Ripe Blackberries Spotted As Early As June In Heatwave-Heavy Year

Ripe and nearly-ripe blackberries by my local park yesterday (15 July)For my Leaving Cert (Ireland’s version of A-Levels), I learned Seamus Heaney’s Blackberry-Picking by heart – “Late August, given heavy rain and sun / for a full week, the blackberries would ripen,” it began. So you can imagine my shock when, on a recent mid-July run in my local park, I noticed walkers pluck “glossy, purple clots” (read: ripe blackberries) from the hedges. The National Trust says that in general, the berries ought to be at their best in August, September, and early November. But in a year of early, enormous strawberries, and even huge ladybird swarms, could my favourite fruit have been impacted too? We asked experts about how “normal” ripe blackberries are in mid-July, and what might be causing them.Some ripe blackberries were reported on 22 June The Woodland Trust runs a Nature’s Calendar, which allows ordinary people to submit data about their local wildlife. The aim of this is to see how climate change might affect our flora and fauna. Though Alex Marshall, a Citizen Science Assistant involved in the project, says, “We cannot say whether this year’s average ‘first ripe fruit’ date for bramble in the UK is earlier or later than the benchmark year (2007),” until they have more data. However, he did share that, “This year, between 1 June [to the] present day, the average first ripe bramble date is 6 July, four days earlier than 2024, and we have over 100 records.” That’s compared to 12 records in this period last year.He added, “However, the increase in records this year could also be due to an increased effort from us in asking our volunteers to search for ripe brambles!”The earliest entry, Marshall told us, was for ripe blackberries reported on June 22 in Greater London. They have had no reports from Scotland yet.The scientist also cautioned that though, “The 2025 provisional data does suggest that this year’s overall average first ripe bramble date in the UK may be earlier than the benchmark and earlier than last year’s... we cannot say that for certain until we have received and analysed all of this year’s data.” Still, if the difference does exist, the expert says it may be down to, “A number of reasons, including the higher-than-average sunshine levels and consistently warm and dry conditions this spring (perfect for pollinators), followed by the wetter June, which would have benefitted fruit production.” Why are blackberries ripe so early this year?Speaking to HuffPost UK, Max Dugan-Knight, a climate data scientist at Deep Sky, said that though he’s. “Always cautious about making a direct causal link between climate change... In this case, the research does indicate that climate change is playing a role in earlier flowering and berrying.” It’s not that blackberries have never been ripe in mid-July or earlier before, he wrote, but that climate change’s impact makes this kind of early ripening more likely. “Spring 2025 was the warmest and sunniest on record in the UK. If people can feel this trend, plants can too,” he said.“This gives plants an earlier start to their growing season, which leads to earlier berry ripening. [And] strong, direct sunlight on the fruit surface can also contribute as it accelerates the ripening process.”Irregular precipitation, like our recent heatwave-storm-heatwave pattern, can also harm all kinds of crops, he continued, saying it wouldn’t “surprise” him if blackberries were among those changed. Related...So THAT's Why UK Heatwaves Feel So Much Worse Than Other CountriesI've Dreaded Every Heatwave Since 2019 – And It's Only Going To Get WorseSo THAT's Why Restaurant Strawberries Taste So Much Better

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