North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Kevin Moore <aleguy33@yahoo.com>]

I was shown by my grandfather when I was just small. I guess it would be easier to show than to tell, but here goes. I hold the branch with my left hand just above the berries I want to pick. Holding my thumb just barely farther away from my index finger than the diameter of a ripe berry, I slide my hand down, catching the ripe berries with my other fingers. I can usually get a dozen or so berries in one go. I sometimes get some slightly underripe ones, but I like the tartness anyway. With a little practice, you get pretty quick at it.
Now bramble fruits I can't seem to pick very quickly. Those I do pick one-by one, or I end up smushing them.

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From: "Hilborn.E@epamail.epa.gov" <Hilborn.E@epamail.epa.gov>
To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Monday, August 3, 2009 11:00:42 AM
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] When should I pick blueberries?


"Jim, picking blueberries one-by-one may seem tedious, but really it
only takes a few minutes to pick a couple of gallons. The ripe berries
practically fall off in your hand. Once you learn the correct pressure
to apply, you can basically "strip" a branch with your hand and come
away with only the ripe berries."

Kevin, I think that I need a picking tutorial.

It takes me about 1 hour per gallon.  It seems that all I do in July is
pick blueberries!

The rabbiteye berries in zone 7 do not all ripen at once, but the
fruit-bearing twigs are long and heavily laden with both ripe and green
fruit. As I gently lift them to strip the large, ripe berries, about 20%
fall to the ground - some from the movement of the twig, some fall out
of my hand as they overflow my hands capacity to retain all the berries.

I have not had luck with a bucket or bag under the twigs, as the leaves
below the twig deflect the berries in unpredictable directions.  I am
considering a sheet to spread under my work area during picking.

Hints/tips would be welcomed. As I pick I dream of some labor-saving
catchment device, but I do not have an engineer's talent for product
innovation.

Betsy Hilborn
7a NC

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