The harvest time is coming and the owners garden trees The question invariably arises: how to pick cherries on a tall tree? Picking berries from a tall tree is a problem, but if it is not done, the harvest will be partially lost due to the fact that the gardener cannot reach the upper branches. Are there any devices that make this procedure as easy as possible? If they exist, where can I get them and is it possible to do something similar on my own? This will be discussed in this article.
Requirements for devices
To organize the harvest, specialized stores offer a variety of devices for collecting cherries with tall tree, which will help remove berries from the upper branches. However, there is no need to spend money - it will not be difficult for a gardener to make such things on his own. The work is simple, quick, and necessary materials are often right at hand.
When choosing a puller option, there are some points to consider:
- how effective is the device (how quickly the fruits are picked, whether the cherries will spill or spoil);
- safety of use for humans;
- convenience (how comfortable is it in the hand, is it possible to work long time);
- length of the holder (the handle should be long enough so that it reaches the very top of the head and the berries are easily torn off).
Tall cherry
What types of pullers are there?
It is better for the gardener to choose this improvised means, which will be as convenient as possible for him. If we talk about homemade devices, they come in the following types:
- iron can with teeth;
- a plastic bottle to which a wire hook is attached;
- a tube with a hook through which the berries will fall into a special container (this can be a bag or a bag).
What is the easiest way to pick cherries from the upper branches? It is worth taking a closer look at the devices that help the gardener. Some of them can be done with your own hands.
Tube with hook
To make such a puller, you need to prepare a wide pipe through which several berries can freely slip through.
Note to the gardener. A person will hold this device suspended for a long time, and therefore it is recommended to use the lightest materials (plastic or aluminum tubes).
The pipe must be cut diagonally at one end. The sharp end is cut into 2 parts. The width of the resulting groove should correspond to the thickness of the stalk. Each end must be bent into a hook. To facilitate this work the material can be heated or pressed against a flat surface.
The opposite end is also heated and then placed on a solid object (a cut bottle can be used). When harvesting, you need to put a bag on it where the berries will fall. This device allows you to easily remove berries located at height.
It is worth noting that the use of tubes is widely used among gardeners due to the simplicity of the device. But if it is not possible to find materials for production, then it is worth familiarizing yourself with other devices that allow you to collect cherries from the upper branches.
Plastic bottle
Such an assistant is also very popular in economic use. You need to take a plastic bottle and cut off the bottom part. A solid wire is attached to the plastic, which can be secured with rope, glue or tape. The wire is shaped like a watering can. The narrowed groove should be the width of the fruit stem. At the moment of tension, the berry will come off and end up inside the bottle.
On a note. All that remains is to select a stick according to the thickness of the neck and insert it there. If the required attachment is not found, then the stick can simply be glued to the bottle.
Can
If we talk about how to properly pick cherries, then you can use an ordinary tin can. A hole is cut in the tin so that the teeth remain in the place where the lid was. They will grab and hold the berry. The jar is tied to a nozzle; it can be a piece of wood or a metal tube. It is best to choose lightweight materials so that your hands do not get tired.
Important! Usage tin cans is dangerous due to sharp edges that can easily cause injury. It is not recommended to make such designs if summer cottage there are small children.
Landing net
A device for catching fish can also help in the garden. To collect berries, the hoop is bent in a perpendicular direction to the handle. If you don’t have a net, you can use wire, mesh or a plastic bag.
Picking the berries is very simple, just run the net along the branches and the ripe harvest ends up in a bag for collection.
How it works
No matter which of the proposed options is chosen, it is necessary to take into account its structure and think about whether difficulties will arise when a person decides to pick cherries. The whole process involves hooking the berries with a hook, wire or sharp edge. And after hooking, the picker only has to pull the device hard enough so that the cherries end up in the container.
Simple device
If we talk about how cherries are harvested on an industrial scale, then the homemade or purchased accessories won't fit. Orchards are processed using special combines. Because there are not enough human resources to manually pick berries.
What are the benefits of cherries
The berry has mass useful properties, which can significantly alleviate a person’s condition in various diseases. The berry helps thin the blood and clear cholesterol.
Working in an office environment involves sitting for a long time, and therefore people often suffer from varicose veins or blood stagnation. Cherries can be used as preventatives against these ailments. The berry helps with joint pain, gout or osteoarthritis.
