Blueberry Picker

Do-it-yourself blueberry harvester does not take long to create. The device resembles a small bucket with teeth. It is more important to carry out the correct assembly so that the comb does not injure the branches of plants.

How to pick blueberries

Picking small berries is a boring, long, exhausting task. Blueberry lovers are trying to speed up the process by using different methods and devices. However, regardless of the method chosen, it is advisable to adhere to the basic rules of harvesting:

1. Blueberries begin to ripen around July. At this time, it is worth navigating, preparing containers and devices for picking berries in advance.
2. Blueberry bushes can grow for over 20 years. Berry picking is carried out from young plants no older than 15 years. Such blueberries contain more vitamins.
   Attention! The approximate age of the bush is determined by the branches. The more side shoots, the older the plant.
3. Only ripe berries are subject to assembly. You can identify them by their blue with a black tint. An unripe blueberry will not ripen, and an overripe berry will quickly disappear.
4. According to folk beliefs, blueberries are harvested before the full moon for quick consumption. These berries are delicious. For long-term storage of the crop, it is better to do it yourself after the full moon.
5. Harvesting is best to start early in the morning or in the evening. Dry, cool weather is optimal.
6. It is better to put blueberries in wicker baskets, where the berries are better ventilated through the cells. In extreme cases, a plastic container is suitable.

Avid forest lovers do not recommend using harvesters, scrapers, blueberry rakes and other devices. Mechanisms hurt fruit twigs. The following year, the yield of damaged bushes will decrease.

Pros and cons of blueberry pickers

Any machine for picking blueberries benefits a person and harms a plant. Harvesting is accelerated by a combine by 3 times, which is the main advantage of the device. A person does not pick one berry at a time, but immediately rakes in a whole handful. The combine has no other advantages.

There are more disadvantages to berry picking devices. Any combine takes some getting used to. At first, the picker’s hand gets very tired. Homemade harvesters rarely have rakes up to standard. A lot of berries jump between the rare teeth, and a thick comb peels off the twigs along with foliage, bark and fruiting buds. The next year, the shoots will give birth worse, as the plant is recovering.

Is it possible to harvest blueberries with a combine

In the countries of the post-Soviet space, the taboo on the tool for picking blueberries is still preserved. There is no strict control, it’s just that no one has repealed the law yet. At that time, primitive harvesters were explored. After their application, the yield of blueberries decreased, the plant needed a long recovery period.

New improved harvesters cause minimal damage to twigs. Mechanisms are officially allowed in Sweden and Finland. Massively Norwegians use combines.

The minimum damage from a modern combine can be judged from the video:

How to harvest blueberries with a combine

Any blueberry scraper consists of a comb, a picker and a handle. The shapes are very different: oval, elongated, rectangular, round. Berry pickers are hard and soft in the form of bags. The principle of using any combine is the same. The bucket is held by the handle by hand. With the other hand, sprigs with berries are directed to the comb. As the harvester moves forward, fruit-bearing shoots slip between the teeth. Blueberries larger than the gap will get stuck between the pins. The berry comes off the stalk, rolls into the berry picker.

How to make a blueberry harvester

Assemble the device from plastic, wood, metal. The berry picker is a ladle in the form of a box or a cloth bag. The main working mechanism of the harvester is the comb. The optimal length of the teeth is 6 cm. The width of the gaps is 5 mm. The comb can be adapted from a store comb or made independently. Usually the material for the teeth is steel wire or wooden skewers.

In the video, more about a homemade combine:

Grabber for collecting blueberries from a metal sheet

A durable harvester is obtained from a thin sheet of stainless steel. In extreme cases, galvanizing is suitable. Consists of a scoop for collecting blueberries from a ladle and a handle. To make the first element, perform the following steps:

1. A rectangular billet is cut out of sheet steel. According to the drawing, a stiffener is bent. On long curved shelves, holes are drilled in 5 mm increments, where wire teeth will be inserted.

