Our blackberries
Our blackberries are wonderfully tart-sweet, black through, matte-glossy and have plump juice cells – a true happiness!
Dr. rer. agr. Markus Schmitt , one of our growers for blackberries:
For us, it is exciting every year to care for and accompany our plants as they develop throughout the year, and at the end of the day to be able to harvest the fruits of our labor – a happiness we are happy to share with you!”
In a narrower sense, however, happiness for us means living and working together on the farm. Joy and sorrow can be shared, for the children there is always a family contact person and one experiences the family.
We have found a way for us to live and work together in and with nature that makes us happy!”
On the edge of the Siebengebirge Nature Park, on a foothill of the Siebengebirge, lies the Sonnenberger Hof, first mentioned in 1350. In this location, the fruit farm benefits from the mild climate of the Rhine Valley.
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Over the past decades, the Schmitt family has developed the traditional agricultural business into a modern fruit-growing business with a lot of energy, but even more love, which provides a livelihood for many people. The main focus of the farm is soft fruit, especially blackberries and strawberries, besides apples are grown. The necessary weather protection is provided to the delicious but perishable berries by modern foil tunnels. This not only protects the fruit and the climate, but also reduces the proportion of unmarketable fruit in production and uses less acreage. This is available for extensification and thus for the promotion of biodiversity.
But since animals also belong to a real farm, numerous Icelandic horses have found their home on their farm.
Cultivation methods
Blackberries are pre-picked as long canes and planted in tunnels for harvest the following year. In the process, the plants are placed in different sets. Thus, the delicious berries can be harvested over a longer period of time. Along the rows are stretched strings on the sides. These prevent the kinking of the side shoots, at the ends of which the berries grow in size and weight every day.
Harvest
The blackberry harvest begins in early June and ends in mid/late October. During this period, the plants are harvested three times a week.
Picking
The ripe blackberries are picked individually by hand. This work is done very carefully, because any violation of the fruit could lead to spoilage.
Maturity levels
The berries of a blackberry plant ripen continuously over a period of about 8 – 10 weeks. In the process, they change their appearance three times. After flowering grow green berries that turn red about two weeks before harvest. Only in the last days of ripening they turn black. A blackberry is not truly ripe until its cells are plump and the shiny black gives way to a silky matte sheen.
Our varieties
Navaho | Loch Ness | Loch Tay | Midnight
Frutania blackberries
Blackberry originates from North America and the forests of Eurasia and was considered a medicinal plant in ancient times. Not without reason, because the blackberry is rich in vitamins (A, B, C, E), minerals and fiber.
Blackberries from German cultivation have their season from: June – October
Consumer tips
Purchasing
Blackberries are delicate and should be consumed at room temperature one to two days after purchase. Deep black, plump and matte, they are fully ripe.
Storage
If you want to enjoy blackberries year-round, you can pre-freeze them individually placed side by side on a tray for an hour and then place them in the freezer together in a freezer bag.
Preparation
Blackberries taste great pure, with a scoop of ice cream, in mixed drinks or in light cream, as compote, curd and yogurt dishes, smoothies, pies and tarts or in fruit salad. With their high juice content and intense aroma, ripe blackberries are also perfect for preserving juice, jellies and jams.
The blackberry
Small encyclopedia
Like the raspberry, the blackberry belongs to the botanical family of the rose family. The word blackberry comes from the Old High German brambere, which means berry of the briar. Only the newly bred cultivated varieties mostly no longer have thorns.
The deep dark red plant pigments called anthocyanins have it all in terms of health: they inhibit bacteria, viruses and fungi and even the growth of cancer cells. In addition, blackberries contain the soluble fiber pectin, which helps keep cholesterol levels at normal levels.