Powerful antioxidants slow down the aging process in cells and have a rejuvenating and cleansing effect. Cherry removes toxins from the body and serves to normalize the functioning of the kidneys and liver. When the body is cleansed of toxic substances, the condition noticeably improves skin person.
Cherries have a beneficial effect on digestion, normalize metabolic processes, improve appetite and help digest food.
Good to know. Cherries contain small amounts of organic acids, and therefore the berry is safe for people with gastritis, stomach ulcers or high acidity.
How to store cherries
After harvesting, many gardeners wonder whether the picked cherries ripen? The answer is no, cherries are not capable of ripening during storage. Unlike some others garden crops, this berry does not have such a property.
You can save cherries different ways. For example, freeze fruits. Before harvesting in this way, the cherries need to be sorted out so that there are no rotten fruits, which could spoil the entire product.
Harvesting
The berries are placed in special bags that do not allow the smell to pass through, so that the delicacies lying nearby do not affect the taste of the cherries. The berries should be dry, without any juice leaks. If everything is done correctly, the harvest will be stored for a year.
You can place the berries in the refrigerator. It is also recommended to go through all of them to find the damaged ones. It is best to use containers or trays for storage. food products. The package is not the best the best option, the berries often become aerated in them. Thus, cherries can last for about 5 days.
Important! Store the crop in conditions room temperature It is recommended no more than 2 days. Then fermentation processes begin in the berries.
Some gardeners dry cherries, but in this form they become a treat for insects. To prevent them from getting to the berries, you need to take a jar with a lid. It is worth considering that processing destroys vitamins, but despite this, the berries still have certain benefits.
When used for canning, cherries must be placed in the refrigerator in sealed jars that will not allow air to pass through. The storage duration is 365 days. Cherry jam does not have to be left in the refrigerator, you can choose dark place where the sun's rays do not penetrate.
The use of special devices for picking cherries makes life much easier for the gardener and significantly reduces the time spent working in the garden. It is worth noting that fruit collections can also be used when processing cherry trees.
When it's time to harvest, many happy garden owners begin to think once again about where to buy or how to make convenient device for picking cherries from a tall tree. This is really a problem: a considerable part of the harvest is sometimes lost due to the inability to reach the top of the plant.
Features of devices
On the market you can find many improvised means for removing cherries from the top of a tree, but you can do the same at home. The manufacturing process is simple, and the materials required for this can mostly be found at home.
When choosing a device, you need to consider some factors.
- Efficiency (how quickly they can pick berries and whether they will crumble or spoil).
- Safety (can they get hurt, etc.).
- Convenience (how comfortable it will be to hold it in your hands and work for a long time).
- Length of the handle (it is important that it is long enough to reach the top the right tree and pick the berries).
Types of pullers
Each person should be guided by what type of means at hand will be more convenient for him personally.
To collect fruit from a tree, gardeners often use one of homemade varieties pullers:
- in the form of an iron can with teeth;
- a plastic bottle with a hard wire hook attached;
- a hook made of a tube through which cherries fall into a bag or bag.
From the tube
For this type of puller, you need to take a pipe with a wide diameter so that 3-4 cherries can slip through it at the same time.
Since the device will have to be kept suspended for a long time, the most preferred materials are aluminum or plastic.
One end of the tube is cut obliquely. The pointed end is cut into 2 parts. The groove between them should be such that the fetal leg can easily be inserted into it. The resulting 2 ends are bent so that the result is a hook. To do this, it is best to heat them with fire and rest them against something solid.
The other end can also be heated, after which it is placed on a solid base (for example, a cut-off bottle), onto which a bag or bag for cherries will be placed during picking. Thus, picking high-growing berries will not be difficult.
This type of device for harvesting crops is the most popular because of its convenience, but not everyone has a similar tube at hand at the dacha at a crucial moment, so it’s worth familiarizing yourself with other options.
From a plastic bottle
It is also common homemade device from PET bottles. To do this, it is cut into 2 parts and after that the upper part is taken. A piece of solid wire is glued to it using rope and glue or tape so that the shape of a watering can is obtained. The leg of the fruit should pass into the narrowed groove made of wire, after which, when tensioned, the berry comes off and ends up in the bottle.
The design is simple to make at home, so it is popular among gardeners.
