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

Lingonberries are considered one of the healthiest berries, which contain a large number of beneficial microelements. Our great-grandmothers collected lingonberries when there were no medicines, and the only remedy for diseases were folk recipes. Lingonberry berries help boost immunity, cope with vitamin deficiencies and much more.

When the berries ripen

The berry picking begins at the end of summer. The fruits ripen in late August - early September. The last ripe berries from the bushes are collected in mid-September. After ripening, lingonberries do not stay on the bushes for a long time and fall off after a while. The second stage of fruiting occurs in October-November.

How harvest time 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 harvest depends on the region of growth. In warmer latitudes, lingonberries ripen several weeks earlier. Berries begin to be picked in mid-July in the south.

When is it allowed to collect lingonberries in the forest?

In the forest, berries can be picked in late August. Wild lingonberries ripen a little later than garden lingonberries, even if the plant grows in the same region.

What you need to know about fruit picking?

Before harvesting lingonberry bushes, you need to find out what signs determine the ripeness of the fruit 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 only suitable for making jams and compotes, since the skin will not be dense after frost.

It is not advisable to use a rake or any other available equipment when collecting.

It is better to harvest by hand. A rake or scoop will damage the branches of the bushes. After picking, lingonberry berries do not ripen, so they are picked at the stage of technical maturity. It is advisable to pluck bushes in cool weather, early in the morning or in the evening.If the weather is hot, lingonberries are harvested immediately. Due to high temperatures, it can become overripe and quickly disappear.

Devices for picking berries

It is advisable to collect lingonberries by hand so as not to damage the bushes. But if you need to collect quickly, you can use improvised means, for example, a rake or a combine harvester. The better, everyone chooses for himself.

Harvest rake

It is worth resorting to this method in extreme cases, when collection deadlines are running out. The cleaning device should 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 raised up. In the process of such manipulations, almost all the berries are removed from the bushes. The remaining lingonberries are picked by hand.

Harvester

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

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

How to make a harvester for collecting lingonberries and other berries with your own hands?

You can make a device for picking berries at home yourself. To do this you will need:

• Wire.
• Wood slats.
• Sheet of steel or iron.
• A piece of plywood (plastic is also used).
• Fastening.

Scoop assembly process:

• Cut out patterns for the combine from paper.
• Cut out the bottom and the body itself from steel.
• Fold a corner on a separate piece of paper - 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 it 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.
• Handles are made of galvanized steel.

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

Will white or green lingonberries ripen at home?

Green fruits are not suitable for human consumption and should not be collected. 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 there are white spots on them (still unripe), such a harvest can be harvested. He will mature at home. But this should be done in extreme cases. It is still worth waiting for full maturity.

Duration of storage without processing

Thanks to their thick skin and the presence of benzoic acid, the berries are stored for a long time, even when fresh. And to preserve the harvest for 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 and compotes are made from it, frozen, and ground with sugar. There are a large number of different ways. It is best to store fresh fruits in a cool, dark room. If 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 and rinse the lingonberries. Pour into a deep bowl and lightly crush the berries with a fork to release their juice. 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 stored in the cellar. Lingonberry in its own juice is suitable for teas and making vitamin drinks.

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. Naturally, the raw materials will be processed 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.

Place the raw materials on the windowsill in one layer. The main thing is that the berries are exposed to the sun as often as possible. They are mixed periodically. Lingonberries are dried in this way for about a week. Dried raw materials are stored in fabric bags or glass containers.

Oven drying steps:

• Sort and rinse the berries.
• Dry with a towel.
• Place on parchment paper lined on a baking sheet.
• The oven is preheated to 60 degrees.
• Place the pan in the oven for several hours.
• It is worth checking and turning the lingonberries periodically so as not to burn them.

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

In sugar

Harvesting berries in this way, according to the cooking technology, is similar to cooking them in their own juice. The lingonberries are washed in water, transferred to a container and mashed 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 into jars and close with a 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 package them in bags. Place in the freezer. These berries are as close to fresh in taste as possible.

Soaked lingonberries 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 syrup from water, sugar and salt.
• Place the lingonberries in jars and pour hot syrup over them, without adding a little to the edge.
• Wrap the top of the jar with gauze or cover with a lid with holes.
• Leave the jars 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 lingonberries 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:

• Wash the fruits and transfer them to a jar.
• Boil a brine from water, salt, sugar and cloves.
• Pour the cooled brine over the fruits.
• Cover the jars with a lid and put them in a dark room.
• Cloves are added to the brine if desired; it gives the lingonberries a spicy aroma and taste. Besides this, any spices are suitable.

In a few weeks the berries will be ready. The dish is added to some salads. Salted pickled lingonberries go especially well with sauerkraut. It is added to cabbage before pickling.