When can you collect lingonberries and how, how to make devices with your own hands

Lingonberry is considered one of the most useful berries, which contains a large number of useful trace elements. Our great-grandmothers were still engaged in collecting lingonberries, when there were no medicines, and folk recipes were the only remedy for diseases. Lingonberry berries help boost immunity, cope with vitamin deficiencies and much more.

When berries ripen

Berry picking starts at the end of summer. Fruits ripen in late August - early September. The last ripe berries from the bushes are harvested in mid-September. After ripening, lingonberries do not stay on the bushes for a long time and after a while they crumble. The second stage of fruiting occurs in October-November.

How the timing of collection depends on the variety and region of growth

Depending on the variety, fruiting and harvest time may vary. Some varieties begin to ripen earlier, some later. Also, the timing of harvesting depends on the region of growth. In warmer latitudes, lingonberries ripen several weeks earlier. They begin to pick berries in mid-July in the south.

When is it allowed to pick lingonberries in the forest?

In the forest, berries can be picked at the end of August. Forest lingonberry ripens a little later than garden lingonberry, even if the plant grows in the same region.

What do you need to know about fruit picking?

Before harvesting from lingonberry bushes, you need to find out by what signs the ripeness of the fruits is determined and the easier it is to collect them.

Harvesting procedure

The berries are harvested immediately after ripening. If you wait for frost, such fruits are suitable only for making jams and compotes, since the skin will not be dense after frost.

It is undesirable to use a rake or any other improvised devices when assembling.

Better to harvest by hand. Rakes or scoops will damage the branches of the bushes. After harvesting, the lingonberry berries do not ripen, therefore they are picked at the stage of technical maturity. It is advisable to pick off the bushes in a cool time, early in the morning or in the evening. If the weather is hot, lingonberries are harvested immediately. Due to the high temperature, it can overripe and quickly disappear.

Berry pickers

It is advisable to collect lingonberries with your hands so as not to damage the bushes. But if you need to collect quickly, it is allowed to use improvised means, for example, a rake or a combine. The better, everyone chooses for himself.

Harvesting rake

It is worth resorting to this method in extreme cases when the collection time is running out. The cleaning device must have long and sparse teeth. The device is lowered to the base of the plant trunk so that the branches are located between the teeth, and lifted up. In the process of such manipulations, almost all berries are removed from the bushes. The remains of lingonberries are picked by hand.

Harvester

If a large number of lingonberry bushes grow on the site, then a special harvester can be purchased to speed up the work.

For home use, manual combines with mechanized processes are suitable.

How to make a do-it-yourself harvester for collecting lingonberries and other berries?

The device for collecting berries can be made at home yourself. This will require:

• Wire.
• Wooden slats.
• Steel or iron sheet.
• A piece of plywood (also use plastic).
• Fastening.

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Scoop assembly process:

• Cut out patterns for the combine from paper.
• The bottom and the body itself are cut out of steel.
• Bend the corner on a separate sheet - this is the future cutter.
• In the second part of the sheet, drill holes at a distance of 3-4 mm from each other, the diameter is equal to the diameter of the wire.
• Cut the wire 10 cm long and insert into the holes, then fix it.
• The ends of the wire are bent so that the berries do not fall during the picking process.
• The body of the device is assembled from fasteners, then the assembled rake is screwed to them.
• The handles are made of galvanized steel.

With this device, the harvesting process will be faster than manually. The main thing is not to damage the bushes.

Whether harvested white or green lingonberries will mature at home

Green fruits are not suitable for human consumption and therefore cannot be harvested. They also do not ripen at home. It is not recommended to eat unripe lingonberries. If the berries are just starting to turn red, but they have white spots (not yet ripe), such a crop can be harvested. At home it will mature. But it is worth doing this in extreme cases. It is still worth waiting for full maturity.

Duration of storage without processing

Due to the dense skin and the presence of benzoic acid in the composition, the berries are stored for a long time, even fresh. And to keep the harvest as long as possible, there are many ways. True, without processing, the fruits are stored only in the freezer and in dried form.

How to store lingonberries?

You can store lingonberries in different ways. Jams, compotes are prepared from it, frozen, ground with sugar. There are many different ways. It is best to store fresh fruit in a cool, dark place. If the lingonberries are stored in the refrigerator, do not keep them in a bag. Due to the appearance of condensation, it will begin to disappear.

In its own juice

Sort the lingonberries and rinse. Pour into a deep bowl, lightly crush the berries with a fork so that they let the juice out. Cover the container with a cloth and place in a cool place, such as a refrigerator. After a few days, the lingonberries are transferred to glass jars and removed to the cellar. Lingonberry in its own juice is suitable for teas and vitamin drinks.

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Dried fruits

Another way to store harvested fruits is to dry them. Dried lingonberries can be stored for up to 2 years. The berries are dried naturally in the sun or in the oven. The raw material will be processed naturally for several days. In the oven - less than 1 day. But you will have to constantly monitor the oven and spend the whole day on the process.

Spread the raw materials in one layer on the windowsill. The main thing is that the berries are in the sun as often as possible. Mix them periodically. Lingonberries are dried in this way for about a week. The dried raw materials are stored in fabric bags or in glass containers.

Oven drying steps:

• Sort the berries and rinse.
• Pat dry with a towel.
• Spread out on parchment paper, spread on a baking sheet.
• The oven is preheated to 60 degrees.
• Place the baking sheet in the oven for a few hours.
• From time to time it is worth looking and turning the lingonberries so as not to burn them.

The finished lingonberry is firm to the touch. The skin becomes wrinkled. The berry dried in this way is also stored in cloth bags or glass.

In sugar

Harvesting berries in this way according to the cooking technology is similar to cooking in your own juice. Lingonberries are washed in water, transferred to a container and kneaded with a fork. Or you can grind it with a blender to get a homogeneous mass. Add sugar to taste and mix thoroughly. Transfer the resulting mixture to the jars and close the lid. Store in a cool place away from sunlight.

Freezing lingonberry fruits

The easiest way to freeze lingonberries is in the freezer. To do this, you just have to sort out the berries, dry them and pack them in bags. Put in the freezer. Such berries are as close as possible to fresh in taste.

Soaked lingonberry with sugar and salt

To prepare this recipe you will need:

• 1 kg of lingonberries;
• 155 g sugar;
• 1 tsp fine salt;
• 1 liter of filtered water.

Preparation:

• Rinse the berries and let them dry.
• Boil the syrup from water, sugar and salt.
• Arrange the lingonberries in jars and pour over the hot syrup, without adding a little to the edge.
• Wrap the jar on top with gauze or cover with a lid with holes.
• Leave the banks in the room for 3 weeks.

After 3 weeks, the lingonberries will be ready, and the jar can be put in the refrigerator or lowered into the basement.

Soaked lingonberry with salt:

• 2 kg of fruits;
• 2 liters of filtered water;
• 2 tbsp. l. salt;
• 1 tbsp. l. Sahara;
• a couple of carnation stars.

Preparation:

• Rinse the fruits and transfer to a jar.
• Boil the brine from water, salt, sugar and cloves.
• Pour the fruits with cooled brine.
• Cover the jars with a lid and put them in a dark room.
• Add cloves to the brine at will, it gives the lingonberry a spicy aroma and taste. Besides her, any spices are suitable.

The berries will be ready in a few weeks. The dish is added to some salads. Salted soaked lingonberries are especially well combined with sauerkraut. It is added to the cabbage before pickling.