In this case, they try to choose a stick according to the width of the neck of the bottle, so that it is convenient to put it on or glue it. Some people prefer to use the bottom of the bottle.
From a tin can
This method is less common due to the fact that the resulting sharp edges can easily injure you.
It is not recommended to use it, especially if you have small children in your family.
You need to cut a hole in the tin so that there are teeth on top where the lid is, capable of capturing and holding the berry. The can is tied to a stick or metal tube made of aluminum so that the puller is not too heavy.
Usage
Depending on the type of device, its use may vary. It is important to take into account its structure and think in advance what difficulties may arise in the work.
Whatever option is chosen, its application will come down to one thing - pick up a berry with a hook or hook, and then, feeling that the berry is secured, you need to forcefully pull and remove it into a special container (jar, bottle, bag, etc. ). Then the cherries are poured from this container into buckets or boxes.
conclusions
Do special device Every gardener can remove tall growing cherries. Its design and materials are not complicated or inaccessible, but you should be careful and choose the material, as well as the type of puller, according to your needs. Harvesting with its help will be much easier and more enjoyable.
You can estimate the height of my cherries in this photo by the ten-meter pole overhead power line, located near one tree.
I don’t have a lift truck, but the juiciest berries are located at the top: they are well lit sun rays. For a long time now I have adapted to shooting them in three different ways.
I share my experience on how to pick cherries from a tall tree with your own hands without attracting complex technology.
When to start harvesting cherries
The berries begin to ripen all over the tree at once, acquiring a brown color and original sweet taste. Red fruits have not yet collected enough vitamins; they are sour. When harvesting, I leave them to ripen.
Mass collection of berries for winter harvesting begins from the bottom: from the root, and ends at the very top, gradually moving towards it along the height of the entire tree.
You need to work in dry weather, when there are no cherries excess moisture. And after the rain you shouldn’t collect it: it will be a mess.
steeplejack method
This method of picking cherries requires good physical fitness.
Always remember safety rules
Only people with good health and excellent coordination of movements, able to perform stretching exercises for a long time without fear of working at heights.
It is mandatory to have basic steeplejack skills and follow the safety rules for this profession. To do this, you need to study them and purchase fall protection equipment.
I mastered and improved them while serving in the army, as well as working in electrical networks.
Based on my own experience, I warn you: work at height, according to current safety rules, starts from 1.3 meters, and steeplejack - from 5 m.
Necessary steeplejack tools
To pick cherries at altitude you will need:
- installer's safety belt;
- wire hooks for pulling up branches with fruits;
- container for cherries with a hook suspended from branches;
- preferably stairs.
Mounting belt
IN industrial conditions The employee is required to use a safety harness. He saved the lives and health of so many people. I do not recommend neglecting this point: a tree branch or a stair step can break off at any moment.
And it’s not difficult to slip while balancing with a load of berries at a height. If it is not possible to purchase an industrial belt, then it is permissible to tie yourself with a safety rope.
The homemade belt shown in the photo should be supplemented with shoulder straps and a piece of rope with a self-clamping carabiner. Only in this case can it be used at your own peril and risk, because such equipment must undergo strength tests with maximum loads.
Hooks for pulling up branches
The tree above is growing a lot. Thin long branches extend far from the trunk. It is impossible to reach them by hand. A simple homemade device for picking cherries helps.
I take a piece of steel wire more than a meter and bend its ends with a crochet hook on both sides. At a height, it is convenient to take it in your hand and attract distant branches with fruits.
The free side of the hook clings to a branch or trunk bark. As a result, your hands are free, the cherries are nearby. All that remains is to collect them.
The photo shows that the color steel rust blends into the background of the branches. Therefore, such a hook is periodically lost and remains on the tree. I advise you to paint it white or yellow paint. I’ve had this idea for a long time, but somehow I just can’t get around to it...
steeplejack bucket
Any container with a handle is suitable for picking cherries at height. I find it convenient to work with ordinary five-liter polyethylene buckets. However, they can be dropped from a height for any reason.
To prevent this from happening, I tie them up. soft wire with a hook. It is convenient to hang this container on a neighboring branch. The hands are freed up to support the body at a height and pick berries.
