When to pick viburnum: rules and terms for harvesting berries, storage technology

Kalina red - a berry that is famous not only for its beautiful appearance, but also for its useful properties. It is a shrub up to 4 meters high. It grows in semi-shaded park areas on personal plots. For medical purposes, use the leaves, bark, berries of the plant. To preserve all the useful properties, you need to study the features of harvesting, storing the crop. Before you start using the product, it is important to know when and how to collect viburnum.

When to harvest viburnum?

Harvest begins after the onset of the first frost, as the fruits ripen.The specific time depends on the climatic conditions of the region, soil characteristics. The first collection usually starts after the end of September. A bright red hue is not an indicator of the maturity of the berries. The first frosts bring sweetness to viburnum fruits. During this period, glycosides are destroyed.

Many gardeners are afraid that birds can eat the crop, so they try to harvest it faster. Unpicked berries do not fall off the branches, they remain until spring. After the first snow falls, the viburnum loses its attractiveness, the fruits become shriveled, but do not lose their useful qualities.

According to the lunar calendar

The moon actively affects the quality of the harvested plant parts. Therefore, during the harvest, some rules are taken into account. In the first phase of the moon, attention is paid to the underground parts of green spaces. In the second phase, the ground organs of the plant are harvested. The energy coming from below carries all useful substances up during this period.

The fourth phase of the moon is similar to the second, and therefore also contributes to the harvest. In the Third phase of the Moon, they are mainly engaged in drying flowers and fruits. The main collection of viburnum fruits and bark occurs at the end of September.

Depending on variety

The most common types of shrubs include: Red Bunch, Pomegranate Bracelet, Sweet May, Lightning. These varieties are among the frost-resistant plants, withstand temperature extremes. During fruiting, they are rarely attacked by pests. Berries can be harvested until spring.

Variety viburnum Zarnitskaya, Zakat, Ryabinushka and Shukshinskaya ripen in early September. Kalina Vigorovskaya and Zholobovskaya ripen by the middle of the first month of autumn. The fruits of viburnum Maria are ready for harvest at the end of August. By the end of September, the berries of the Souzga variety, which grows in the central region, ripen.In the southern part of the country, in mid-September, the varieties Eleksir, Aurora and Krasnaya grdst ripen.

Each variety of a shrub plant belonging to the Adox family has its own characteristics. On personal plots, mainly Sadovaya viburnum is grown. The plant is also harvested in September.

Factors affecting timing

Technical maturity of viburnum comes when the berries acquire a uniform red color without green streaks. In the southern regions, this period falls on the end of August, in the middle and northern latitudes - on September-October.

Harvest time depends on several factors:

Climatic conditions of the region;
soil features;
plant varieties;
taste of berries.

Peak of usefulness and ripeness of fruits occurs in mid-September. But many do not like the bitter taste of viburnum. Therefore, harvesting is carried out in late autumn or during the winter months. In winter, the taste of berries changes, becomes more sweet, bitterness disappears.

Cleaning Technology

Berries overwinter well on branches, the main thing is that the temperature on frosty days does not fall below -25 From this, the fruits turn black and die. Kalina is harvested after full ripening. For harvesting choose clear weather. Gardeners recommend holding events using a disinfected pruner. Such protection is necessary for the plant from pathogenic bacteria.

In order not to damage the berries, they are removed as a whole bunch. This way the useful properties will be preserved. If you plan to process the berries immediately after picking, then you should not worry about their integrity. Cut bunches are laid on a flat base so that they do not touch each other. This feature prevents tangling of twigs and further shedding of berries.

If processing is planned after harvesting, then the clusters are tied together and the fruits are separated. Then they are washed and dried. During processing, viburnum is sorted out, spoiled and rotten berries are removed, otherwise they will spoil the entire crop.

Storage of berries

Kalina is useful in different states - fresh, frozen or dried. You can store it in the refrigerator on the shelf. There are three main ways to keep viburnum useful for a long time:

Hanging bunches - in this form, the fruits of the plant are stored for no more than two weeks, otherwise they will lose their beneficial properties. Bunches are tied together, hung with a rope in a cool, dry room.
Storage in the refrigerator - viburnum is stored on a shelf in the refrigerator for only a few days. Therefore, for long-term storage, it is placed in the freezer. The berries are previously removed from the brushes, sorted out. Then they are washed under running water and dried thoroughly. Prepared fruits are laid out on a baking sheet and placed in the freezer. Frozen berries are packaged in containers or bags.You can store fruits in this form for several months.
Drying - berries in this form retain useful vitamins and minerals. To dry the fruits, they are placed in an oven or a special dryer. You can dry the berries in a natural way on the window. But this option will take a long time.

Medical preparations, various dishes, drinks are made from viburnum berries. It protects the body from harmful bacteria. This is especially true in the spring-winter period.

Therefore, the red berries of this plant can relieve many ailments all year round, subject to the conditions for collecting and storing a useful product. And you can also just enjoy the pleasant taste of viburnum, the main thing is to remember that thermal and mechanical treatments reduce its usefulness.