   

   

2. Adhering to the drawing, a body element is cut out of metal. The side shelves are bent, forming a U-shaped blank.

   

   

3. The teeth of the combine comb are made of stainless, bending-resistant wire 2 mm thick. The elements must have the same curvature. It is more convenient to bend the teeth on a wooden template.

   

4. The last element of the combine bucket is the mounting bar. A wooden lath 10 mm thick is drilled every 5 mm. Teeth will be inserted into the fastening bar.

   

When assembled, you should get a bucket, but so far without a handle.

For the handle of the combine, you will need a piece of aluminum or metal-plastic pipe. The workpiece is bent with the letter “U”. A wooden round handle is put on one end. The second end of the pipe is inserted into a hole drilled in the center of the bar. Its size is equal to the parameters of the fastening bar for the teeth.

When all the components of the combine are prepared, proceed to the assembly. First collect the bucket. The body is connected to a stiffener and a fastening bar. For fixing use self-tapping screws, rivets. The teeth of the wire are planted in holes with glue so that they do not fall out. The handle is attached with a bar to the fixing bar fixed on the bucket. Two wooden elements are pulled together with self-tapping screws.

A ready-made bucket for picking blueberries is being tried in action. If the teeth severely injure the blueberry branches, check the gaps. Perhaps some elements are bent and tightly clamp the shoots.

Wooden blueberry picker

A simple do-it-yourself blueberry harvester is made from plywood. In fact, the device resembles an excavator bucket. 5 blanks are cut out of plywood: side elements of the same shape and size, top cover, back cap and bottom comb. Four fragments are easy to cut with a jigsaw. The difficulty lies in the manufacture of the fifth part – combs. On a rectangular piece of plywood, teeth are precisely drawn with the same gap. Each cut is carefully carried out so as not to break the comb element.

The blanks are interconnected with self-tapping screws. A U-shaped handle is attached to the top cover of the harvester bucket. It is made from a thin tube or steel plate.

Blueberry harvester from a plastic bottle

A primitive harvester can be quickly built from a PET container. The bottle will act as a blueberry picker and a comb. If during a walk in the forest you come across a productive bush, but you don’t have a harvester with you, you should look into your backpack. Ketchup, kefir or other bottled product taken for a picnic will have to be used up quickly. If there is a choice, it is advisable to take a rigid container with a small volume wide neck. Additionally, from the materials you will need a stick, which is not in short supply in the forest, a piece of rope or adhesive tape. Of the tools you need a knife or scissors and a marker.

Having laid the bottle on its side, draw a window in the form of a flag with a marker on the side wall. The working side, directed by the teeth towards the bottom of the container, is shaped into the English letter “W”. By marking with a knife or scissors, a fragment is cut out. The edges of the comb are sharp enough to cut blueberries. The stiffer the wall of the bottle, the stronger the comb will be.

The cut piece is discarded. It is not needed for a combine. The bottle is tightly tied to a stick with the bottom up. It is advisable to use tape. The bottle will slide off the rope. Harvesting is carried out by pulling the device along the branches. A sharp blueberry comb cuts off the berries with three teeth, and they roll into the neck of the bottle. When the fruit container is full, unscrew the cork. Through a wide mouth, the berries are poured into a bag.

Do-it-yourself blueberry harvester drawings

There are many drawings of combines. The principle of their device is almost the same. A metal and wooden ladle was considered. It remains to familiarize yourself with the drawing of the combined combine. The difference between a do-it-yourself blueberry picker is that the teeth of the comb are not cut out of plywood. Elements are made from pieces of steel wire or wooden skewers for stringing barbecue. The pins are driven into drilled holes at the end of the bucket bottom.

Conclusion

A do-it-yourself blueberry harvester must be assembled with all responsibility. If you get a marriage and the comb breaks the branches, you do not need to be lazy in correcting defects, otherwise you can be left without a crop next year.