You can also fill ten-liter buckets with cherries. But climbing the top of a tree with them is difficult: the weight takes its toll. Due to the constant shaking when moving around the tree, the berries are once again crushed, releasing juice.
And removing such a load to the ground is not as easy as it might seem: you need an additional rope.
She helps when there is an assistant on earth. I trust him to replace the bucket with fruits with a new empty one.
Climb to heights only if you are in good physical condition. If you notice a deterioration in your health or a weakened reaction, reschedule this work until full recovery strength
Device for picking cherries from a tall tree
It greatly facilitates steeplejack work.
Design requirements
The idea for this device was borrowed from a video several years ago. The most interesting thing is that even children enjoy using it, quickly collecting fruits from the lower branches.
When I was making it, I went through many recommended designs. I didn’t like the idea of lowering torn fruits from a height through pipes into a container: ripe cherries are very juicy and soft.
When struck, it crumples or breaks, spraying juice. If someone is satisfied with such a mess, then it does not suit me. Therefore, I pick the fruits with a comb, moving it over a cluster of cherries, and they fall immediately into a placed jar from a five-liter PET bottle.
At the bottom there is a soft lining made of ordinary crumpled polyethylene film. This technique causes minimal damage to the berries.
Lifting and handling heavy objects at height is difficult. Therefore, the adaptation should be made as easy as possible through the choice of material and optimal length sticks.
Installation and device
As you already understand, my device includes 3 main elements:
- a working comb for inserting berries under the stalks and tearing them off;
- container for catching falling cherries;
- a pole that allows you to reduce the distance to the fruit.
It does the main job and is made of steel wire in the shape of the letter “L”. Short parts bent at right angles are inserted into the holes of the lid screwed onto the cut neck plastic bottle.
They are inserted between the neck section and the side walls of a wooden pole inserted inside. They are clamped on top with a screwed-in self-tapping screw and a metal washer.
The lateral movements of the comb elements are limited by a wound soft wire.
Container for collecting cherries
A five-liter PET bottle is cut off from the bottom and placed on a pole.
I selected the shape of the cutout experimentally, gradually increasing the space for inserting the working comb into the bunches of berries.
Here it is necessary to comply optimal size. Otherwise, it will be difficult to simultaneously provide two issues:
- Place the comb over the cherries.
- Prevent the fruit from falling if it falls past the prepared jar.
Fastening the container
There is quite a large void between the walls and the stick. Filled it out plastic film: it also softens the blows of falling cherries. When it gets dirty, I simply replace it with a clean piece.
And from above, through the punctures in the wall, I tied the can with a wire clamp.
You can also screw a self-tapping screw with a wide washer into this place. But my wire works for several seasons.
Pole
Choose the material and length to suit your needs. When I was experimenting with the design, I came across a piece of birch stick. He remained on this device.
The dried thin trunk of the Christmas tree will be longer and lighter. I also had the idea of using an old bamboo fishing rod. But I never tried it. I still work with birch.
How the device works
I place the comb on top of the hanging cherries and make a sharp downward movement, tearing them off their stalks.
Berries fall into a jar. I fill it no more than halfway, and then I tilt it towards the bucket provided and carefully pour it into it.
You can work at any height. My device for picking cherries from a tall tree is convenient to use directly from the ground.
I often reach the fruits located at the top with them while on a ladder.
To manufacture such a device, scarce materials, tools and equipment are not needed. Even a schoolchild can do it in ten minutes. But, it really makes it easier to pick cherries from a tall tree.
Thinning the crown
This also requires steeplejack skills. But they must be supplemented by the gardener’s experience: it is necessary to take into account the subtleties of pruning and rejuvenating trees. This process allows you to form the correct cherry crown, providing it optimal lighting and ventilation.
The highest branches, especially those that reach nearby wires overhead line power transmission lines always have to be cut. If this is not done, then the mobile team of rural electrical networks can, on their own, remove them, or even cut down a tree growing in the security zone of the overhead line.
How to optimally trim a branch with juicy cherry fruits
Once upon a time I tied a wood hacksaw to a long pole and simple device I cut a high branch straight from the ground. She was falling. And sometimes it clung to neighboring branches at the top. I had to somehow disconnect it all.
The fall of a cut branch from a height to the ground ended with the juicy cherries not only bursting upon impact, but also being torn off the stalks and falling to the ground. Debris sticks to them: sand, dirt, dry grass.
