Tastes so good it must be wrong...

nom nom nom

take that you blackguards!

Here at Rumpty D. we are in the midst of a sinful blackberry glut. All the tell-tale signs are there - pink stained fingers, scratches & tears in all the right places. While we were somewhat horrified to find that parts of the creek bed are home to thickets of Rubus Fruticosis (in part conjured by bad Wwoofing memories that include the plant in question and a goat) we have decided to stay positive and focus on the fact that blackberries are delicious. And in a way, what plant rewards you for so little work with so much yumminess? While it would be unpleasant if R. Fruticosis spread much further than the bounds of their current stronghold, would it be so bad if we spent a day each summer grubbing out the new shoots and taking our fill of berries, thought we? It seems blackberries hold a special dark cavern in the depths of every committed organic gardener's heart. They are the one plant it seems people are willing to do the S word for - that is - spray. The CSIRO's information page on blackberry makes for grim reading too - the plant infests approximately 8.8 million hectares of temperate Australia - an area larger than Tasmania. So it was with heavy hearts that we set to work with our grubbers today, taking a good chunk out of the blackberries, and a large hunk of berry goodness back in our bellies (and buckets). It will take us many years of vigilant grubbing (and perhaps even a goat or two) before we'll see the back of the blackberry, but the spoils in berry terms should at least make it worth it!