Took the family out today and on the way back we were driving through some country lanes, we passed some very nice looking elder with big juicy berries bowing the branches down, they were narrow lanes but I managed to find a pull in not too far away and climbed over a gate into the field and walked back down the hedgerow to the elder. It was a homebrewers paradise, all along the hedge were blackberries, sloe and elder. I only had a plastic carrier bag on me and soon filled it up with a bit of each of the fruit. After destalking the elderberries and taking the stones out of the sloe I was left with 10lb of fruit. I've mashed it all up together and put it in a fermentation bucket with 16 pints of boiledd water. I'm hoping these fruits go together well to make a nice hedgerow wine.

Great find. I'm guessing that it wasn't in Wyoming. LOL. If you crawled over a fence in Wyoming without asking it is a big problem. Just a humble opinion, unless it is totally a vacant farm I would ask the farmer. I think most farmers would give their permission and even invite you back the next year. Maybe even call you and tell you when the berries ripen.

Some farmers do prosecute trespassers. A local farmer called us and asked us if we wanted to pick choke cherries this year. We picked about 55 pounds. I previously gave this farmer a couple of bottles of my wine. Great way to make friends. I do know for a fact if I just jumped over his fence I probably would have been shot. If still alive thrown in jail.

I see what your saying, I got away with it this time, phew.

Funny thing Wyo, I was thinking the exact thing....

curlyfat wrote:Funny thing Wyo, I was thinking the exact thing....

Many states have different laws about trespassing, especially if they are posted. In rural Wyoming I see not only more and more signs, posted no trespassing, but also many more locked gates. The locked gates not only help protect loss of expensive fuel but also loss of expensive farm products. When a hunter knocks on my door and asks if he can hunt I find him much more responsible in my farm fields once we have made contact. The same with picking fruit along fence rows. Some of the fruit may be a product the farmer is selling to support his livelyhood. However, some of that fruit may be going to waste and the farmer would be happy to allow it to be picked. Just doesn't hurt to ask. I only mentioned it on the forum because I think many people living in cities are honestly unaware of the problems in farming areas and don't look at it as theft.