As a result, a quarter of the harvest had to be lost by simply throwing it away. I abandoned this method and do not recommend it to you. I trim excess branches in the following sequence:
- I climb onto a tree trunk with a hacksaw and two long ropes.
- I tie the ends of the ropes to the branch being sawed off above the future cutting site.
- I throw one rope down to my assistant. He will use it as a quickdraw, change the direction of lowering to the ground, and prevent the branches from sticking together.
- I leave the end of the second rope for myself, but pass it through a strong cherry branch. It is advisable that it be located a little higher: it will work better as a support or block. I leave this end short and attach it to the tree.
- Using a hacksaw, I completely cut down the branch below the place where the ropes are attached. She falls and hangs on my rope.
- Together with your partner, using joint, careful actions, we lower the branch with the juicy cherries.
- All that remains is to collect them on the ground, plucking them from a branch: this easy job even for children.
This simple sequence of seven steps allows you to remove the cherry from the very top carefully and without damage.
There is no need to worry that pruning will damage the tree. This method is used to improve fruiting in subsequent years: the berries become larger and juicier. At the cut site, young shoots are formed, producing good harvest cherries.
My neighbor in the country does not prune. The crown of its cherries is thickened with numerous shoots. Some of them have already dried out, additionally shading the sun and impairing ventilation. The fruits grow small and singly. There are practically no clusters of cherries.
That’s basically the entire description of my three proven methods for picking cherries from a tall tree. I use each of them according to the circumstances, and you choose the one you like.
I recommend it as a small bonus simple homemade product, allowing you to perform removing pits from cherries at home fast and convenient.
If something is not clear, then ask in the comments. I will answer.
Cherries contain a lot essential vitamins that the body needs. The berries are preserved for the winter. Harvesting is not always an easy task.
If the tree is tall, picking cherries will be difficult. Sometimes neither ladders, nor stepladders, nor even a special combine can help.
There is a way out; you can make your own device for picking cherries from a tall tree, then you will be able to quickly harvest the harvest.
How to make a cherry picking device
If everything is clear about when to pick cherries, then how to pick them without damaging them is a difficult process for many. To make the device you need:
Device for picking cherries from a plastic bottle
- take a plastic bottle and cut it into 2 parts: only the bottom part of the bottle is needed for the device;
- cut a horseshoe-shaped segment from a piece of wood, inner dimensions which is the same size as the bottle;
- drill a couple of holes in the segment: the diameter of the holes should be equal to the diameter of wooden sticks; ready-made chopsticks will do;
- to prevent the sticks from falling out of the holes, you need to secure them with glue;
- attach a segment with holes and sticks to the inside of the bottle; for this you can take wire or rope;
- At the final stage, attach the holder to the container; it must be long so that it reaches the top of the tree.
The device for picking berries is ready. It's quick and easy to do. No need to spend personal funds.
Many people love to eat sweet berries. Preserves, jams, dumplings and pies are made from cherries. Before you start cooking, you need to harvest the crops. The berries growing at the very top are difficult to reach. You can make the device yourself.
To start making the fixture, you need to prepare a pipe for the holder. It should not be very heavy; it should be held in your hands for a long time. The pipe is selected with a small hole so that the cherries can easily slip through it.
Device made from a tube for picking cherries
Next, it is cut off from only one side. A recess is cut out that will hold the stems of the fruit. The groove is bent to form a hook. If it is difficult to bend the pipe, you can heat it and then bend it.
The reverse edge of the pipe also needs to be heated to make the socket. It is attached when heated to a bottle or other container. During collection, the berries will roll down the pipe and fall directly into the container, and not onto the ground.
Terms of use
When the device for collecting berries from a tall tree is ready, you need to learn how to use it correctly.
- The upper part of the pipe must be brought to the berries. Using attached sticks or nails, grab the berry and pull it towards you. She falls into the container. When the container is completely filled, the structure is lowered and the crop is poured into a larger container.
- When using the 2nd device, just reach out your hand to the required distance, pick up the cherry and pick it. With this device it will be easy to pick cherries from the very top of the tree. The picked berry will roll down the pipe and fall into a container at the other end of the pipe safe and sound.
The gardener can choose any method he likes and do it with his own hands.
