usually starts with mushrooms, the earliest and most popular are chanterelle mushrooms. Then strawberries, porcini mushrooms, blueberries appear, and closer to autumn, lingonberries, and the latest berry, cranberry. All this variety can be collected absolutely free until winter, until the snow falls.
Recycling
consists of cleaning berries or mushrooms from debris, and preserving the product for further sale. For mushrooms and berries, the most rational type of preservation is drying. During the drying process, mushrooms and berries lose up to 90% of their mass, which opens up the prospect of sale not only in your area, but with the help of Russian Post throughout the country!
How to sell?
To answer this question, you need to know that the larger volume of a product you have in stock, the easier it is to sell it. For large volumes there are trading platforms, for example this one: https://agrobazar.ru/
You can also find out the current price for your product there. If the volumes are not so large, then you should go to the market, or, as is common here, to the federal highway, if it does not pass far from your locality. Dried mushrooms and berries can also be sold online by placing ads on websites designed for this. collection Now in more detail about each of the points.
You can’t earn much on your own; for your activities to be effective, you need to attract like-minded people. Someone will provide transport for trips to collection points, someone will do the cleaning, someone will be happy to do sales. The more people are involved in the process, the more stable the income will be and the more reliable the entire enterprise will be.
Usually, it is not difficult to find collectors in villages; this process is not complicated and does not require any special qualities from a person. Even children and old people can collect. The main thing is to provide everyone with good harvesting combines, because... a good combine will increase the harvester’s efficiency by 3-5 times, so you can’t skimp on tools.
You can also attract pickers by posting an advertisement for the purchase of mushrooms and berries. Moreover, in order to dispel the fears of fellow villagers that they want to shamelessly profit from them, indicate in the text of the ad that you are buying and selling at the same time, and set a small difference in price. If they bring you a berry, buy it, they want to buy it, sell it, the main thing is that the villagers get up from their heels and start moving.
So, the assemblers are there, the product is arriving, now we need to take care to prepare the product for sale and maintain its presentation until it is sold. To clean the berries you will need a winnower, like this one: watch the video
As you can see, picking it is not difficult, and the productivity of this design is up to a ton of berries per working day.
To dry mushrooms and berries you need to build a drying room, like this: watch the video
Which will also be very inexpensive. Another option is to use a film infrared heated floor. Now there are dryers on sale that, apparently, are made from heated floors and are cut)
How to make a berry harvester with your own hands?
Gardeners who like to grow a variety of berries want to make harvesting easier and more efficient. For this purpose, various devices are often used, which are called harvesters or berry pickers. They make picking small berries a simple and enjoyable experience. As a result, instead of 30–40 minutes, you can complete the task in 5–15 minutes. There are a huge variety of combine harvesters, and many of them can be made yourself from simple materials.
Picking cherries
Usually, berry picking begins from the very bottom of the trees - from easily accessible places. Then they move on to hard-to-reach parts. There are several basic methods for collecting fruits:
- manually;
- using devices;
- using a combine or other special machine.
The most common option is to pick berries by hand.
These devices are used in small areas when everything needs to be done faster and without additional funds.
Separately, you can consider combines and special machines, which are most often used by experienced gardeners. This method involves the use of a mechanical arm or a harvester with an arched frame. A mechanical arm wraps around the tree trunk and shakes off even the tallest fruits. The combine is used for mass harvesting in fields due to the use of a brush system. But at home, under normal conditions, combines and special machines are not used; more often, harvesting occurs manually.
What is a berry picker?
A similar harvester is a device that improves the collection of berries in large volumes. Such devices have different techniques of use, structure, and level of mechanization. The most important thing is that the harvester removes the harvest from the branches with minimal damage, or better yet, without it at all. Most often, berry pickers are used for collecting gooseberries, lingonberries, blueberries, cloudberries, cranberries, currants and other berries.
The simplest device is a scraper. It consists of a comb, a container where the berries will be poured, and a handle. The shapes of the berry picker can be very diverse: in the form of a rectangle, circle, oval. Containers can be soft or hard. This unit is easy to use. It is enough to hold it by the handle with one hand, and with the other to direct the branches with berries towards the ridge. The principle of using any harvester is the same: when it moves, the shoots slip between the teeth.
The diameter of the gaps at the ridge should be smaller than the diameter of the berry so that it cannot slip through.
There are several main types of combines.
Manual without mechanization, which was made according to prototypes of devices created by our distant ancestors. The appearance of such a berry picker resembles a rake with a handle and a container. Of course, today they have acquired a very comfortable shape and are distinguished by ergonomic handles. Many models have special fences made of wire or sheets to capture branches.
Manual with mechanization. Their design includes a motor that allows, through rapid translational movements, to chop the crop directly from the branch into the container. There are also interesting options with vacuum suction.
Automatic, controlled by the operator. Such a combine looks like a huge machine that harvests grain. However, instead of mowing elements, they have special ones for collecting berries without damage.
Of course, most gardeners prefer a homemade version of the combine . Moreover, when choosing which one to buy or make, it is worth deciding for which berries the unit is needed. For example, blueberries, currants and gooseberries are harder, and models with a rake-shaped removing element are suitable for them, while soft, fragile strawberries and raspberries are best collected with tools that crush the berries into a container.
The Finnish berry picker is recognized as one of the most successful manual models.
