How to pick raspberries
Raspberry — incredibly tasty, aromatic and very healthy berry. Its healing qualities are known not only to gardeners. It contains a lot of vitamins and important microelements that help enrich the human body with essential nutrients. The fruits also contain salicylic acid, which is why raspberries are often used as an antipyretic for colds.
In addition, raspberries help to successfully fight such ailments as bronchitis, flu, pneumonia and even tuberculosis (decoctions of young shoots and leaves of the plant are used).
Substances contained in berries help strengthen blood vessels and prevent the development of cancer cells in the body. Regular consumption of fresh and processed raspberries helps strengthen the human immune system.
The berries begin to ripen from the end of June. Regular raspberries bear fruit in about 20 days, remontant raspberries take much longer and are capable of producing two harvests per season. Bees love the crimson color and come even when it rains. But in order to be able to save the harvest and use it for new berries next year, you need to know how to pick raspberries correctly.
So, how to pick raspberries from bushes?
The fruits of this crop are incredibly tender. Even with light pressure on the berries, they are damaged and begin to release juice. Therefore, harvesting must be taken with full responsibility, handling the fruits with the utmost gentleness and care.
If you plan to transport raspberries, then it is best to pick them together with the fruit. The stems can be removed before processing and storing berries for the winter.
If the processing is to be done in close proximity to the garden plot, then you can pick it immediately without the stalk. Fruits must be taken exclusively fresh, without signs of spoilage or rot, so as not to harm the rest of the harvest.
What to use to pick raspberries?
Many newcomers to the “raspberry business” are interested in what to use to pick raspberries in order to ensure their proper appearance for longer without losing the quality of the crop? The container for raspberries should be low and wide enough to stack the berries in a small number of layers. If there are too many raspberries in one container, the berries will choke under their own weight and you will end up carrying the compote to the kitchen.
Experienced summer residents harvest in special containers no larger than two liters in volume, with low sides. You can use any other cookware, but with similar parameters.
Wicked baskets work very well. They have ventilation holes, which will protect the raspberry crop from the greenhouse effect inside the container.
After one basket is filled, it must be immediately placed in the shade or placed in a cool place that is well ventilated and protected from moisture. This way the raspberries can be preserved for a long time without releasing juice.
When to pick raspberries
When do you pick raspberries in your garden? Did you know that this berry is best picked in dry weather and after the dew has disappeared? In rainy conditions and excessive dampness, the crop deteriorates much faster.
If we talk about the timing of work in the raspberry field, then the exact period is difficult to determine. Much depends on the weather: in hot and sunny summers, the fruits ripen earlier, already at the end of June, but if there is not enough sun and it rains often, then — wait for late collection.
The general ripening period for raspberries lasts from the end of June to the end of the last month of summer (remontant ones bear fruit until frost).
How often to pick raspberries?
Many experienced and novice gardeners often start arguments on the topic “how often to pick raspberries.” Raspberries are an early ripening berry with a fairly long ripening period. When the first ripe berries begin to appear on the bushes, harvesting must be done every two to three days. If you do this more often, the fruits will not have time to ripen; if you do it later, there is a risk of losing part of the harvest in the form of crumbled, overripe berries.
If the weather is consistently hot, the fruits ripen much faster, so in this case it is recommended to pick raspberries every other day. If, for various reasons, this is not possible, then you can take the wise advice of summer residents - place containers under the bushes (you can spread thick cellophane and linoleum) so that the berries do not fall to the ground. This way you can save more ripe raspberries.
As a rule, from the beginning of the ripening of the first fruits, the raspberry bush bears fruit for another three weeks. Single berries, of course, will still ripen later, but they will no longer be enough for mass harvesting.
How to pick remontant raspberries
Remontant raspberry varieties can produce 2 harvests per year: on the shoots of the previous and current years. Remontant raspberries are planted in those areas of the garden that receive the most sunlight so that they have time to ripen.
Experts advise buying early varieties from nurseries so that you can collect more fruits before frost. How are remontant raspberries harvested? Is there any special technology?Remontant varieties are advised to be collected on the second or third day from harvest to harvest. This way, green berries have time to ripen, and those that ripen earlier do not yet have time to acquire a watery structure.
This type of raspberry is distinguished by the fact that the berries on the bushes of many varieties can hang on the branches for a long time without losing their qualities (for example, the Hercules variety). This property is appreciated by those summer residents who are unable to travel to their dacha several times a week and are only there on weekends. Some berries may ripen even after the first frost.
How to quickly pick raspberries in the forest
It is known that raspberries can be collected not only from home raspberry fields, but also in nature. Moreover, wild berries are famous for their beneficial properties even more than domestic ones! However, do lovers of this amazing berry know how to quickly pick raspberries in the forest?
Let's say right away that this matter may seem easy only at first glance. Those who have at least once wandered through the forest in search of these useful fruits will confirm that this task — not easy.
The first thing you should focus on is clothing suitable for forest conditions. Shoes should be high (boots are best), trousers should be made of thick fabric, but not restrict movement, and the top should have long sleeves. This “equipment” will protect you from impenetrable thickets of wild raspberries and protect your body parts from scratches and wounds.
To quickly pick raspberries in the forest, you need to stock up on one and a half to three liters of containers (no more, so as not to make compote from the raspberries prematurely).
It is best to hang the container on a strap or rope over your shoulder to free your hands for picking berries.
Experts advise going into the forest to pick raspberries when the sun is not too bright. In sunny weather, the variety of vegetation is too variegated, making it difficult to see the berries. This makes your eyes get tired very quickly and you won’t be able to bring a lot of harvest home.
Having found a good bush, do not rush to move away from it, picking only the tops. Lift the lower branches and you will see how much “wealth” hangs on them. This way you won’t waste time looking for new bushes and in a fairly short time you will pick as many berries as you planned.
Well, one more piece of advice: collect carefully so that a lot of debris doesn’t get into the container. This will help save time on cleaning the berries before processing.