Now you can do without ladders and stepladders, they are very dangerous to health and life.
Conclusion
Cherry picking can turn into a real pleasure if you approach this process with maximum responsibility.
With the help of folk inventions, you can easily remove berries from the top of the tree. These methods are ideal not only for harvesting cherries, but also cherries, plums and apricots. The gardener will be able to harvest the crop in the shortest possible time without spending a lot of time and effort on it.
When ripe cherries hang high on the branches, I. A. Krylov’s fable “The Fox and the Grapes” comes to mind. Like that fox, “the eye sees, but the tooth is numb,” juicy berries, teasing with their ripeness. But inventive gardeners have come up with many devices in order to pick cherries from a tall tree without leaving a rich harvest on the branches. It is possible, of course, dwarf varieties fruit tree grow, but on tall trees the fruits are larger and sweeter.
There are several ways to collect cherries. They depend on the number of trees on the site, their height, and productivity. A low bush can be picked by hand without using improvised means. Sometimes a ladder may be needed. Otherwise, it’s enough to take a bucket and pick cherries into it, with or without cuttings. When Cherry tree reaches a height of 4-5 meters, it is problematic to harvest from it. And then they come to the rescue various devices for tilting branches down and removing fruits.
Stone fruit plantations can be harvested using combine harvesters. The device is available for sale with mechanical arm. Vibration knocks the berries off the branches, and they fall onto a tarpaulin spread under the cherry tree. The machine, which has an arched frame, picks fruit using vibrating brushes that place bright red cherries on a conveyor belt. Such devices can be used in farms. Without auxiliary devices, it is impossible to remove cherries from high branches, and you will lose the harvest delicious berries I do not want.
Collection devices
Collecting fruits from a tall tree is always difficult. First of all, you need devices that can be purchased in a store or made with your own hands. The most convenient device invented a long time ago. This is a fruit picker for cherries. This could be a tin container, the opening of which is a “mouth” with teeth. Carefully grab the fruits with the hole and tear them off with cuttings. After filling the container, pour the crop into a bucket.
The ladder is the gardener’s main help for collecting ripe fruits. This could be a stepladder matched to the height of the tree. It's easy to pick it off ripe berries. But sometimes you can use a simple wooden stairs for collection, leaning it against the trunk of an adult tree.
A simple gathering device in the form of a strong and sturdy hook is useful for bending branches downwards. Having secured the branches, they pick the ripe berries with their hands.
You can also use a medium-sized hook to hang a bucket. A plastic container suspended from a tree is useful for folding ripe cherries. Standing on a ladder, it is difficult to simultaneously hold the container for the harvest and pick ripe fruits from a tall tree. A rope used to tie a bucket to a belt will also work here.
It is convenient to combine pruning branches with harvesting stone fruit crops. To do this you need a tool such as a hacksaw. Long ropes are tied to his arms. One end is held by the person standing under the tree, and the other by the person standing on the stairs. The device allows you to cut down a branch along with juicy fruits. This is how they kill two birds with one stone: the tree is rejuvenated, and the cherries remain intact and do not get crushed during harvest.
Homemade devices
We have made so many devices for working in the garden with our own hands that they are known to every experienced gardener. Among them are:
- working comb;
- pyramid-shaped staircase;
- fruit collectors of different designs;
- hooks
The comb device is made of thick wire. Bend its ends and insert it into the neck of a 5-liter plastic bottle. A pole is inserted into the vessel from the side of the cut out bottom. It should be light and comfortable. The comb teeth are screwed to the side parts of the pole with self-tapping screws. Place the comb under the branches of the bush and pick off the fruits.
To make the climbing device more stable, you need to build a structure in the shape of a pyramid. The bottom side of the device is made within 1 meter. Then the homemade device will not swing, but will be able to stand firmly on the ground. On each side, slats measuring 50 x 25 millimeters are filled. The result is a strong ladder that will become an assistant in harvesting ripe berries.
What are fruit collectors made of? Reconstructed cherries are used to collect:
- a plastic tube cut at an angle;
- plastic bottle;
- the shape of a fishing net, which is used to move along the branches and knock down the fruits.
Since many devices can be made from scrap materials, everyone has in their piggy bank some devices that have been tested while picking cherries from a tall tree. They are used during the ripening period of plums and ranetki, which are located on tall trees.