This device does not damage the bushes and is recognized as safe from an environmental point of view. Its main part is a plastic container that resembles a closed scoop in appearance. The handle is comfortable, with a rubberized lining. The cutter is made of metal, and the spokes have special protection.
It is worth noting that in such a combine the spokes can be with balls at the ends or bent like hairpins. It is the knitting needles that pry up the branches with fruits, and then the cutter tears them off from the base, and they fall into the berry container.
It is important that the berry picker has no sharp cutting edges, so as not to damage the plant stems and leaves.
This also applies to the teeth themselves. It is especially important to provide for this in homemade models. If the bushes are injured when picking berries, then next year there will be less harvest.
Harm of mechanized berry picking for berry bushes
Devices for collecting fruits make work 2-3 times easier and faster, which is why they are actively used by harvesters. Handmade tools injure bushes if certain rules are not followed during their manufacture.
Devices are considered safe if there are no sharp cutting edges and the ends of the teeth are rounded. The comb does not scratch the stems during operation. The gap between the spokes is optimal, allowing leaves and branches to pass through, but delaying fruit.
Devices that do not meet these requirements are considered poaching devices. The Ministry of Natural Resources is fighting against their use. With a barbaric attitude towards nature, the productivity of berry fields decreases, and it takes years to fully recover. In Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, collectors are fined for using poaching hand-held devices.
Required materials and tools
To make the simplest collecting device with your own hands, you should first prepare a number of materials and tools.
Bottle made of durable plastic. The simplest option is a plastic mineral water bottle, but it is not strong or durable. It is better to opt for options from ketchup or milk, kefir. Such containers are small in size and at the same time quite wide, which is convenient when shaking out the berries.
Sharp knife. You can use both a regular kitchen one and a stationery one.
Stick. Its length should be convenient for picking berries from the bush.
Rope or tape for securing parts of the combine.
You can also make a berry picker from metal. To do this you will need slightly different working tools.
Sheets of steel. It is desirable that they are new and undamaged. The body of the combine, and sometimes the container itself, is made from them.
The metal wire must be strong and not bend when in contact with branches or ground. It will be used to make a comb, which is responsible for picking the crop from the bush. In this case, it is advisable to choose the length of the pins in the range from 10 to 15 cm.
Bolts, nails, screws or other fastening elements.
Metal scissors. They will allow you to quickly and accurately cut the sheet into the necessary parts.
Sheets of plywood or plastic will be needed to cover the body. This is necessary to avoid damage to the berries during picking. For this you can also use cans, plastic bottles or their trimmings.
A drill will allow you to make holes for fasteners with minimal effort.
Hammer. It is especially indispensable when covering a container with plywood.
Also, berry harvesters can often be made from plywood. In this case, you will need everything the same as when creating a combine from metal. Only the base will not be steel, but a plywood sheet.
There is another option for a very simple combine harvester, for which you will need the following materials and tools:
wooden kebabs skewers are perfect for combing;
tree branches with a diameter of 10 cm are taken as a basis;
a saw will allow you to separate circles of the required size from the branches;
holes will be made using a drill and a drill;
a chisel is useful for giving the tree an optimal shape;
glue will make it possible to quickly and easily fasten the entire structure.
What it is?
This is a means for collecting berries using a small bucket (manual version), a large bucket (mechanical version) or a tube (vacuum version). The device will help to collect a large number of berries and will increase the collection speed by at least 2-3 times compared to the conventional manual method. As a rule, these devices are used by fishermen who sell berries and jam.
This type of tool can also be used on an industrial scale. Special berry harvesters are used on private farms and lands where berry bushes or trees are grown.
A manual berry picker consists of three main parts: a deep ladle (the deeper the better), a comb with teeth (they will catch the berries) and a handle for holding this tool. This tool looks like a small suitcase with a ladle.
The teeth are on average 10-20 cm long and depend on the type of berries you collect, because the branches of the bushes are different. It is advisable to make the teeth from a hard material, for example, iron. The plastic teeth may break if caught by a thick branch. The distance between the teeth should be from 3 to 5 mm. Just such a small gap will not let the berries through, but will help get rid of leaves and any debris that may be on the branch during picking.
The size and spacing of the teeth can also be adjusted for different types of berries. If the berries are large, for example, like strawberries, then the gap can be made large. Then almost all the foliage will fall, and the berries will remain in the bucket.
You can make a manual device yourself, but you need to take into account the berries that you will be picking with it. Mechanical berry pickers, also known as combines, work faster and harvest much more harvest.
Drawings and dimensions
For blueberries, gooseberries, cranberries and lingonberries, the simplest ladle with a recess is suitable. A comb with teeth 10–15 mm long, which are spaced 4–5 mm apart from each other, is attached to the front. The back of the bucket is equipped with a handle for more convenient operation. The berries are easily picked from the bush and rolled into a container, and then they can be poured into a bucket or other container.
The parameters of such a berry picker will be as follows:
base in the form of a rectangle with sides 72 and 114 cm;
sidewalls that bend U-shaped according to the drawing below;
comb teeth 2 mm thick and 10 mm long;
the distance between the teeth is 5 mm.
Figure 1. Drawing of a metal berry picker
It is worth noting that this model is completely unsuitable for strawberries and currants from the bush.
This is due to the fact that their leaves are too large and do not fit well between the comb teeth. It is recommended to collect strawberries on a large scale using commercial berry pickers-vacuum cleaners, which cause minimal damage to the delicate trunks and tendrils of the plant.
What devices are there for picking blueberries?
A berry picker is a device that allows you to harvest large volumes of crops in a short time. The device has different operating techniques, differs in structure and level of mechanization. Here, the main thing is that the blueberry picking machine works efficiently and causes as little damage to the bushes as possible.
Among the variety of fruit pickers available on the market, we can separately highlight a list of models that are distinguished by their long service life, ease of use and additional capabilities.
Harvester K-1
This metal device from a domestic manufacturer has proven itself exclusively on the positive side. The device is chosen for its increased level of reliability and durability. It can be used for both blueberries and cranberries. During harvesting, the crop enters the container without any damage, intact and safe.
Harvesting berries is quick and easy
Bug
This blueberry picking machine is made of plastic. It is recommended to use it carefully, otherwise it may be damaged. This device is suitable not only for blueberries, but also lingonberries and cranberries. The dimensions of the device together with the comb are 13x23x15 cm.
The universal fruit picker harvests the crop quickly and efficiently
Pigasov combine
This design for harvesting blueberries is very popular among pickers. It is valued for its relatively inexpensive cost, versatility of use (currant, rosehip) and ease of use. The device is made of metal and galvanized wire, which acts as a comb. This scoop for picking blueberries is covered with a completely glossy paint, its weight is only 400 g, and its dimensions are 12x24.5x8 cm. The distance between the rods in the comb is 5 mm.
Budget berry picker with high productivity
Plastex
The device does not cause any difficulties during operation. It can be used together with a telescopic handle, which greatly simplifies the work of harvesting ripe berries.
Harvesting is easy and relaxed
Alko
The device is equipped with a removable handle and a bag for collecting small berries (cranberries, blueberries, lingonberries, sea buckthorn, currants, gooseberries). The device is made of high-quality materials, which explains its long service life. The blueberry picking machine consists of a handle-holder, a bag and a comb; they are made of plastic and textile.
The device easily attaches to a belt or backpack and has a comfortable handle.
Manufacturing instructions
Making your own berry picker is very simple. The simplest option is a glass from a bottle.
First, mark on the bottle the place where the hole will be located.
Next, the stick is fixed to the instrument so that its end reaches the bottom of the plastic container, and the other edge protrudes outward.
According to the mark made earlier, a hole is made in the shape of a square.
Large teeth need to be cut from the bottom.
You can also make a manual berry harvester from metal.
First, a paper pattern of the parts is made according to the drawings. The only exception is wire elements.
Then the bottom of the tool, as well as the body, must be cut out of a steel sheet.
A cutter is made from a separate sheet of steel. To do this, you need to measure the width, which is equal to the width of the berry receiver, and then bend one edge of the steel.
On one side of the resulting cutter, holes are made with a diameter equal to the diameter of the wire. The distance between them should be 4–5 mm.
Now you need to cut the wire into pieces 10 cm long and insert them into the resulting holes. Then they are fixed either by welding, or simply bent with a hammer. There is also an option to secure it using a wooden batten.
The ends of the rake, thus obtained from the wire, must be bent until a side is formed. This will prevent the berries from rolling off.
Now you can assemble the case using the pre-selected fasteners.
Next, you should screw the resulting comb to the body.
If desired, the instrument body is additionally lined with wood or plastic. This measure increases safety during work and at the same time protects the bushes from unwanted damage.
The handle is made from a steel tube or narrow plate. You can also use ready-made handles, for example, from an old door or from a construction iron. It is attached by welding to the upper part of the body or with bolts, for which holes are drilled in advance. You can make the handle less slippery by wrapping it with a layer of electrical tape.
It’s easy to make another version of the berry picker.
For it, you first need to make a pair of identical round pieces from branches.
Next, you need to make a hole on one of the resulting wooden circles using a chisel. It is done with an indentation of one centimeter from the edge.
Then grinding is carried out to remove burrs.
Now the comb is made. To do this, you need to drill holes in the circle with a circle equal to the diameter of the kebab skewers. The distance between them should be about 5 mm.
Similar holes are made on the second circle.
Next, both circles are placed one on top of the other so that all the holes coincide. Kebab skewers are inserted and circles are drawn along them at a distance of 15 cm.
After this, the frame can be secured with glue.
There are a large number of options for making a berry picker. As you can see from the instructions above, making the right tool with your own hands is quick and easy.
The following video presents one of the options for making a berry picker with your own hands.
Similar designs: rakes, scoops, shovels, combs and others
The principle of “picking” berries from herbaceous bushes is implemented in some devices, either simpler in design, or designed to further simplify the work of the picker.
For example, the simplest options are ordinary wooden scoops with long teeth on the leading edge:
Some of their options are simplified as much as possible:
And some homemade models strike an excellent balance between simplicity, cheapness and functionality. For example, here's a combine:
It is made of wire, thread and a bag, but is very compact and is not inferior in ease of use to industrial options.
In these cases, the typical combine design is simplified for the fastest possible production. However, these options have their drawbacks. For example, the scoop has low sides and if accidentally tilted, the berries easily spill out of it. And wooden ladles get dirty quickly.
In other cases, inventors are working to make it possible to use a harvester to pick berries without bending over or crawling through the forest on your knees. The simplest option in this case is a special rake:
They can be used to comb the bushes without bending over, from time to time pouring the collected berries into a bucket.
