The Poultry Keeper

Gilly C · Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 2620 Location: South Cumbria

If you leave the sloes on the bush that long somone else will have picked them or the blackbirds, thrushes and redwings will have eaten them Damsons make nice jam no need to take the stones out they float to the top just skim them out it helps with the setting to leave the stones in whilst cooking anyway

Itsybitsy · Joined: 11 Feb 2006 Posts: 1443 Location: Leicestershire

I always cook the damsons and leave them to go cold and then get my hand in to get the stones out (- you end up with a lovely coloured hand), I found it was a bit of a panic to get them all out before setting point was reached.

Itsybitsy Wink

rubychik · Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 11:04 pm Post subject:

how can you tell when the damsons are ready to pick? do they feel like a plum when ripe, mine are still quite firm at the mo!

mojo · Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 10:57 am Post subject:

for any one who wants to make liquers go to RECIPES or pm me.........i am a dab hand with alchol

Old Man of the 80's · Joined: 22 Apr 2006 Posts: 308 Location: Wittering, UK

I've just picked a load of damsons. Lovely and ripe, just like a plum really. They are perfectly fine to eat raw (unlike sloes-very dry puke_r

) or even better to make various wines/spirits/jams with.

With regards the blackberries, supposedly, the devil was cast out of heaven on Sept 29th and landed in a blackberry bush, spitting on all the fruit.

In truth, after mid-september, there is more pip in a berry than there is berry, but with the summer we've had this year, blackberries should be picked by now-ish.

rubychik · Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 8:33 pm Post subject:

will keep doing the squeeze test on the Damsons and look thru recipes! thanks all! Wink

Gilly C · Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 2620 Location: South Cumbria

Damsons are just wild plums just smaller versions of the Plum nice and sweet to eat just a lot of stone in proportion to fruit !

Gilly C · Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 2620 Location: South Cumbria

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 7364 Location: isle of lewis

carn't quite remember the rhyme but it depends on where you live i was told the devil drags his cloak over them when he's riding across the sky and spoils them ,they sort of get a mildew Shocked

Spana · Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 2237 Location: North Cornwall

This is the rhyme in my book

'Oh weans! Oh weans! The morn's the Fair
Ye may na eat the berries mair
This nicht the Deil gangs ower them a'
to touch them with his poisoned paw.'

It also states,
The date when Old Nick was supposed to call probably goes back to the time when the English calendar was adjusted by 11 days in 1752. October 10th corresponds to Sept 29th, the date for Michealmas Day when St Micheal banished Lucifer from heaven.
It goes on to say about Old Nick spitting on the fruit and did you know that the leaves and fruit will cure a serpents bite Laughing

Notalotapeople know that Laughing

mojo · Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 10:12 am Post subject:

well i aint going to try it

jaydee67 · Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 12:03 pm Post subject:

I hope you lot realise how lucky you are to have hedgerows and fruit that can be picked!

mojo · Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 4:00 pm Post subject:

ok jaydee a quik ecology of shetland please

Gilly C · Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 2620 Location: South Cumbria

the troublw is this year that there is so much ! I have run out of jars so will have to buy some or stop making jam or pickling and I have done no onions yet !

debcat · Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 6:01 pm Post subject: