When to harvest barberries and how to dry berries: fruit storage technology

Barberry picking starts when sweet and sour berries turn red. In the middle lane, they ripen by the end of summer. Jams and marshmallows are cooked from the fruits of the shrub, spices, marmalade and liquor are prepared. The berries of the plant are rich in ascorbic acid and pectin, improve appetite, strengthen immunity, and have an anti-inflammatory effect. But in order for the use of fruits to give a positive result, you need to know when to harvest them.

What can be used

Barberry berries are included in diets for weight loss, used to strengthen the immune system, pickled and added to fried or stewed vegetables.Masks are made from fruits that smooth out wrinkles on the skin, remove bruises under the eyes. From leaves rich in ascorbic acid and carotene, decoctions are prepared that contribute to:

• stop bleeding;
• eliminate nausea;
• excretion of bile.

The roots of barberry are dried and put into tea, the mouth is rinsed with infusion to relieve inflammation. The decoction is used for stomach cramps. Natural paint is obtained from the branches and trunk of the barberry. Drugs from the bark of a bush reduce pressure, stop internal bleeding.

When to collect different plant parts

So that leaves, wood and fruits do not lose their healing properties, you need to harvest them at certain times, the collection is made at different times of the year.

Berries

Unripe barberry is dangerous to humans because it contains poison. In mid-latitudes, fruits begin to be harvested no earlier than the end of August. You can pick berries from a bush in late autumn after frosts, but overripe barberry drains juice and quickly deteriorates.

Roots

In the underground part of the thorny bush, most of the useful components accumulate by autumn. To prevent the plant from dying, carefully remove no more than 1/3 of the root processes with a shovel. They are not washed, but dried and stored in burlap or wrapped in newspapers. The next harvest on this barberry can be carried out no earlier than in 5 years.

Kora

When the shrub begins to secrete juice, which is observed in the middle latitudes in the second month of spring, such medicinal raw materials as bark are harvested. It is removed from the shoots, laid out in a thin layer in the attic and turned over several times so that everything dries out.

Leaves

At the end of spring, buds open on the barberry, and the bush blooms. At this time, you need to cut young twigs no more than 10 cm long with delicate green leaves and dry everything together, washing away dirt.

For long-term storage, medicinal raw materials are laid out in a thin layer in the oven, first at 45, and then increasing the temperature to 60 degrees.

How the collection time depends on the variety and region of growth

A tree-like shrub with a spreading crown, found in the Caucasus, and in the south of Europe, and in the middle latitudes. The plant takes root without problems even in Siberia. Amur barberry is common in the Far East, its berries are harvested in November. Variety Dulcis pleases with very tasty fruits that ripen in October.

In central Russia, common barberry is harvested after the first frost, when bitterness disappears, and they come in September.

Rules and collection technology

The berries of the bush are harvested in autumn, but we must try to be in time before they are overripe. Soft fruits crumple and choke, and it is very difficult to process such a barberry.Selected berries are washed under the tap, but do not mix with hands, otherwise it is easy to damage the skin. Fresh fruits are stored until winter, if sprinkled with sugar.

You can not collect barberries near highways and railways. The fruits are cut together with thin twigs or plucked from a bush.

How to dry barberry at home

Ripe berries of a prickly plant are washed, crumpled and rotten are removed, and the water is allowed to drain. After that, they need to be spread out in a thin layer on a baking sheet, which is sent to the oven, where the temperature is set at least 40, then another 20 degrees are added.

Dried barberry fruits stop sticking together and easily separate from each other.

Dry twigs with leaves

In late May or early July, after rain, young shoots of shrubs up to 10 cm long are harvested along with leaves. At home, medicinal raw materials are laid out in a thin layer under a canopy so that direct rays of the sun do not fall. Barberry leaves also dry in a ventilated room.

Preparing roots

The underground part of the shrub, which is dug up in autumn, is freed from the ground and rotten shoots and chopped into pieces up to 15 cm long. Segments of roots are split and placed in a dryer heated to 50 degrees.

Fruits and seeds

The oval berries of the prickly shrub are very small, their length does not exceed 12 mm. The bones of the barberry, like all parts of the plant, have healing properties. Harvest fruits without pulling out the seeds.

Storage duration

Dried leaves and roots do not spoil, do not lose useful components and can be used up to three years. Berries ground with sugar should be consumed within 6-12 months. The same amount of time is stored for jam or fruit jam.

Where and how to use blanks

Berry tincture is used to treat gout and scurvy, relieve stomach cramps, eliminate constipation, eye inflammation, and is also used as an antiseptic.

Decoctions and infusions are prepared from the root, which help:

1. Stop the bleeding.
2. Set up the gallbladder.
3. Improve metabolism.

The flowers are poured with boiling water and drunk as tea for colds. A decoction is prepared from the dry leaves of the shrub, which is used to narrow dilated blood vessels and speed up blood circulation.

Barberry is used to produce drugs that reduce blood pressure and normalize the heartbeat. Pills from berries are prescribed for hepatitis, to remove stones from the gallbladder. Dried fruits are used as seasoning, added to various dishes.

The bark of the shrub is crushed, placed in hot water, the infusion is taken 50 ml each for stomach pain, cystitis, impaired kidney function.

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