A more complex option is to combine a rake and a combine. Simply put, the combine has a long handle that allows you to change the angle of the bucket itself. The video shows an example of such a device:
And, by the way, please note: even such complex designs can be made with your own hands. And if manufactured correctly, the resulting combine will be no worse than an industrial one
Therefore, it is worth saying a few words about how to correctly implement the basic principle in such a product.
How to make a cranberry harvester for harvesting cranberries with your own hands
Anyone who has ever picked cranberries knows how difficult it is to pick small berries by hand and how long it takes to fill the basket to the top. It is much easier not to pick them each individually, but to use a simple device for harvesting - a cranberry harvester.
It’s not difficult to make it yourself; you don’t need any special knowledge or skills to do it. It is best to use strong, dry wood or a sheet of thin metal as the material for manufacturing. In order to make a combine you will need:
- a piece of galvanized steel or sheet metal;
- wooden planks no more than 1 cm thick;
- hard thick wire for making teeth;
- a piece of wood or a piece of metal plate for a handle;
- metal scissors;
- hacksaw or jigsaw;
- drill;
- quick-drying glue;
- self-tapping screws
Sequential steps for making a homemade cranberry harvester:
- Cut out a pattern from thick paper according to the drawing.
- Place it on a sheet of metal.
- Cut out the required parts with scissors.
- One by one, bend them so that you can connect them into a single whole.
- Make teeth from wire in the required quantity.
- To secure them, you will need a fastening element, which can be made from a small wooden block.
- Drill holes in it 1.5–2 cm deep and wide according to the diameter of the rods.
- Make a handle from wood or metal of such a size that it fits comfortably in your hand.
- Bend the wire, coat the ends with a layer of glue and insert into the holes of the fastening strip, press and wait until they stick.
- Screw the resulting structure to the body with self-tapping screws.
- Make a handle and also attach it to another plank.
- Connect the body and sides with self-tapping screws.
- Using pliers, bend the edges of the body near the teeth located on the edge.
The second version of the berry harvester, which can be built at home, is made of wood. It’s even easier to make: just cut the planks to the required sizes and connect them together with glue or self-tapping screws. The teeth can be carefully cut with a jigsaw or hacksaw on the front edge of the body and sanded down the cut areas. To make the wood last longer, it can be varnished and dried. Alternatively, you can make the teeth from metal rods.
Drawing of a cranberry harvester
To make it easier to understand what parts a cranberry processor consists of and how to assemble it, you can take a look at the figure below. All component parts must be made, also adhering to the drawing, so that they fit well together.
Principle of operation
This small device does not damage ripe berries or the plants themselves during operation, ensuring quick and gentle harvesting of cranberry fruits. A manual cranberry harvester in appearance resembles a voluminous bucket or scoop with teeth or arc-shaped cutters on the front edge: they are used to pry up and pick berries from the branches. The distance between them should be slightly smaller than the size of an average cranberry: this is enough for the fruit to pass between them and come off. These teeth are used to pick the berries, then they fall into a container (device body), which is gradually filled with them. When this happens, the harvest can be poured into a basket.
The cranberry harvester is very easy to use and efficient: the branches and leaves of plants pass through the teeth, so they do not get tangled or torn. The device has a rounded shape, so it can be used to collect cranberries growing in small depressions. Another advantage of a cranberry harvester: its use allows you to speed up the process of picking berries by 3-5 times compared to the usual manual method.
Manufacturing technique
Carefully, observing all dimensions, transfer the image onto a galvanized sheet.
Using metal scissors, cut out all the necessary parts: the body and the stiffening rib of the combine. Bend everything as shown in the picture.
Now you need to make the comb itself. To do this, take a steel wire Ø 2–3 mm and cut it into pieces of approximately 20 cm. Bend each piece of wire in half.
To make a fastening element, take a wooden block of the required size and drill “blind” holes 15–20 mm deep in its end part.
Now you need to make a handle. To do this, you will need a piece of thin metal-plastic pipe and a wooden block, the same as for making the fastening element.
Let's move on to assembling the entire structure. It’s not difficult to do, you just have to get used to it:
- We pass the ends of the wire elements through the stiffener and insert them into the adjacent holes of the fastening strip. To prevent the teeth from falling out, the ends of the wire must be lubricated with good glue.
- We connect the resulting “rakes” to the handle bar using ordinary self-tapping screws.
- We cover the resulting structure with a body on top and fasten everything together with small nails or the same self-tapping screws. The body must be simultaneously attached to both the bar and the block.
- Using steel rivets or small bolts, we fasten the body and the stiffener.
- Using pliers, bend the end elements of the housing around the outer teeth of the comb. The product is ready.
Harvesting cranberries using a combine harvester
Picking berries with a home-made cranberry harvester is very simple - just place the tines under the cranberry branches and carefully lift it above the plants: the berries will easily break off and roll into a large container. You can learn how to quickly harvest cranberries using a combine harvester in just a few hours. But, despite its simplicity, the cranberry harvesting technology requires the implementation of certain rules. For example, you should not jerk the harvester sharply if its teeth are tangled in twigs and leaves. If you pull, you can tear off shoots or, even worse, tear out the entire plant by the roots, after which it will dry out.
