When and how to use tools for collecting apricots from a tall tree with your own hands
Harvesting is an enjoyable but tiring experience. Ripe fruits are usually found at the top of the tree and are difficult and sometimes dangerous to retrieve, especially when harvesting apricots. The fruit trees are tall, and the ripening fruits are tender and juicy, so summer residents simply need handy tools to facilitate this process. Today there are many devices for harvesting apricots from tall trees, both industrial and self-made.
Types of collectors
A long telescopic handle is the basis of any fruit picker. Usually, its length is from 1.5 to 3 meters. Even if the fruit collector itself is made independently, from scrap materials, the handle is worth buying, since it is light, long, and allows you to reach the uppermost branches of the tree.
The tackle for harvesting from tall trees consists of such a handle, usually a light aluminum alloy is used for it, and a container for fruit. The container can be made in the form of a bowl or bag for harvesting. The main thing is that delicate fruits do not wrinkle during the assembly process.
Tulip
The tulip-shaped fruit collector passes freely between the branches, the fruits are easily separated from the stalks if you begin to twist the fruit collector slightly to either side. A small plastic bowl prevents the fruit from crushing.
The disadvantage is the tediousness of such a collection, the need to collect each fruit separately, which is very inconvenient in the case of apricots.
Fruit collector LUXE
Consists of a durable washable bag and a ring with sharpened metal petals. A device of this design makes it easy to harvest even from a height without damaging the fruits and branches of the tree, since the stalk is easy to cut with the sharp edges of the petals.
Fruit picker with pruning shears
Consists of a funnel, a container for folding fruit and a reinforced pruner. The funnel is brought under the fruit, the stalk is cut with a pruner, and the undamaged fruit is gently rolled into a net or harvest bag. There are many homemade fruit pickers, long cuttings and plastic bottles have come to the rescue of gardeners. With such a device, replacing containers, you can collect apricots, plums, apples and pears.
Harvesting from tall trees
How to harvest apricot trees - There are several possible ways. Usually, this is an activity for the whole family, small gardeners really like to climb trees and help elders, and grandmothers are happy to sort and process ripe fruits.
- Gather apricots by standing on a ladder or climbing a tree branch.Of course, these methods are suitable for physically strong gardeners, since both stairs and tree branches are unreliable support, and you can easily get injured, even if you are a very neat person. Long ladders must be properly installed and secured.
- Another way is to use collectors, however, if there are too many fruits, then harvesting with them is too tedious task. It is very difficult to hold a long stick with a fixed bag.
- If the apricots growing in the garden are not too soft, you can spread a cloth under the tree and shake the branches slightly. Ripe apricots come off the branch easily and do not break. At the same time, harvesting takes very little time.
- Often a container for fruits is tied to a pole and, by tapping a stick on a branch, they carefully harvest the crop. Fruit is simply poured from the branch into the fruit collector provided.
- You can wait until the apricots begin to crumble themselves, and collect the already fallen fruits, but there is a danger that then they will simply overripe.
- The last way is to pick the fruit after rain or strong wind, but in this case, the chances are high that the fruit will be severely beaten.
Combining all possible methods to quickly harvest the fruits is the best way out. The main thing is to fix the ladder well, and check the strength of the rungs before going up. If it is supposed to collect apricots while standing on a tree branch, choose the right shoes - they should be light, comfortable and not slippery, take care of a safety belt - it will save you from possible injuries.
Time to pick apricots
When to pick apricots, each owner decides on his own - the fruits vary greatly in ripening time, depending on the variety. Early apricots ripen in late June and early July. Of course, a lot still depends on the region of growth and weather conditions. The more sun the apricot gets, the larger and sweeter the fruit will be.
Medium ripening fruits are harvested in mid-July. They are large, fragrant, perfect for harvesting for the winter and fresh consumption. Late varieties are harvested from July 25, apricots of late varieties are fleshy, large.
Depending on the variety, the fruit can be pale or bright yellow, with a reddish barrel and almost orange; it is almost impossible to determine maturity by color. Harvesting apricots begins when the stone is freely separated from the pulp. You need to harvest in dry weather, it is better to do it on a not too hot day.
The best picking time is from morning to 11 o'clock or after 15-16 o'clock, when the afternoon heat subsides.
DIY apricot picker
Plastic bottles are perfect for fruit collectors, and they use both small, 1.5-2 liter bottles, cut in half, and water containers of 5 liters. The selected bottle is cut crosswise in half, holes are drilled in the neck. The funnel resulting from the bottle is tightly placed on a pole and fixed with self-tapping screws. Of course, this design is not very strong, but it is easy to replace it by adapting a new bottle for the collector. To easily break off the fruits, you can cut small cloves around the perimeter of the container with scissors.
Sometimes a metal or plastic waste basket is attached to the pole. A ring of a smaller diameter is attached to the upper ring, the edges of which are slightly sharpened. This design allows you to carefully cut fruit from the stalks, ripe undamaged fruits fall into the basket.
Important: you should not make a large fruit picker - harvesting in such a container is inconvenient, apricots can wrinkle and lose their presentation, and it is not easy to hold a heavy container over your head.
Whichever method of harvesting apricots the gardener has to use, the main thing is to prevent crop losses. You can process apricots in different ways: the simplest is to dry juicy fruits, because dried apricots are well stored and contain a huge amount of vitamins and other useful substances. Apricot jam, jam and marmalade are other ways to preserve the harvest and the opportunity to re-feel the aroma of a sultry summer in cold winter, enjoying compote or filling for pies, or perhaps just sipping tea with delicious apricot jam.
