| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| Wyrdwoman |
SloesHi, I'm new.
I live quite near to a lot of blackthorn bushes and for the last 2 years I have been able to make quite large quantities of sloe gin & vodka. However, while out foraging for other things I have walked round my local sloe bushes and noticed very few of them have sloes on this year. It isn't because of someone beating me to them because there is no tell tale flattening of grass under the bushes, and I noticed in the summer that there weren't many. What I did notice on a few of them was there were small black shrivelled things, like the berries had died before they got going. I know there can be bad harvest years for sloes, but does anyone know what may cause the berries to shrivel up this time of year? |
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| judith |
Hello Wyrdwoman, and welcome to Downsizer!
It has been a dreadful year for sloes here too. Last year was brilliant, but my usual haunts are looking very sparse indeed right now. Good job I made an extra large batch of sloe gin last year.
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| Wyrdwoman |
Usually it's bad for blackberries and good for sloes round here but seeing as I managed to get about 10 lbs of blackberries I should have guessed there would be a downside. I still have some sloe gin from last year but it isn't the best batch I made. 
I have notice a few small bushes so I should get enough for personal use, but I won't be giving any away as pressies. Shame. |
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| Jonnyboy |
Hiya and welcome!
Sloes seem to be hit and miss, when blackberry picking yesterday I notice a lot of sparce trees, and then luckily found one within thirty feet of my back door which was crammed with them. |
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| PeteS |
I have noticed that a couple of bushes that I pick from have nothing on them this year. Not one single berry. I think that a late cold snap in the spring (with snow) finished them off.
PS - bushes in a urban environment are more likely to bear fruit - it's a warmer location. |
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| Wyrdwoman |
That would explain the shrivelled berries on some of the bushes. Thanks. I am hoping the 2 trees I have seen berries on haven't been discovered by other pickers. I am thinking traps of some sort. 
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| gil |
I noticed some shrivelled / rock hard ones last year when picking sloes. But I picked them anyway and added them in (thinking they had dried out for some reason).
Now the fruit is starting to colour up on the bushes, I see there are a few round and about here, but not that many. Tending to be on the north side of the bushes/clumps, as weather here comes mainly from the SW. |
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| Rob R |
It's me, I've put a curse on the evil bushes to stop them taking over the world. Sorry for any inconvenience caused. | ||||
| gil |
So have your hedges actually got sloes on this year ? |
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| Rob R |
Not as many as last year but there are some on there. | ||||
| dpack |
the plump one i tried was very sweet but only some plants seem to have fruit so i recon low volume high quality ,same in west yorks | ||||
| gil |
There is a sloe shortage this year - it's official
And I've heard enough from various sources to conclude that there is a general shortage of stone fruit in N. Europe this year. |
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| lettucewoman |
blimey!21.80 for 500mls???  I'll have to wait until next year whenwe can make our own again (hopefully!)
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| Atomic Shrimp |
I did OK for sloes this year - some bushes near me were nearly breaking their branches under the weight of them - look at this:
But others - most others were completely barren - and all the sloes here ripened and fell off well before the first frosts anyway, so folks out looking for them now are coming up empty. I kept enough to make one bottle of sloe gin and sent the rest to a bloke on the river cottage forum. As an alternative liqueur this year, I'm making haw brandy - it's looking pretty good so far. http://www.atomicshrimp.com/st/content/hawthorn_brandy/ |
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| chez |
Welcome, Wyrdwoman. We've had none around here. Or damsons. It must have frosted the blossom off at the crucial point I think. | ||||
| frewen |
Sadly we are a sloe free zone this year
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| gil |
That was nice of you - what did he want to do with them ? |
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| Stewy |
1lb of them sold for £10.30 on eBay yesterday. | ||||
| frewen |
ye Gods
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| Atomic Shrimp |
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| PeteS |
I always leave mine for a year before I bottle it. I think it tastes better and it's worth the wait. Of course this mean that I have some (several litres in fact ) ready to bottle and drink right now:) Next year (assumeing we get soem sloes) I will just make double the amount and keep half of it for a year. | ||||
| gil |
which backs up the report of a shortage I linked to on page 1. You'd think folk would look at alternatives and not get so hung up on the idea of having to make sloe gin, and sloe gin only .... |