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Lovers of fresh wild berries study the places where blueberries grow and come there every summer. There are many blueberries in the forests of Our Country, and industrial gathering of berries is organized. Unfortunately, the use of mechanical devices injure the bushes. Therefore, those who care about an environmentally friendly attitude to nature collect healing berries for their own benefit and at the same time try to preserve the valuable flora of the forests.
What blueberries look like in the forest
Blueberries are recognizable by low bushes, up to 15-40 cm in height, grow in areas rich in moisture and with high acidity of the soil. Creeping blueberry plants. Thin shoots are green or dark brown, flexible, sparsely leafy, usually on the tops of branches. The ovate leaves are small, with a finely serrated edge, a sharp apex, 1-2 cm long, bright green, stand out well on the brown forest floor. The berries are solitary, small, less than 1 cm in diameter, covered with a dark blue skin with a whitish coating.
How blueberries grow in the forest
Usually blueberries in the forest, as seen in the photo, are easy to spot because of the light leaves. Bushes often grow crowded, one next to the other. Pine forests and dark spruce forests located in a cold and temperate climate are rich in healing berries, although large blueberries are also found in mixed forests.
How much blueberries grow
The berry forest plant is distinguished by its longevity and fruiting. The bush develops over 40-41 years. The first berries appear on plants older than 4 years. Peak fruiting occurs after the tenth year of development and lasts 5-7 years. Then the yield drops significantly. Although the bush grows branches, increases in volume, but there are less and less fruits on it.
How blueberries bloom
Single drooping flowers in the form of an elegant jug of pink-greenish color bloom from the last days of May to the end of the first decade of June. The timing of flowering varies slightly, depending on the weather of the region where blueberries grow.
When blueberries ripen in the forest
The first blueberries are found already in July, on those bushes that grow on the edges and are warmed by the sun. Mass collection falls on August, lasts even until mid-September. The fruits are small, weighing less than 1 g, reminiscent of a dark blue ball. Their tops are slightly flattened, with pronounced concentric lines in the depression. The flesh is juicy, dark in color, which quickly stains the skin or fabric. The taste of the berries is sweet and sour.
Where blueberries grow in Our Country
In almost all northern regions and in regions of the temperate climatic zone, blueberries grow, choosing coniferous or mixed forests more often as their habitat. The terrain should be rich in moisture, even swampy, with a predominance of acidic soils. Many medicinal fruits are harvested in the south of the Arkhangelsk region, in Karelia, the Leningrad and Pskov forests, the Ural and Siberian taiga.
Where to pick blueberries in the Leningrad region
The Northwest region is replete with conditions in which blueberries successfully grow and bear fruit: wetlands and forests, where there are many conifers. In the Leningrad region, medicinal berries grow everywhere. Blueberries are harvested both in the forests of its southern and northern regions. There is information that blueberries are especially abundant in the Vyborg region. Berry hunters boast that in the local forests it is easy to fill a liter container in an hour.
Where blueberries grow in the Moscow region
Rich in blueberries and forests of the Moscow region:
- spruce forests along the swamps;
- mixed birch-spruce forests;
- birch trees
Berries are picked in the following areas:
- Dmitrovsky;
- Taldom;
- Orekhovo-Zuevsky;
- Shatursky;
- Yegorievsk;
- Sergiev Posad;
- Shchelkovsky;
- Mozhaisk.
There are berry places in Ruza, Naro-Fominsk, Lotoshinsky, Shakhovsky and other areas.
Where blueberries grow in the Nizhny Novgorod region
The left bank of the Volga in the Nizhny Novgorod region is famous for its coniferous forests of the southern taiga type. They are often sent to pick berries. According to reviews, blueberries grow well relatively close to the regional center – in the Borsky district, as well as in Volodarsky, where there are many wetlands.
How to quickly pick blueberries
Small berries that grow singly take a long time to collect. You need to bend down to each bush and tear a berry. Lucky are those who find blueberries in the prime of their fruiting potential. And from old bushes, the collection is weak. It is necessary to take into account the places where the healing berry grows. Clearings near the roads, most likely, have been explored more than once. There are only leftovers from the current year’s harvest. Whoever goes deep into the forest finds still untouched blueberries.
Before the trip, be sure to think over the equipment: warm and waterproof clothes and shoes to protect yourself from ticks. Pay special attention to shoes. Forest blueberries grow in swampy areas where vipers also live. Therefore, the berries are harvested very carefully, carefully examining the area. They stock up on repellents from mosquitoes and midges. Residents of cities will benefit from using sunscreen.
An important element is a convenient container that ensures picking berries with both hands:
- one that can be placed on the ground – a plastic bucket, always with a handle, or baskets lined with paper or plastic bags;
- light containers from under milk or kefir with strings threaded and tied to them, which are attached to the shoulders;
- small children’s buckets, also completed with ropes to hang around the neck.
How to quickly pick blueberries with your hands
Berry pickers in the forests have developed a kind of set of requirements for effective work:
- among the bushes that grow in the clearing, they are looking for the most fruitful;
- pluck larger fruits, with black skin;
- very small, greenish-white ones do not vomit, because blueberries ripen while growing, not overripe;
- tearing off the stem, the fruit is scrolled, and it is removed;
- unripe berries do not break easily, they are left, because they are tasteless;
- if there are a lot of fruits on the branch, they are all grabbed with the palm of your hand and rubbed lightly – the ripe ones come off immediately.
Blueberry harvesting equipment
In places where valuable forest fruits grow massively, pickers use special manual harvesters. These devices are similar to a scoop, equipped with long rake teeth from below. Stems with a large number of fruits are captured by the combine and pulled through. Together with the berries, a lot of grass and leaves get into the container. Many berries are also damaged. Shoots are injured. Therefore, fans do not like this method. It is used only by those who earn in this way.
Procurers of forest products themselves make such devices or purchase them on the market. Then leaves, fragments of branches and other weed inclusions are weeded out from the collected. There are vacuum harvesters for collecting small fruits. They are also used by crews who hunt in remote forest plantations where many bushes grow.
Rules for harvesting berries
It is difficult to pick enough small fruits, this is physical work, you will have to walk a lot and bend down to the plants. It is advisable to harvest medicinal products in the morning or in the afternoon, in the late afternoon. There will be less fatigue.
If blueberries grow in forests near industrial cities, it is better to refrain from collecting in such places. Berries that grow along highways with heavy traffic are also unfavorable.
When harvested by hand, the skin will definitely be in dark blueberry juice. For collection, which is not a pity to stain with the juice of forest fruits, which is very difficult to remove. Approaching the plant, you can accidentally crush the fallen overripe berry, which will also stain the soles of the shoes. Therefore, returning from the forest, do not enter the house in boots.
We must also remember about safety, because bears love to feast on sweet fruits. Gatherers who are inexperienced and unfamiliar with the life of the forest must walk in companies of several people.
An unspoken rule of etiquette is to leave a few fruits on the blueberry plant for other pickers.
Damaged berries are not thrown away, but ground with sugar or jam is made.
Conclusion
Remembering the place where blueberries grow, lovers come to collect valuable berries the next year. Although the collection is not easy, if you get the hang of it, you can stock up on healing fruits for the family.