It is also important to consider the time of harvesting cranberry fruits. It has been experimentally established that it is much better to pick berries when they have reached full ripeness, and not earlier. The berries themselves can ripen separately, but unripe ones will spoil faster and will not be as tasty, aromatic and healthy. In addition, picking unripe berries is harder; they sit more firmly on the branches, so picking will require some effort and will take more time. If it so happens that a certain number of leaves and twigs are torn off along with the berries, then you do not need to get rid of them immediately: they can be collected, dried, and then brewed along with ordinary tea and drunk as a vitamin or medicinal drink.
Is mechanized berry picking harmful to berry bushes?
Even the highest quality harvester in any case injures the bushes more than a person picking lingonberries by hand does. At a minimum, some of the leaves and individual shoots are still torn off and end up in the receiving chamber. And on very light forest soil, especially with a moss bedding, individual bushes can be torn out entirely if the stem accidentally becomes intertwined in the ridge. One-time cases of such damage are, in principle, not critical. But you need to take into account that thousands of people pick berries in the forest in the summer; most of them do not use gentle imported buckets, but rough homemade structures that can break or tear out bushes literally “every second.”
Observations in nature and forestry logs show that areas in the forest that are under heavy pressure from berry pickers very quickly lose their productivity. The more people in a particular area collect berries with combines, the worse the fruit production of this area will be in a year. And with constant harvesting, the yield decreases every year.
Perhaps, in just a few years, it will hardly be possible to collect at least one bucket from the same plot from which these berries were now collected.
At the same time, according to environmental organizations in Finland and Sweden, with proper control by foresters and disciplined pickers, the use of combines does not affect the yield of berry fields in the forest. In these countries, the designs of devices that can be used for picking berries are strictly regulated, and serious fines are imposed for violations of the requirements. As a result, the population mainly uses safe structures, so the berry growers themselves do not suffer.
In Russia and Belarus, pickers also note that with proper, careful harvesting, using only gentle modern combines and a small number of pickers (when the bushes are not trampled), the harm from the harvesters themselves is practically not felt, and the berry plants bear fruit the same whether with manual picking or with delicate picking special combs. Where there are a lot of people, and the pickers do not disdain any devices, working on the principle “after us, even a flood,” berry growers die out.
Classification of berry harvesters
Cranberry harvesters differ in design and the presence of mechanization:
Manual type model without the function of mechanized collection of ripe cranberries. In a homemade design, the design is similar to a small rake with a short handle attached. A box or cloth bag is attached under the teeth to collect falling cranberries. Shop fixtures are made more accurately. The design is a bucket with a handle. The branches with cranberries are grabbed with metal or wooden teeth.
Manual harvester with the function of mechanized cranberry harvesting. The body of the device is equipped with a motor. Cranberries are collected using vibrating teeth or vacuum suction.
Automatic combines. A full-fledged mechanism on its own, controlled by the operator. Externally, the machine is similar to a grain harvester, but instead of a mower, a cranberry harvesting attachment is installed.
Based on productivity, combines are divided into 3 classes:
For home use, household models are used.
Video of cranberry harvesting using a combine harvester:
Wooden ladle
If working with metal is beyond your capabilities, you can make a cranberry harvester with your own hands and from wood. For this purpose, for example, ordinary plywood or thin dies no more than 10 mm thick are suitable. No special drawings are needed here. You can simply draw all the elements on a sheet of paper and transfer them to the selected material.
It is best to cut the comb teeth using a circular saw. But if you don’t have one or don’t know how to handle it, you can use a regular jigsaw. You just need to be very careful not to damage the previously cut teeth.
The structure is assembled using glue; regular high-quality PVA will do. To be sure, you can walk around the perimeter with small nails or screws. Just don’t drill too much; you could damage the thin walls of the structure and have to start all over again.
Read also: Mechanical shovel for snow removal
Of course, if you are skilled in handling wood carving tools, then making such a “rake” will not be difficult for you. What should those who cannot hold a hacksaw do well in their hands?
DIY cranberry harvester
A homemade structure for picking berries is assembled similar to a factory-made manual harvester. The body is made in the shape of a bucket. A wooden handle is fitted on top. The end of the device, which is used to collect berries from branches, is equipped with teeth made of metal wire or wooden skewers. The working mechanism resembles a comb. The gap between the teeth is 1-2 mm less than the diameter of the average sized berry.
Debris will fall through the cracks. There will be clean cranberries left in the berry picker.
Harvesting berries using a combine is easy. Holding the device by the handle, run the comb over the plant. Thin fruit-bearing branches slip between the teeth, and the torn cranberries roll into the berry collector.
Factory fittings are often made of plastic. A lightweight bucket makes your hand less tired when picking cranberries. It is difficult to make a plastic berry picker at home. The optimal material is plywood or sheet metal.
Young branches that slip between the teeth are injured and the foliage breaks off. The following year, yields drop as the plant begins to regain its strength.
Drawing of a cranberry harvester
It's easier to put together a manual harvester when you have the drawings at hand. The fragments just need to be designed onto sheet material, cut out and assembled.
Necessary tool
To assemble a combine harvester, you will need the simplest metalworking and carpentry tools:
- a hacksaw for metal and wood (the work will be simplified if you have a jigsaw with a set of files);
- electric drill with a set of drills for wood and metal;
- chisel;
- screwdriver;
- pliers;
- metal scissors;
- clamps.
It is more convenient to cut metal fragments with a grinder with a small cutting disc.
