Blackberry crop threatened by record dry spring

Driest spring for a century

Although they may ripen early due to the unseasonably warm weather, blackberries may suffer this year due to the driest spring across many counties in England and Wales since 1910.

According to our scientist Professor Tim Sparks "the weather has remained warm and sunny all through spring, so the blackberry harvest will be early but, unless we get a significant amount of rainfall, the crop may not be as plentiful and plump as we'd hope."

Food for wildlife

Blackberries are a vital food supply for a wide range of mammals such as badgers, dormice, hedgehogs and foxes; birds like blackbirds, bullfinches, chaffinches, magpies and song thrushes; and insects including butterflies, wasps and moths.

Read more...

Bev on the BBC blog...


We need your ripe blackberry records!

You can help us to monitor how climate change is affecting blackberries and the species that depend on them by telling us on the Nature's Calendar survey when you first see them. You can also 'score' the yield when you log your sighting.