07/31/13, 09:59 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Middle of nowhere along the Rim, Arizona
Posts: 3,096
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What can you do with rose hips?
I was down in the creek today looking for blackberries. No luck -- we had a truly nasty hailstorm a week ago, and the blackberry bushes looked like they'd been through a weed chipper. The plants are pretty low growing and scrubby to start with -- they're a native species -- and they didn't survive the hail well. It also looked like a bear had been busy, as well. I found 1/2 of a ripe berry, LOL! Not nearly enough to make jam from.
However, I did notice that the wild roses are covered in rose hips that should be ripe in a week or two. This are is covered in native roses, and there's a real bounty of them this year. Anything I can do with wild rose hips besides tea?
At least it looks like the wild canyon grapes survived the hailstorm, at least in sheltered areas. I can't wait for them to ripen. I've had jam made from Arizona canyon grapes once, and it was memorable -- much more intense than even concord grapes. I've always wanted to try making my own.
I did get a hot tip from a neighbor about where there's a berry patch that wasn't hit by our hail storm, about four or five miles away, so I'll be going up there this weekend. And the prickly pear is starting to ripen at lower elevations, so I'm planning on making prickly pear jelly and candy, too.
I love this time of year ...
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