![]() However it's your gin so you can drink it when you like. The ideal timeframe is meant to be that they are picked following the first hard frost of the autumn - early October- ish (but you could cheat and put them in the freezer to artificially do this), and then it is meant to be ready for Christmas. but I haven't ever bothered with that and it tastes pretty good to me. I've heard of additional things that people do as part of the process - making a hole in each one with a needle for example. They are nice in gin however, and it's really simple to make. Sloes aren't nice to eat raw - in fact they are really unpleasant. ![]() I also like it's elegant leaf - the shape and the colour appeals! When this time of year arrives I enjoy the colour of the fruit, the sloes as they bring their autumn hue to the species. That aside, I like blackthorn - I love the blossom in the spring, it is one of the early signs I look for that tells me that it's warming up and things are growing. These thorns are really vicious and can do quite a lot of harm - any blackthorn thorn injury should be carefully monitored as it's not unusual for them to nasty and need medical attention. I confess I don't know why they are called sloes - they are the fruit of the Blackthorn - a tree species that is regularly planted in hedgerows as it can grow nice and densely and has horrible long thorns that make it work as an effective barrier - a perfect hedgerow species. More photos of when the first ones started to turn slightly bluish and now many pictures of the purply/blue berries that are ripening nicely. I have photographs of the sloes when they were first forming on the blackthorn, small and green. I feel like I have been on 'Sloe watch' for weeks, possibly even months. I love to photograph what catches my eye and often share these via Instagram stories. I'm forever looking at what is growing / changing colour/ appearing / disappearing. ![]() Those of you that follow me on Instagram will no doubt be aware that I love to gaze at hedgerows. ![]()
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