When the cloudberries ripen

Cloudberry is a northern tasty berry that contains a huge amount of nutrients and vitamins. In order to harvest cloudberries and get the most out of them, you need to know exactly when they ripen.

How cloudberries grow in the forest

Cloudberry is a herbaceous plant that loves damp places. Distributed in northern latitudes, tundra and forest tundra. In the forest, this berry grows in the same area as cranberries – in swamps, near rivers. It should be humid nearby, because the plant loves such a climate. In addition, the northern berry tries to grow in the shade, since the sun does not spoil the berry too much in its native lands.

This is not a single plant, it grows immediately with a carpet. Therefore, it is convenient to collect it not only by hand, but also by a combine.

When cloudberries bloom

The exact flowering time of this plant depends on the region. In the North-West of Our Country, among all the berries, cloudberry begins to bloom and bear fruit very first. Flowering begins in May – June. At this time, a single flower with five leaves appears at the top of the shoot. The petals are most often white, but sometimes pink. The flowers of the plant are exclusively unisexual. Therefore, it is possible to distinguish between male and female individuals by the presence of stamens and pistils.

When cloudberries ripen

Ripening of the northern berry occurs in July. At this time, a fruit similar to raspberries is formed. This is a drupe that consists of several bones, each of which contains a fairly large bone inside. Cloudberries are a close relative of raspberries, but it is easy to make a mistake by color.

During full maturity, when the berry contains the maximum amount of vitamins and nutrients, the northern beauty has a bright yellow color. If you collect red fruits, then they must be subjected to ripening.

What kind of cloudberry to collect

Full ripening of the berry usually occurs on the 45th day after the start of flowering. When the berry turns yellow, it can be harvested and harvested. But it is important to consider the speed of use. Sometimes it is better to collect cloudberries for home unripe so that they ripen at home. There are several ways to process and green cloudberries.

Fully ripe berries have a very delicate skin and with any pressure, even a slight one, they secrete juice. Therefore, it is unprofitable to transport in a mature state.

How to collect cloudberries

At first glance, manual assembly is not difficult. But this must be done correctly in order to preserve the integrity of the collected material:

1. The berry is collected with sepals.
2. Ideal – with a reddish tint.
3. It is necessary to stack the collected in low containers so that the berry does not choke and does not deteriorate during transportation.

Manual picking has one main advantage – you can pick berries of the desired stage of maturity and the required size. But there is one main drawback – a big waste of time.

How to quickly collect cloudberries

For those who do not have time to pick cloudberries by hand, using a berry harvester is perfect. Such a device will help you quickly and without damage to collect a large number of berries. At the same time, there are several varieties of the combine, which differ in the level of mechanization and device. Combines for picking berries are:

1. Manual, without mechanization of the process. A container with a special device that resembles a rake.
2. Manual mechanisms with process mechanization. These are products that are held in the hand, but at the same time have a mechanism like a motor for translational movements.
3. An automatic device controlled by an operator. This is a huge combine that looks like a simple grain harvester. The difference is only in operational management. It is used to collect cloudberries on an industrial scale.

Smaller harvesters are used for household harvesting, while large complex machines are used for industrial harvesting.

How to bust cloudberries

It is not difficult to sort out the harvest, but the process itself depends directly on the ripeness of the berry. If the berry is ripe, then it is worth sorting it out very carefully so that the juice does not stand out and the fruits do not flow. When sorting, you need to select all wrinkled, black-spotted, diseased specimens, as well as those severely damaged during transportation. After that, the berries can be processed.

Is it possible to collect unripe cloudberries

Unripe cloudberries will ripen quickly at home. At the same time, the berry will have more opportunities to remain intact. If harvested too ripe, it will not be stored for a long time, and it will be difficult to process the berry. The main thing is to be able to ripen it correctly.

How to ripen cloudberries

There are several ways to ripen cloudberries at home:

1. Spread in an even layer on a paper towel. It is enough to hold the berry for 2-4 days.
2. Put in a cool place along with the sepals.

Before putting on ripening at home, it is imperative to sort out the berry, and then rinse and dry it. If you collect ripe fruits, then she may simply not live to see the house. In a cool place, cloudberries become fully ripe in 3 days.

What can be done from unripe cloudberries

First of all, from unripe fruits it turns out to harvest dried berries. It is simple to dry the northern royal year for the winter: it is necessary to lay it out evenly on pallets and put it in a well-ventilated room without direct sun.

An excellent harvesting option for an unripe specimen is a soaked berry:

1. Sort and fall asleep in a jar.
2. Pour boiled water at room temperature.
3. For three liters of water, you can optionally add half a glass of sugar.
4. Cover the jar with gauze and put in a cool place.

In this form, it can be stored from six months to two years. In this case, the degree of maturity does not matter. The ripening of cloudberries for such a preparation is optional.

When to Harvest Cloudberry Leaves

The leaves are used to make various decoctions and are harvested in several ways. But before harvesting, they must be properly assembled. Leaves should be collected at the moment when the bud is formed and the flowering period begins. At this point, the leaves contain the greatest amount of nutrients.

The best is to collect the leaves of the lower and in the middle of the stem. It will be useful for a plant if the number of collected leaves from one bush does not exceed a third of its total volume of leaves. Otherwise, the plant will get sick and will not be able to bear fruit normally next year.

Conclusion

The northern berry contains a huge amount of nutrients and a whole complex of vitamins. But in order for it to be useful, it is important to properly collect and be able to prepare. An unripe berry is stored better, since ripened cloudberries quickly become juice and integrity is broken during transportation.

Ripening cloudberries at home is a process that takes a couple of days. As a result, a storehouse of vitamins can be frozen, dried, make jam or jam. If you don’t want to collect fruits by hand and spend a huge amount of time, it’s enough to use a harvester, which you can make yourself and buy in a store. Harvest date – July, 1,5 months after flowering.