When to collect sea buckthorn, how to remove berries correctly and quickly, device + photo

When to collect sea buckthorn - timing

Sea buckthorn ripens from mid-August to late autumn, depending on the region and type of tree, - for the Moscow region, central Russia, Ukraine, Bashkiria, where the climate is warm enough, the berry is ready for use at the end of August, and in the Leningrad region, in Siberia, to collect sea buckthorn is available by the end of September.

The weather conditions in spring play an important role, so there are no definite ripening periods - early sea buckthorn is usually harvested in mid-August, middle-in mid-September, late berry ripens by the end of September. The ripe fruit has a golden yellow or bright orange color, sits tightly on the branches, which greatly complicates the collection. Freshly ripe sea buckthorn has the most useful properties - it contains the largest amount of ascorbic acid, carotene, and other useful elements.

Harvesting continues until late winter, but when to harvest sea buckthorn depends on what will be cooked from it in the future - for compotes, preserves, jams, dense whole hearths are needed, which are collected in late summer - early autumn, for juices and oil production a softer berry will do. Keep in mind that the longer the fruit hangs on the branch, the softer the skin becomes, and it becomes more difficult to pick whole berries. However, some craftsmen know how to pick sea buckthorn in winter is more convenient when the berry is freezing - the harvesting process consists in tapping the trunk and branches of the plant with a stick. Whole, frozen berries fall down on their own, the collector can only spread a tarp or polyethylene under the base of the tree. This method is often used in industries, and at home you can cheat by cutting off the branches with berries and putting them in the freezer for several hours. There are many ways how to remove sea buckthorn berries from a branch quickly and conveniently.

How to keep sea buckthorn for the winter

Note! In one of the following articles, we will definitely tell you how to properly store sea buckthorn, what can be prepared from it. In the meantime, you can watch the next video.

Video: how to make sea buckthorn oil

If you are greedy for natural products, and the word "chemistry" makes you shiver, it's time for you to start picking such a healthy berry as sea buckthorn. Now you know what methods and devices exist for this. Forward for sea buckthorn!

How to remove sea buckthorn from a branch - methods and devices

To remove sea buckthorn berries from a branch, you need to have patience and a certain amount of optimism - the branches are prickly, the fruits are small enough, densely planted. There are many methods of harvesting, but before the process, it is necessary to protect clothes and hands from the juice, it is better to wear gloves and an apron. The collection begins from the end of the branch towards the base.

hand picking sea buckthorn - pictured

The most elementary method is collection by hand, it is a long, painstaking process that requires a lot of labor, and in this way the pods are collected when they are still quite dense. Craftsmen make work as easy as they can, therefore faster options have appeared.

Scissors - in order to quickly clear the sea buckthorn from the branches, you will need small (up to 10-15 cm) scissors, as experience shows, with this size the hand gets tired the least.The berries are simply cut from the branch, they fall on the laid cloth or film.

Tweezers with curved edges proved to be no less effective - with this method, several berries are grasped with a tool and torn from the branch.

Many people know how to pick sea buckthorn with a fork - pry the berries, slide along the branch towards the edge. By the same principle, an ordinary rare comb is used - the branches are combed, and the berries roll down. The disadvantage of these devices is the inaccuracy of the process - along with the fruits, leaves and bark fall on the litter, which must be sorted out and dried for a very tasty and healthy sea buckthorn tea. It is recommended to dry the leaves in a dry room, where direct sunlight does not penetrate.

A comb is especially convenient for collecting sea buckthorn, attached to the mitten - a rare comb is sewn onto a dense fabric mitten, the hand is drawn along the branch, and for greater convenience a funnel with a tube is attached to the brush, at the end of which there is a bag or bucket, - the berry falls into the funnel and immediately rolls into a bag without scattering on the ground.

When it is already possible to collect sea buckthorn, gardeners make a device in the form of a stick with a loop of thin wire at the edge - each berry is pushed in with a loop and neatly torn off the branch. The fruits collected in this way retain their shape and are perfect for making compotes, jam, various sea buckthorn recipes for the winter.

Another type is a device in the form of a slingshot with a stretched string or fishing line - the branch is drawn into the hole and the berries are constrained by a thin fishing line.

