nows the time, they are past their best in another two weeks, and you can always freeze them and come back to them later......

[Zenith]

Trouble is, I think we've picked and eaten most of them already. If more come I'll have to insist that they are for drinking, not eating.