Metal bucket design
A metal combine is more convenient in terms of strength and ease of manufacture. A dirty berry picker can be easily washed after picking cranberries. However, not just any metal will do. The best option is sheet aluminum. The metal is soft, easy to process, and resistant to corrosion. The only thing that is dangerous to aluminum is the acid present in cranberry juice. After picking the berries, it is advisable to wash the ladle immediately.
A durable ladle will be made of stainless steel or galvanized. The disadvantage of metal is the difficulty of processing. The weight of the product will be inferior to its lighter aluminum counterpart.
The step-by-step process of manufacturing a manual harvester involves the following steps:
- The bucket drawing is designed on sheet metal. It is important to comply with all sizes.
- Use metal scissors or a small grinder to cut out fragments. According to the fold lines indicated in the diagram, the sides of the bucket for collecting cranberries are bent.
- The comb is made of elastic steel wire 3 mm thick. Pieces cut into lengths of 200 mm are folded in half.
- The comb fasteners are made from a block. Non-through holes are drilled at the end of the workpiece.
- The handle of the bucket is bent from a piece of metal-plastic pipe used in the manufacture of water pipes. One edge of the tube is inserted into a hole drilled in another block.
Tin ladle: design
If you opt for the metal option, then it is best to prepare a piece of galvanized or sheet aluminum for the job. These materials are quite easy to process and are not too susceptible to corrosion.
You can find many examples of what a cranberry harvester looks like. Photos from this article may also be useful. For example, you can use the template below.
The entire structure consists of a handle and a collection bucket. The bucket, in turn, consists of four more elements:
- body (scan below);
- stiffener;
- comb;
- fastening bar.
Wooden skewers combine
A folk food processor is made from a set of wooden skewers on which shish kebab is skewered. The base of the bucket is two pieces 10 mm thick, sawn from a log with a diameter of 120 mm. One nickel is left whole. The middle is cut out in another blank. You should get a ring with a side width of 15 mm. In both parts, holes are drilled with a diameter 1 mm larger than the thickness of the skewers. It is important to maintain symmetry. It’s more convenient to put the ring on a dime and drill two parts at once. Through holes are made in the ring, and non-through holes are made on the coin.
Assembling the combine begins by inserting skewers into the holes of the coin. All elements are placed on glue. Place a ring on top of the protruding skewers, move it closer to the middle of the glass to form teeth, and fix it with glue.
Picking berries by hand
Unfortunately, the remoteness of the berry patches significantly complicates their collection. Swampy terrain, forest wilds, mosquitoes and midges also do not add pleasure to this process. But the main difficulty lies in the size of these berries; it rarely reaches 10 mm, and in the northern regions it is even less. Historically, picking wild berries was done by hand, so the fruits are less damaged and fewer leaves and twigs end up in the baskets. However, this method has very low efficiency; even an experienced berry grower in a good year may need more than one hour to fill the coveted bucket. A less agile picker would hardly fill a bucket in a day.
Cranberry harvester from a plastic bottle
Small volumes of cranberries are collected using a simple device made from a PET bottle. It is advisable to find a container with a wide neck so that the berries can spill out better. A square window is cut on the side near the bottom, leaving a side for the teeth. The bottle is tied to a stick from the side of the hole so that one end is level with the bottom. The second end of the stick protrudes beyond the neck, forming the handle of the combine. Using scissors, cut teeth on the side of the bottom. The device is ready, you can go picking cranberries.
Another combine option
The most primitive cranberry harvester can be made from almost nothing. You will need wooden skewers for kebabs and two cuts of a thick branch. The thickness of the rounds should be approximately 1 cm, and the diameter should be about 10–12 cm.
In addition, for work you will need:
- drill;
- thin drill (Ø like a skewer);
- chisel;
- emery cloth;
- glue.
You can start manufacturing. Using a chisel, you need to make a ring from one of the round pieces. To do this, remove the entire middle, leaving sides 1–1.5 cm thick. Using sandpaper, we clean both parts from small burrs.
Now we take a drill and drill symmetrical holes along the edge of both parts at a distance of 5–6 mm from each other.
We insert skewers through both holes and pull the parts away from each other at a distance of about 12–15 cm. Secure the structure with glue.
You should end up with a kind of glass with lattice walls. Now you need to cut off the sharp ends of the skewers so as not to damage the berries. You can go on a berry “hunt”.
Rules for using the tool
Any manual harvester carries out a barbaric harvest of cranberries. It is important to try to carefully remove the berries from the branches, otherwise you may not have a good harvest next season. Harvesting begins when the crop is fully ripe. Unripe cranberries are difficult to detach from the stem. Excessive effort will damage the branches. A comb clogged with leaves is promptly cleaned. Reducing the gap between the teeth similarly injures the plant, the peeled cranberry is crushed, and the berry becomes unsuitable for consumption.
How to use a combine harvester correctly
Even if the use of such devices for collecting wild berries is not prohibited in your region, it must be used with extreme caution. It is important not only to harvest as much harvest as possible, but also not to harm the plant. Under no circumstances should you pull the rake if it gets caught on leaves or branches. Wild berries do not hold too tightly to the ground and by tugging with special zeal, you can simply pull them out by the roots.
You should not start picking until the berries are fully ripe. They, of course, can ripen outside the bush, but in this case they will quickly deteriorate and may acquire a bitter taste. In addition, unripe berries are more difficult to tear off and you again risk damaging the plant.
