Types of combines for collecting blueberries, step-by-step instructions for making your own hands
Blueberry growers have to pick ripe berries in the middle of summer. Many do it with their own hands, but some prefer to use special combines. You can make such a blueberry harvester with your own hands.
What is a blueberry harvester?
Before you make an apparatus for harvesting a blueberry crop, you need to figure out what it is. The berry collector is a device that greatly facilitates the harvesting of ripe berries. With the help of such a combine, the harvesting procedure does not last a few hours, but a few minutes.
The main element of this tool is the elongated teeth, which are shaped like ridges. The distance between the teeth is 5-8 millimeters, and the length of each of them reaches 25 centimeters. This size allows the comb to safely pass by the leaves and stems of blueberry bushes.
The next important detail of the product is a bucket equipped with a small handle. When harvesting ripe berries, the comb is positioned so that the teeth are pointing up. Then the structure is carefully pulled along each row. All berries will be automatically plucked by tines and placed in the bucket.
Classification of berry harvesters
There are different types of blueberry harvesting equipment. Before using them, you need to familiarize yourself with their main features.
By the level of mechanization, combines are divided into:
- A manual berry picker that does not involve mechanical processes. Such a device is made on the basis of ancient harvester prototypes, which were used many years ago. Externally, the manual fruit collector resembles an ordinary rake, to which a small box or cloth bag is tied. Modern models of such devices have a well-fixed handle, on which a sheet palisade is attached.
- Mechanical harvester. This is the most common berry picking machine used by many gardeners. These models are equipped with small motors responsible for the functioning of the ladle, which shakes off ripe blueberries. They also have a built-in small glass for storing blueberry fruits.
- Automatic facility. Most expensive and easiest to use. Outwardly, such devices resemble harvesters with which they collect grain from the fields. The only major difference is that blueberry pickers do not have digging elements or beveling blocks.
Similar designs
Various tools can be used as analogs of devices for picking ripe berries. At the same time, they can look differently and have both simple and complex designs. The simplest harvesting options include a common scoop, with small teeth on the front edge. This scoop is popular with gardeners for its ease of use.
There are also some homemade models, which perfectly balance functionality, cheapness and simplicity. Most often, such devices for harvesting ripe blueberries and blueberries are made from scrap materials. However, such tools have certain disadvantages. The main disadvantage is considered fragility, since most home-made combines quickly break down.
Required tools and materials
Before you create a good and reliable container for picking blueberries, you need to figure out what materials and tools will come in handy to get the job done.
From materials and tools you will need the following:
- Steel sheets. Steel sheets are used to make a sturdy frame or create a container for harvested berries. For this it is recommended to use new and undamaged metal sheets.
- Iron wire. The rakes, which are responsible for picking berries, must be made of wire. In this case, it is better to make them from strong pins that will not bend when in contact with the ground surface. The length of the pins should be at least 10-15 centimeters.
- Plywood or plastic. In order not to damage the berries during the harvesting process, the body is sheathed with plastic or wood.Some gardeners sheathe a device for collecting blueberries with scraps from plastic bottles or canisters with their own hands.
- Fasteners. For fastening parts of the combine, screws, nails or bolts are used.
- Drill. This tool is required for making the mounting holes.
- A hammer. May be needed if the harvester body will be sheathed with plywood.
Making such a device with your own hands
The machine for harvesting blueberry berries is made in several stages:
- Creation of a schematic drawing. First, a diagram is created with the exact dimensions of all structural elements.
- Corpus creation. In the process of making the case, you will have to cut the metal sheet.
- Making a comb. To make a comb for picking berries yourself, you will have to cut pre-prepared metal rods. They should not be long, but the short twigs of the berries will not easily break off.
- Attaching the scraper to the body. The created comb must be fixed on the front side of the combine body. This is done with strong fastening screws.
- Handle creation. You can use a steel tube or metal plate to equip your blueberry picker with a handle. The material is folded to give it the shape of a doorknob and bolted to the top of the structure.
Is mechanized berry picking harmful to shrubs?
Many people are wondering if a blueberry picker can harm ripe berries. Some people think that a combine harvester with a comb cannot damage bushes, but this is not the case. Even high-quality harvester models can damage branches and crops.
Products with large dimensions do the most harm. They pick off not only ripe berries, but also leaves and young fragile branches, which, together with the harvest, go into the scoop for the harvested fruits. That is why gardeners recommend using compact models of combines with small blades or buckets for picking berries.
Most often, berries are damaged if you use the combine carelessly.All damaged fruits are poured into a glass and covered with sugar until they start to deteriorate.
Conclusion
Many people who grow berries in the garden want to make it easier to harvest ripe crops. Often they use special harvesters for this, with which you can collect blueberries in 5-10 minutes. Before using such devices, you need to familiarize yourself with their varieties and figure out how to make a berry collector yourself.
