Gathering gooseberries: ripening dates, harvesting tools

Collecting gooseberries usually begins in the middle of summer, but in many respects the timing depends on the characteristics of the variety and on the climatic conditions of the area. Many are prejudiced against this very useful and tasty berry, since harvesting is complicated by the presence of sharp thorns of different lengths in the plant (here everything also depends on the variety). But this is absolutely not a reason to abandon gooseberries, since knowing some tricks, you can greatly simplify harvesting and do without scratches and cuts.

Gooseberry picking: technical and consumer ripeness

Gooseberries, like some other crops, have two stages of ripeness. The first - technical, comes about 2-2.5 weeks earlier. The fruits have grown to the size of this particular variety, they are still green (possibly with a pink or yellow tinge on one side). The skin is strong and harsh, but at the same time the berries have already accumulated a sufficient amount of sugar, and if you plan to use them for making compotes, preserves or confiture, then now is the time. In a state of technical ripeness, gooseberries can be transported, if there is such a need, they will not wrinkle, and the berries will not burst. But it is impossible to store such berries, hoping that they will "reach" full ripeness, after a while they will start to deteriorate. Therefore, if there is no way to recycle them in the coming days, then you can freeze and use in the winter. After a couple of weeks, full ripeness sets in, the gooseberry acquires a color corresponding to the characteristics of the variety (purple, yellowish or pink), the berries become softer and sweeter. At this time, it is especially tasty and is recommended to be eaten fresh. You can also process such a berry, but you will not be able to transport it, you will remember most of the harvest in this case.

Collecting gooseberries: ripening dates

The ripening time for different varieties is somewhat different, and if you carefully study this issue and select different types of gooseberries, then the crop can be harvested from July to almost the end of August. Varieties ripen in the first half of July English, Russian yellow, Malachite. Starting in the middle of summer, you can start harvesting the varieties Yubileiny, Invicta and White Nights, and in August it ripens Candy gooseberry... But this is general information, since our country is large and the climate in different regions is significantly different.

Landing

If we talk about planting gooseberries in Siberia and the Urals, then it is worth choosing frost-resistant varieties, this, perhaps, will be the main criterion. Such varieties are most often late-ripening, it will be possible to start harvesting in the second half of July or in the first days of August. And in the Middle Lane, they start harvesting from July 10-15, and continue to harvest it until the second half of August, it all depends on the timing of the ripening of the variety. In the Central Lane and in the southern regions, the climate allows you to grow any varieties, the gooseberry takes root well and quickly adapts to a new place, soon begins to bear fruit and the yield is usually very good. In the southern regions, early-maturing varieties can be harvested from mid-June. Collecting gooseberries in a state of technical ripeness, you help the shrub to avoid exhaustion, quickly recuperate and prepare for winter.Feel the berries first, if they are elastic and do not burst, then you can collect them for jam. By this time, they have already accumulated enough sugar, and a sufficiently dense peel will allow the berries to retain their beautiful appearance while cooking the jam. And then, the more ripe the berries become, the more likely they will begin to crumble and part of the harvest will be lost. Berries that reach full ripeness are no longer suitable for jam and jam, but they can be used for making wine or eating fresh. If the summer is rainy, then in any case, harvest without waiting for full ripeness, since the peel may begin to crack under the influence of moisture and it will no longer be possible to process such berries. If weather disasters do not threaten, then dry weather should be chosen for picking berries, this will increase the shelf life of the crop until processing.

Harvesting by hand and using various tools

Anyone who has ever collected gooseberries knows how extreme this activity is. Even if you chose a variety without thorns when buying, believe me, this only means that the number of thorns is minimal, or they are very small. But there are always thorns. So, when going to visit the gooseberry bushes, you need to be well prepared and provide yourself with maximum protection. Choose tight, long-sleeved clothing, and special garden gloves can be worn on your hands. Gently pick the berries one at a time, the process is certainly long, but everything will be done neatly and without damage. Although not everyone will be comfortable picking berries with gloves, sensitivity in this case is impaired and there is a risk of crushing the berries. Therefore, gardeners use various devices (factory and homemade) that help to facilitate and speed up the harvest of gooseberries.

Plastic bottle. Our savvy compatriots find various uses for used plastic bottles: they construct fences for flower beds from them, cut and use them as small greenhouses for rooting cuttings and seedlings, make bird feeders from them, and also cut holes in them of various shapes and use them for harvesting ... To make such a device, you will need a liter or one and a half liter bottle (you can use a smaller volume, but I definitely do not recommend taking a larger one - it will be inconvenient), in which you need to cut a hole in the shape of a drop. In this case, the narrow part of the drop will be located at the very bottom, and the wide part closer to the center. Hold the bottle by the neck, pick up the berry with the narrow part of the drop-shaped hole and tug a little - the berry easily breaks off the bush and falls into the bottle. As the bottle fills, empty it by transferring the crop to another container. The advantages of this method are that you do not touch the berries with your hands, there is no mechanical effect on them and the quality of the harvest does not suffer.

Harvester. Of course, it is obvious that when growing gooseberries on an industrial scale, manual harvesting is out of the question. In this case, a special technique is used. The mechanization of the process significantly speeds up the harvesting process, while the thorns of the plant do not affect anything. These machines are called berry harvesters. But in not very large private farms, you cannot turn around on such a machine, while the size of the landings exceeds those that can be seen on a separate suburban area. Therefore, in such farms, manual combines are used (they are also called fruit pickers) - devices that outwardly look like a box, along one of the edges of which there are teeth resembling a comb, and a handle is located on top. These teeth lead along the shoot and all the "combed" berries break off and fall into the box.That is, the principle of operation is the same as when working with a homemade device from a plastic bottle, only the tool is more advanced and convenient.

Comb Mukhanov. The invention belongs to a craftsman near Moscow and is a metal or silicone thimble, to which a small bar with teeth is attached. They put the device on the thumb and lead it along the branch. Previously, on the ground under the bush, you need to spread a tarp or film on which the berries will fall.

Tongs or forks. In agricultural stores, you can also buy the same berry picking equipment. They are made from metal, wood or plastic. Using a fork or tongs, you can fix the branch in the desired position and pick the berries with your free hand.

Electrovibrator. This device allows you to collect berries, keeping them from the slightest damage in the shortest possible time. A tarp, film or any other fabric is spread under the bush, the branch is inserted into the device and then turned on. From the action of vibration, the berries fall off by themselves, without the use of mechanical action, you then only have to carefully collect them from the fabric.

Processing berries

If you have picked berries in a state of technical ripeness, then it is recommended to process them in the next day (but from experience I will say that when storing the crop in the refrigerator you have 2-3 days). Very ripe berries must be processed within 12-14 hours. Before preparing the berries, you need to put them in order, because no matter how hard you try to avoid getting debris into the container with berries, there will eventually be twigs, leaves and various insects. Therefore, the gooseberry should be poured with water and left for 10-20 minutes, during which time plant debris and insects should rise to the surface of the water. Drain the liquid and repeat the procedure one or two more times, rinse the berries with running water and cut the petioles. The housewives cannot come to a consensus about gooseberry tails, but most still prefer to get rid of the tails so that nothing superfluous will come into the jam later. Gooseberries can be used to make preserves, compotes, confitures and jams. From more ripe berries, you can make jelly or try yourself in winemaking. And if you freeze part of the harvest, then these berries can be used to prepare desserts during the winter months.

Collecting gooseberries: conclusion

Harvesting gooseberries is not the easiest and most favorite activity for gardeners. However, few people are ready to give up gooseberries because of the complexity of the process, this only stimulates the craftsmen to invent various devices to optimize the harvesting process.