If a lot of leaves and twigs have accumulated in the “robbery”, do not rush to get rid of them. By brewing them with tea (or separately), you will get a wonderful drink full of vitamins and microelements.
Do-it-yourself cranberry harvester drawings
[td]
Two years ago I came across a cranberry Klondike near my house. Well, it's close. ten kilometers with convenient transport. The cranberries were really lying there like a carpet, and in a few days I mowed 200 liters with a simple blueberry harvester. I also ensured the production of delicious liqueurs for the winter, froze the berries for fruit drinks, distributed them to friends and relatives, and sold some to neighbors. In half a day, spitting, I filled two twenty-liter buckets.
Remembering this wonderful place, last year I built a special cranberry harvester for the season in order to collect the same amount not in five days, but in two. But, as is usually the case, man proposes, but God disposes. That year there were no cranberries in the Leningrad region - they drowned during the rains. For those who don’t remember, it rained 60 days out of 90 that summer. In general, I put off the combine until this year and now I’ll tell you a little about it.
A few words about the swamp. This is the northern part of Lake Sestroretsky Razliv - it is swampy and there is a bird sanctuary there. Over there on the horizon is Sestroretsk:
All sorts of rare ducks and seagulls nest in the swamp. The swamp is raised, not swampy. But entering it from the north is absolutely hellish (that’s why there are always few people there). Right near the shore in the water there is an impenetrable bush - willow. The water is approximately knee-deep, in some places up to the testicles. In a wet year you can’t get through there without wading boots. Deep holes, tall grass, high hummocks. Entering light is still tolerable, but going out with a load without knowing the trail is hell. The first time I left there with two full buckets in my hands and without a pole. An hour passed for a hundred meters.
The berry grows on small islands. Here is a mossy cranberry island. Where the grass is tall, the water is knee-deep.
Here's another island:
There are probably a hundred of them there.
And now, actually, about the miracle of technology.
I got the idea from the Toropushka combine harvester. I copied the shape from photographs, estimated the dimensions and made it from what I had. Sheet aluminum was expensive, there was no good sheet iron at hand either, so I made it from PVC plastic. For these purposes, I bought an orange sewer pipe, sawed it lengthwise with a jigsaw, heated it with a hair dryer and straightened it. The needles were bent from thin electrodes. As it turns out, the bending of these spokes is one of the main components of a proper combine harvester. The first time I bent it wrong, I lost a day in the swamp and had to be redone. The handle is also a piece of PVC pipe. The berry picking sleeve is a regular construction bag. We should find something easier, but that's it for now. By the way, the sleeve must be made of durable synthetic fabric - it shuffles on the grass and the cotton fabric will quickly wear out.
The plastic turned out to be thick. Firstly, it is extra weight, and secondly, it does not push through moss as effectively as thin metal. But, as they say: without fish you will become a cancer yourself. If I have the mood and material, I’ll redo it in the winter.
Harvesting with this combine differs from harvesting with blueberry scoops. With this combine you row towards yourself, not away from you. The initial movement is almost vertically downward. We push the moss, pull it towards ourselves, gradually turning the combine with a brush. The final movement is to pour the berries into the sleeve.
The harvester takes approximately 80% of the berries per pass.
Here is the original bump.
After one pass.
There is no need to try to collect all the berries - this is extra effort. We only take cream. The combine does not work well in thick grass. Yes, it practically doesn’t work at all. There are other devices for these purposes; for example, a regular Finnish blueberry processor does a good job. But there are also cranberry ones. They have low productivity for open berries, but they can be picked from hard-to-reach places. And this harvester is for berries lying on the surface. In good places and with good harvests, it rows wheat like “Don 1500”. One hundred kilograms a day of such stray food is quite realistic.
There was no summer this year. There are cranberries in the swamp, but not in the quantities expected and for which the harvester was made. If searching for a berry mound takes more time than picking berries from it, then it doesn’t matter what you pick – be it with your hands or with a blueberry harvester. In general, I scooped up ten liters and headed home. I'll wait until next year and at the same time I'll remake the sheet metal harvester.
While getting ready to go to the swamp, I picked up a Finnish easel backpack for 500 rubles at a second-hand store. I took off the backpack and left the cargo frame, which turned out to be quite a decent little thing. The sneaker in the photo is for size.
The bag contains cranberries, a food processor, a bottle of water, a jacket, and sneakers.
Article rating:
Save to:
Do-it-yourself cranberry harvester (drawings) Link to main publication
How to pick blueberries with a combine harvester
The process of harvesting berries, if done without a blueberry picker, takes a lot of effort and time. To improve it, assemblers come up with various devices and devices to speed up the process.
To obtain the most positive result, you must follow the following recommendations regarding harvesting small berries:
- Work should begin in July, when the blueberries are fully ripened and have reached technical ripeness. By this time, you need to prepare containers and berry collectors for blueberries.
- The lifespan of bushes is about 20 years. It is more effective to pick berries from plants that are no more than 15 years old. In such fruits the percentage of useful substances is quite high.
- Only ripe fruits that are blue-black in color should be harvested. If you pick unripe berries, you shouldn’t expect them to ripen. And overripe specimens will disappear very quickly.
- According to observations, the best time to pick blueberries is during the full moon. Such berries have a high taste, but they should be consumed quickly; they will not last long. In order to collect the fruits for long-term storage, work should be planned in advance for the full moon.
- The optimal time for harvesting blueberries is morning and evening hours. The weather on the day of collection should be dry and cool.