It is easy to make a scraper for collecting sea buckthorn even for beginners - gardeners bend the steel wire (50 cm will be needed) in half, make a loop in the middle in the form of a spring, bent the edges of the wire 90 °, - a branch is threaded into the loop, the berry is removed.

the process of collecting sea buckthorn - in the photo

Various harvesters for collecting sea buckthorn, boxes and other devices can be bought ready-made in specialized stores - they greatly facilitate work, save time.

Starting from October-November, sea buckthorn can be harvested for juice directly from the tree - prepare a clean container and squeeze the juice from the berries without removing them from the branch.

At the onset of the first frost, it is convenient to crush the frozen berry, - it retains its integrity, - the fallen fruits are collected on a lined tarp, and then transferred to a container for storage. This method is the most successful for transportation.

Based on the previous one, for home use, you can cut off the shoots with the harvest and store them in the freezer until you need them, for example, in winter you just need to cook sea buckthorn, delicious and healthy for the whole family, rubbed with sugar. The shoots themselves are cut, not the branches, otherwise you can harm the tree and affect the harvest of next year.

It is convenient to collect sea buckthorn by putting on an apron in the form of an inverted umbrella - so the fruits will not break on the ground upon impact. You can make such a device yourself by attaching a hard wire at the edge and sides of the hem, bending it in the form of a semicircle, sew additional ribbons at the corners and tie them around the neck.

For beginners, picking berries seems like an impossible task, but simple, effective tools will help you cope with it quickly enough. Decide for what purposes the fruits are needed, then you will definitely be sure when to collect sea buckthorn and what is the most effective method to choose.

Sale!

How to clean harvested sea buckthorn from leaves

If you harvested one of the special devices for quick harvesting not very carefully (is it possible otherwise? - a rhetorical question), then in any case you will need to clean the berries from leaves and twigs that have fallen into the container. It is not difficult to sort through it, but it is time consuming.If there are a lot of berries, then you can use the following rather simple method shown in the picture (leaves and twigs will stick to the board, and the berries will roll down) and in the following video:

Video: how to quickly separate sea buckthorn berries from leaves

Making a do-it-yourself collection device

To simplify the manual method, you can use a device that is made from a plastic bottle. The device can be made independently at home in the following way - cut off the bottom of the bottle, cut out 4 petals and plant the neck on a long stick. For greater reliability, you need to nail the neck of the bottle to a stick with a simple nail.

We collect sea buckthorn by hand

The traditional method of harvesting sea buckthorn involves removing each berry from the trees separately without additional devices. This technology is the most labor-intensive and time-consuming, but it allows you to get the maximum amount of harvest without damaging the shoots and branches of trees.

Cutting branches with berries

To speed up the manual technique and make it as convenient as possible, it is allowed to cut branches with berries and then separate the fruits in another place. This technology is simpler and more comfortable, but in case of incorrect or excessive pruning of branches, you can harm the tree, which will affect the future harvest.

When further sorting the crop, it is not necessary to pluck each berry from the cut branches. It is enough to put them in the freezer for storage and take them out as needed. It is much easier and faster to pick frozen sea buckthorn from the branches. It is important to take into account that after a strong freeze, you should not cook jam from berries or process them to make juice. If you plan to process the crop, then the juice can be squeezed directly onto the tree in the following way:

put on special culinary gloves;
put a clean container under the branches;
run your hand along the entire branch from the bottom to the top, pressing the sea buckthorn with your fingers.

You can also harvest after the first cold snaps. This requires laying a blanket under the trees and knocking down the sea buckthorn with a stick wrapped in a soft cloth so as not to damage the fragile skin. The frozen berries will fall on the bedspread, after which it remains to collect them in a storage container. This harvesting technology is most often used for growing on an industrial scale.

Cutting berries with small scissors

Hand picking sea buckthorn using small scissors allows you to carefully pick all the berries and not break the integrity of the branches and shoots. In addition, unlike the use of various harvesting devices, cutting with scissors ensures the largest harvest in the next season. The disadvantage of using small scissors is that it is time consuming compared to other methods.

