The collection of edible roots, berries, wild fruits is a fascinating activity! It will appeal to those who experience euphoria from the twittering of forest birds, the magnificent magnificence of green spaces, a sonorous stream and a flock of multicolored butterflies circling over forest flowers. Before you go on a trip, you need to figure out what is so valuable in the forest gifts of nature?
The value of berries and fruits
It is known that wild plants have the ability to accumulate mineral salts, vitamins and sugar in large quantities. Doctors emphasize that wild berries, roots and fruits significantly improve the digestion of food.
Along with this, the absorption of fats, proteins and minerals in the human body increases. Most often, the main components of berries and roots are vitamins: B, C, E, K, R. Of course, you can’t immediately eat all the collected gifts, therefore it is recommended to collect and prepare them according to all the rules.
Berries in the forest
The collection of edible roots, berries, wild fruits is a period of dry weather. Usually it begins on the fine days of May and ends in October-November. All wildlife buffs are advised to bring wicker baskets or plastic buckets along the way.
If the container is with a wooden bottom, it is advisable to fill it with paper blank sheets. This will help protect berries and roots from unwanted odors. Experts warn: fruits can not be knocked down with a stick or shaken off branches, as some do. After all, forest gifts can darken from a bruise and lose quality.
Collection and harvesting tips
How is the collection of wild berries and fruits? Usually in every locality of Russia there are your favorite plants. For example, for middle latitudes - mountain ash, hawthorn, wild rose, blueberries, blackberries.
First, visually evaluate the green space itself. Is it growing far enough from the roadway? The farther fruit trees and shrubs are from gazed places hiding in the depths of the forest, the more environmentally friendly they are. You should also examine the leaves of trees and shrubs - are they not affected by harmful insects?
Then you need to evaluate the berries and fruits themselves. For collection, it is recommended to select whole forest gifts with a bright color. It is very important that the rotten fruit or the crushed berry does not get into the general basket. This can lead to damage to the entire workpiece. After the container is filled to the top with wonderful gifts, we can assume that the collection of forest berries and fruits has been completed!
Save method
The next step is drying. This is a common storage method. It allows you to save not only the appearance of the berry, but also its taste. The most important thing is to choose the right place for drying.
It should be well ventilated and shady. Berries and fruits are washed before drying only if they are heavily contaminated. In other cases, this is not recommended. It is also important that the place for drying is not exposed to high temperature and direct sunlight.
Some lay berries and fruits on linen fabric, but still it is best to choose capacious containers with a lid. This will protect the wild-growing gifts from insects. As you can see, the collection of edible roots, berries, wild fruits is only the first step. You should study the technique of preserving natural wealth in order to get a quality product.
Common berries and fruits
Probably, inexperienced readers in the field of wild plantations will be interested to know that one of the most popular shrubs with fruits is lingonberry. It grows in deciduous and coniferous forests and is famous not only in Russia, but also in other countries.
Lingonberry is considered a prolific planting - one hundred square meters can produce about 60 kilograms of berries. They are used with great success in the form of a filling for pies and sweets. Also, cranberries make excellent jam and a cooling fruit drink.
Blueberries are no less popular in Russia. Her bushes resemble an open network, and poets compare it with a carpet. And what is most interesting, when you go on such a blueberry coating, you notice how varied the size and number of berries!
On old branches 10-15 pieces can hang, and on young branches only 5-6 berries. Despite its pleasant taste, blueberries do not have an aroma, but the jam from it turns out to be tasty. Medical studies have shown that if you regularly eat raw blueberries, then you can preserve your eyesight until old age.
Harvesting blueberries is different every year. In terms of yield, as they say, year after year is not necessary. In one season, you can spend a large amount of time collecting wild berries and filling only one can. And next year, the harvest may be so rich that local residents prefer to trade in berries.
No less valuable are the fruits of barberry. It is used not only in dessert dishes, but also as a seasoning for meat. Fans of autumn and winter walks will be happy to collect the fruits of hawthorn, rose hip and mountain ash. Jam is made from these berries, delicious drinks are made and medicinal infusions are made.