- It is best to use wicker baskets with holes for ventilation as containers. Alternatively, you can use plastic containers and boxes.
Picking blueberries is faster and easier with the help of special tools.
Tip! You can determine the approximate age of a plant by looking at its branches. An adult bush has a large number of lateral shoots.
Among avid forest lovers, there is an opinion that blueberry picking devices severely damage fruit branches. With this approach, plant productivity indicators are noticeably reduced.
In order to properly clean wild bushes, you need to familiarize yourself with the main points: is there a ban on the use of special devices, is there liability for their use.
It is prohibited to use a blueberry scraper or other suitable device in the territory of the former Soviet Union. Since these devices severely damage the bushes and their branches, and they require a long period to fully recover.
Modern designs have a more gentle operating mode and do not injure wild bushes. They are officially allowed in Sweden and Finland. Norwegians also actively use them.
In Ukraine and Belarus, administrative liability is provided for the use of homemade berry pickers. The fine for non-compliance of a device with the law is almost 1900 UAH in Ukraine, 420 rubles in Belarus, 4000 rubles in Russia. The fruit picker is allowed if it meets certain requirements - there must be a distance of 5 mm between the teeth.
How and when to pick blueberries without damaging the berry plant: personal observations
I live in the middle climate zone, and I judge the beginning of blueberry ripening by observing the black currant fruits in the country. As soon as they begin to turn from brown to black, you can immediately head to the forest.
This usually happens at the end of the first week of July. At this time, the blueberry is not yet fully ripe; there are many small and green berries. It is not worth collecting them with mechanized devices: there is a lot of waste.
The leaves (like the fruits) stick very firmly to the bush and, when they get between the teeth, they crush and deform the berries, and when they come off the branches, they make picking very difficult. The garbage becomes saturated with juice and is difficult to separate.
During this period of time, I recommend abandoning any mechanisms and picking berries only with your hands. My speed is low: on average, I get a little more than 1 liter per hour, but it’s quite enough for home preparation and consumption, and I’m not involved in sales.
At this time, the collection is accelerated:
- a container for berries, made on the principle of a sippy inkwell, the ribbon of which I hang around my neck;
- cups on the fingers of each hand, saving the movement of the berry picker’s hands towards the container.
I consider the optimal time for harvesting with mechanized devices to be the end of July and August: blueberries are gaining strength, and the fruits, reaching their maximum size and the greatest amount of vitamins, have a pleasant taste.
It is during this period that I make my mechanized devices. Nowadays it’s not a problem to buy a factory-made blueberry harvester. But it is prestigious for a home craftsman to do it with his own hands, taking into account his individual abilities.
In this case, it is necessary to take into account a number of technical features that take into account the physical properties of the ripe berry. I include:
- fruit size;
- separation force from the stalk;
- the state of the juice and the crushing strength of the shell;
- presence of garbage.
How does fruit size affect puller design?
A ripe blueberry usually exceeds 6 mm in diameter.
I take this indicator into account by the gap between the teeth of the combine, choosing it to be at least 5 mm. It allows:
- cut off some of the underdeveloped fruits, leaves, needles, and other debris;
- collect only ripe varietal berries;
- do not damage the bush.
Which tooth shape is safer to tear blueberries from the stem?
Among industrially produced combines, designs with teeth made of round wire predominate.
It is more convenient to make them this way, but this does not have a very good effect when the berry is torn from the stalk. I showed this process in the figure. I share my observations.
At the round tooth, the fruit is pulled into the recess shown by the dotted lines and is slightly crushed. A flat surface immediately tears the berry away from the stalk, deforming it less.
In this case, it is important to avoid sharp edges at the ends, which can push through the thin shell. I do this by forming a very small chamfer on the ribs.
The width of the tooth also affects the operation of the device. A narrow profile fits better between twigs and leaves and creates less clustering. This reduces the formation of debris in the gaps and does not injure the ripened fruits and the blueberry itself.
How to reduce physical activity and keep your body energetic in the forest: 5 tips from an elderly berry grower
The following useful devices help me feel comfortable in nature:
- A mountain bike that allows you to cover a distance of about 15 km in half an hour on the highway and off-road. Thanks to the aluminum frame, it is lightweight and easy to carry through bushes and fallen trees. I always place it near the collection point.
- Folding chair. I sit on it and pick berries. The back is not subjected to physical stress.
- Factory made knee pads. They complement the functions of the high chair well.
- Old shoulder backpack. I carry the high chair and all my belongings in it, including a thin plastic raincoat in case of rain.
- One-liter plastic food buckets with lids. I pour blueberries from a ladle into them. I gave up buckets, even 5-liter ones, about 10 years ago: their height adds weight to the harvest, which puts pressure on the bottom layer of berries. The latter let out juice, which is bad. The container for soft fruits should be low and as wide as possible. I just take about 7 buckets, inserted one into the other. So they take up little space. I fill them two to three hours in advance, close the lids, place them in a food bag, tie them (insurance against spills when bending or falling) and go home.
If you forgot mosquito repellent ointment at home, it’s no problem. In such cases, my grandfather put a clean cloth (or a handkerchief) on the anthill, and after ten minutes he took it off. During this time, the fabric is saturated with formic acid.
It is enough to wipe open areas of the body and blood-sucking insects will not sit on this skin for several hours, and their buzzing is not scary.
