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Lovers of fresh forest berries study the places where blueberries grow and come there every summer. There are many blueberry trees in the forests of Russia, and industrial harvesting of the berries is organized. Unfortunately, the use of mechanical devices injures the bushes. Therefore, those who care about an environmentally friendly attitude towards nature collect medicinal 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 their low bushes, up to 15-40 cm in height, growing in areas rich in moisture and with high soil acidity. Blueberry plants are creeping. Thin shoots are green or dark brown, flexible, sparsely leafy, usually at the tops of the branches. The ovate leaves are small, with a finely toothed edge, a sharp apex, 1-2 cm long, bright green, and stand out well on the brown forest soil. The berries are single, small, less than 1 cm in diameter, covered with 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-colored leaves. Bushes often grow crowded, one next to the other. Pine forests and dark spruce forests located in cold and temperate climates are rich in healing berries, although large blueberry trees are also found in mixed forests.
How long does blueberry grow?
The berry forest plant is characterized by 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 decreases significantly. Although the bush grows branches and increases in volume, there are fewer and fewer fruits on it.
How blueberries bloom
Single drooping flowers in the shape of an elegant jug of pink-greenish color bloom from the last days of May to the end of the first ten days of June. Flowering times vary slightly, depending on the weather of the region where the 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. The mass harvest occurs in August and lasts even until mid-September. The fruits are small, weighing less than 1 g, and resemble a dark blue ball. Their tops are slightly flattened, with pronounced concentric lines in the recess. The pulp is juicy, dark in color, and quickly stains leather or fabric. The berries taste sweet and sour.
Where do blueberries grow in Russia?
Blueberries grow in almost all northern regions and in temperate climate regions, often choosing coniferous or mixed forests as their habitat. The area should be rich in moisture, even swampy, with a predominance of acidic soils. Many medicinal fruits are collected in the south of the Arkhangelsk region, in Karelia, Leningrad and Pskov forests, the Ural and Siberian taiga.
Where to pick blueberries in the Leningrad region
The Northwestern region is replete with conditions in which blueberries successfully grow and bear fruit: wetlands and forests with many coniferous trees. In the Leningrad region, medicinal berries grow everywhere. Blueberries are collected 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
The forests of the Moscow region are also rich in blueberries:
- spruce forests along the swamps;
- mixed birch-spruce forests;
- birch forests
Berries are collected in the following areas:
- Dmitrovsky;
- Taldomsky;
- Orekhovo-Zuevsky;
- Shatursky;
- Yegoryevsky;
- 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. People often go there 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 have to bend over to each bush and pick a berry. Those who find blueberries in the prime of their fruiting potential will be lucky. And from old bushes the harvest is weak. It is also necessary to take into account the places where the medicinal berry grows. Clearings near roads have most likely been explored more than once. There are only remnants of the current year's harvest. Those who go deep into the forest find still untouched blueberries.
Before going on a hike, be sure to think about your equipment: warm and waterproof clothes and shoes to protect yourself from ticks. Particular attention is paid to shoes. Wild blueberries grow in swampy areas where vipers also live. Therefore, the berries are collected extremely carefully, carefully inspecting the area. They also stock up on mosquito and midge repellents. City residents will benefit from using sunscreen.
An important element is a convenient container that allows you to pick 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 for milk or kefir with strings threaded and tied to them, which are attached to the shoulders;
- small children's buckets, also complete with ropes to hang around the neck.
How to quickly pick blueberries by hand
Berry pickers in the forests have developed a unique set of requirements for effective work:
- among the bushes that grow in the clearing, they look for the most productive one;
- they pick larger fruits with black skin;
- very small, greenish-white ones do not pick, because the blueberries ripen while they are growing, and do not ripen;
- tearing it off the stem, twist the fruit and remove it;
- unripe berries do not tear easily, they are left because they are tasteless;
- if there are a lot of fruits on a branch, grab them all with your palm and lightly rub them - the ripe ones come off immediately.
Devices for picking blueberries
In places where valuable forest fruits grow en masse, pickers use special hand-held harvesters. These devices are similar to a scoop equipped with long rake teeth at the bottom. Stems with a large number of fruits are captured by the combine and pulled through. Along with the berries, a lot of grass and leaves end up in the container. Many berries are also damaged. The shoots are injured. Therefore, amateurs do not like this method. It is used only by those who earn money this way.
Harvesters of forest products make such devices themselves or purchase them on the market. Then leaves, fragments of branches and other weeds are winnowed from the collected material. There are vacuum harvesters for collecting small fruits. They are also used by teams that hunt in remote forest plantations where there is a lot of bushes.
Rules for harvesting berries
It is difficult to pick small enough fruits; it is physical work, you will have to walk a lot and bend over to the plants. It is advisable to prepare medicinal products in the morning or in the afternoon, towards evening. There will be less fatigue.
If blueberries grow in forests near industrial cities, it is better to avoid picking them in such places.Berries that grow along heavily trafficked roads are also unfavorable.
When picked by hand, the skin will definitely be covered in dark blueberry juice. For collecting, which you don’t mind getting dirty with the juice of forest fruits, which is very difficult to remove. When approaching the plant, you may not deliberately crush a fallen overripe berry, which will also stain the soles of your shoes. Therefore, when returning from the forest, they do not enter the house in boots.
We must also remember about safety, since bears love to feast on sweet fruits. Inexperienced and unfamiliar with forest life, pickers should go in groups of several people.
An unwritten 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 made into jam.
Conclusion
Having remembered the place where blueberries grow, lovers come to pick the valuable berries the next year. Although the collection is not easy, once you get the hang of it, you can stock up on medicinal fruits for your family.