In addition to standard small scissors, you can use a specialized fruit picker with pointed elements to collect sea buckthorn.

The device with a pruner fixed above the funnel allows you to remove the fruits without damaging their skin and without harming the branches of the tree. To prepare such a device, it is necessary to fasten the handle to each other with metal strips. The metal elements themselves are fixed by a lever attached to the elongated pole. In the process of collecting, it is enough to bring the funnel under the branches and press the lever so that the secateurs cut off the stalk. The fruits will roll from the funnel along the sleeve into the designated container without the risk of damage.

Conditions and terms of storage of the crop

After harvesting, sea buckthorn berries can be preserved in several ways. Most often, the harvested berries are laid out in bags and placed in the freezer, where they retain all their beneficial properties for six months. In the future, the berries can be used for some types of processing.

Another fairly common way to store sea buckthorn is to put freshly picked and unwashed berries in jars. Berries should be poured with cooled boiled water, covered with lids and stored in a refrigerator. From fresh sea buckthorn, you can make berry puree or jelly, jam or jam.

Recently, dried sea buckthorn has gained popularity. Berries can be dried by pretreating with a soda solution and rinsing with running water. They should be spread out in an even layer and dried in direct sunlight for about three to four weeks. Artificial drying is also allowed - in the oven or in a special dryer. The berries prepared in this way must be placed in a wooden or cardboard container, on the bottom of which thick sheets of paper should be laid.

Harvesting methods

Various methods are used to pick berries; you can pick them manually or using special devices. As it will be more convenient.

During frost

Frozen berries fall off easily, so you can simply shake them off the branches onto the material placed under the tree, for example, tarpaulin or film. In order for the fruits to crumble, it is enough to shake the branches and the berries will gradually fall off by themselves. The advantages of this method of harvesting sea buckthorn: the berries taste the sweetest, do not burst or choke. Cons: Fruits become watery and not suitable for fresh consumption.

Tearing off sea buckthorn with your hands

Picking berries by hand is long, tiring and unsafe, as the branches of the tree are thorny and easily hurt. It is necessary to work in thick, tight gloves so as not to injure your hands. It is also advisable to wear tight work clothes, an apron to protect against falling berries and their juice, getting on clothes, it leaves stains on it that are difficult to wash.

Devices and devices that facilitate picking berries from a branch

It is much easier to collect sea buckthorn not with your hands, but with the help of special tools. They can be made by hand or purchased from a store. The industry produces plastic, metal and wood scrapers specifically designed for this purpose.

Scraper

This simple and easy-to-use fixture is made of steel wire. You will need a piece 50 cm long. There should be a curl in the center of the scraper wire, which can be done by wrapping the wire around the bottleneck. The ends of the wire must be aligned and bent to one side at an angle of 90˚. It is not difficult to work with such a scraper: you need to drag it along the branch, while peeling off the berries. If everything is done correctly, the bark of the branch from such a scraper for collecting sea buckthorn is not injured.

Cobra or noose

The device consists of 2 parts - a 15 cm long wooden handle to which a piece of wire is attached. It needs to be bent into a loop, reminiscent of a candle flame. For the similarity of the loop to the head of a snake, this device for collecting sea buckthorn was so named. “Cobra” can remove fruits even from places that are difficult to reach.

Slingshot with a string of fishing line

This device looks like a slingshot, but in place of the rubber band it has a fishing line. It often breaks, so you should always have spare material with you.

The collection process looks like this: with one hand you will need to hold the branch, and with the other, gently peel the berries with a slingshot. To prevent the crop from falling to the ground, you need to spread a tarp under the tree.

Glove with claws or metal comb

Such gloves for collecting sea buckthorn can be made from durable thick gloves, and metal "caps" on which you need to pull the fishing line, it will easily cut the berries, and your hands will be protected during operation.

Another version of the glove for picking berries: a pocket with a metal wire along the edge is sewn into the middle of the glove on the inside, so that it protrudes during picking, into which the berries will fall. A little above it, a small metal comb is sewn for removing fruits and a piece of skin is sewn onto the inside of the thumb. With such a glove, you can get sea buckthorn even in the most inaccessible places.