How to quickly and efficiently pick sea buckthorn: wise advice for connoisseurs of orange berries

A small, thorny shrub with orange or yellow berries has long attracted attention. The ancient Greeks, for example, used it medicinally, because they knew how to harvest sea buckthorn during ripening. The berries were given to warriors and athletes to keep them strong. And the horses that grazed next to the bushes acquired a shiny mane and coat. Unsurprisingly, Greece has long been a world power.

Currently, sea buckthorn is considered one of the healthiest foods. It is widely used in medicine, cosmetics and cooking. The berry contains a huge number of vitamins, minerals and active substances that affect the protective functions of the body. But when the harvest is ripe, many are interested in how to harvest sea buckthorn so as not to get hurt. After all, the berries are very small, and the branches with thorns. Because of this problem, the desire to "make friends" with the bush disappears, and the fruits remain on it to winter. Is there some way to solve this issue painlessly? Practice shows that yes.

Read also the article about the use of sea buckthorn candles!

Don't lose a single berry

Harvesting sea buckthorn fruits should be started immediately after the first frost. If you wait a little, they will soften and crush in your hands when ripped off. Ripe berries should have a rich orange color and fit snugly against each other on the branch.

In the middle regions of Russia, sea buckthorn begins to ripen at the beginning of September, so the harvest period is determined by the climatic conditions of the area.

Before collecting sea buckthorn, it is advisable to know for what purpose the berry is needed. If you just eat, for compote or jam, then it is better to get down to business at the very beginning of ripening. To make marmalade or squeeze out butter, it is wise to wait for the time when the berries gain moisture and become more juicy. The optimal period is mid-autumn.

When the goal is set, it's time to get down to business. A practical guide from the video will help with this: how to quickly harvest sea buckthorn without wasting precious time.

Armed with knowledge, you can safely go for a healing berry, following a few simple rules:

• we begin to collect fruits from the upper branches, gradually going down;
• in order not to get dirty with the juice of burst berries, we put on old clothes;
• reliable protection against thorns - durable gloves;
• preparing simple devices for collecting sea buckthorn.

As practice shows, such principles help to efficiently harvest from thorny bushes without losing a single ripe berry.

When ripe berries are picked, they burst and juice flows out. Due to the high amount of acid, it irritates the skin. In view of this, it is imperative to protect hands, face and eyes from direct contact with amber liquid.

Reasonable approach to harvesting healthy fruits

Since sea buckthorn is very useful for health, many summer residents use various devices to collect it. Traditionally, this is done very simply. Cellophane or a piece of dense fabric is spread under the bush. Then, with a strong stick, they hit the branches and trunk of the plant, after which the ripe berries fall down. When the bush is empty, the crop is poured into containers or wooden boxes. You can build such a simple device as in the photo shown.

Some connoisseurs of berries are thinking about how to quickly pick sea buckthorn without tools without damaging the fruits. Of course, this can only be done by hand, directly from the bush. Each berry must be carefully separated from the branch and stalk, lowering it into a prepared container. For convenience and speed of harvesting, the dishes are hung around their neck. Although it may seem like a very time consuming process, skillful pens will easily cope with the task.

Often, opinions on how to properly harvest sea buckthorn differ. Therefore, everyone decides for himself which method to use.

There are several options for homemade devices for harvesting healing berries:

1. A loop.
2. Scraper.
3. Scissors.
4. Tin tube.

Experienced summer residents know firsthand how to collect sea buckthorn from branches using a homemade loop. Sometimes it is called “cobra”. To make such a device, you need a wooden bar for a handle and a thin steel wire. First, a loop is made of wire, resembling a cobra's head with an open hood. With the help of an awl, it is attached to a prepared wood handle. With a ready-made device, you can quickly collect fruits from the bush, even in hard-to-reach places. In order not to beat your hands, the loop is fixed to the edge of the branch. After that, with a sharp movement, all the fruits are cut off.

Before using the "cobra", a wide container for falling berries should be placed under the bush.

Another device for collecting sea buckthorn is a scraper. It is made of 50 cm long aluminum wire. A curl is bent in the center of the segment, like a spring. It can be obtained by attaching a wire to the neck of a glass bottle in one turn. The ends of the device are aligned and bent to one side by 90 degrees. With a ready-made device, they clamp the branch into a curl and remove the berries, moving it down.

Using a scraper to collect sea buckthorn, berries are often crushed, as a result of which precious liquid is lost.

If you don't want to bother how to pick sea buckthorn berries using tools, you can take scissors, a blade or a special mitten. With the help of these objects, it is easy to remove ripe fruits from branches that have been previously cut from a bush. This method is convenient to use at a summer cottage in the yard or at home. Neatly cut berries are sprinkled with sugar with scissors or jam is made. Needless to say, it turns out a very tasty dish for the winter.

A tin pipe is an equally effective way to collect sea buckthorn from a tree. It can be made from a 10 cm long tin plate. The diameter should exceed the size of the berries of the bush. One end of the tube is attached to a cellophane bag. When the device is brought to the fruit on a tree and lightly pressed on the stalk, they are smoothly downloaded into a bag. Simple technology allows you to pick a lot of berries in one go. It all depends on the mood, dexterity of the fingers and the speed of movement. Sometimes orange berries are harvested using conventional tongs.

Of course, picking sea buckthorn berries is not an easy thing. After all, the shrub reliably protects them with thick thorny branches from uninvited guests. And the fruits themselves hold tight to the shoots. The delicate skin of the berries, which collapses when pressed, also complicates the matter. Due to such factors, summer residents cut the sea buckthorn together with the shoots with large scissors or pruners. They bring them home, after which they are removed from the branches. This option is acceptable if the plant is located far from the suburban village. But it's worth the work, because sea buckthorn is a real storehouse of useful vitamins for the body.