When forest and meadow strawberries ripen in different regions - a unique taste!

Where does it grow and what does it look like?

Strawberries grow throughout the entire former Soviet Union. The largest number of berries can be found in Eastern and Western Siberia, the central regions of Russia, the Moscow region, Kaluga, Novosibirsk, Tula, Lipetsk, Voronezh and Orenburg regions.

Wild strawberries are divided into three varieties:

• Forest - as is clear from its name, this berry can be collected on the edges of spruce and pine forests, forest clearings. Ripens in the second half of June, fruiting period is up to 4 weeks.
• Meadow - most often this berry can be seen in spacious clearings and meadows. Meadow strawberries are distinguished by their round berries and dark red color. It is well stored and does not deteriorate during transportation.
• Field - grows on the edges of deciduous forests, clearings and hay meadows. In central Russia, wild strawberries are harvested already in the first half of July. Fruiting duration is up to 20-25 days.

Note: Wild strawberries have a very soft and delicate consistency, so they cannot be stored or transported for a long time. Ripe berries should be eaten immediately or used for making jam, marmalade, marmalade and other winter preparations.

Useful properties of wild strawberries

People have known since ancient times that the fruits of the forest beauty are not only tasty, but also healthy. The berries were dried, the leaves and stems were prepared for future use, so that they could be brewed into tea in the winter to protect themselves from colds and various infections.

What are the benefits of wild strawberries:

• lowers cholesterol levels;
• normalizes blood pressure;
• enriches the blood with red blood cells, used in the treatment of anemia;
• has a beneficial effect on the activity of the heart and blood vessels;
• helps prevent the development of atherosclerosis;
• improves intestinal function;
• lowers blood sugar;
• indicated for those who suffer from diabetes, as it is a dietary product;
• good for hemorrhoids;
• used as a means to remove parasites from the intestines;
• used as an anti-colic remedy in the treatment of gastritis.

Berry decoctions are an excellent diuretic, and they have a pleasant taste. With regular use, kidney function improves and toxic components are removed from the body, which is especially important for diseases of the genitourinary system.

Gargling with decoctions and infusions for sore throats and pharyngitis is very useful. Strawberry juice is a good remedy for problems with the oral cavity: inflammation, periodontal disease. Based on the berries, various cosmetic masks for the skin are made that have a rejuvenating effect.

On a note! Fresh wild strawberries remove bad breath. This tool is much more useful than various “orbits”.

In addition to berries, strawberry leaves and flowers are widely used in folk medicine. Decoctions and infusions are prepared from them, and the greens are poured with boiling water to obtain a fragrant, delicious tea. The leaves of the plant are an effective wound-healing agent (similar to plantain), which is used to treat cracks, abrasions, wounds, dermatitis and eczema.

To treat the respiratory system, a decoction is prepared from the flowers and leaves of the plant. Tinctures and lotions made from decoctions and juice help with joint diseases. The beneficial properties of strawberry decoctions are known for constipation, gout, uterine fibroids, and various pulmonary diseases.

In addition, delicious tea made from brewed dry leaves, berries and strawberry flowers improves immunity, fills the body with energy, and gives strength. It is useful after illnesses, effective after operations, injuries, and is used for recovery and rehabilitation.

Maturation period

In what month strawberries begin to bloom depends on the region where they grow. In the Moscow region, the flowering of the plant begins in the second half of May. In the northern regions - in early June.

The flowering period lasts up to 6-8 days, after which berries form on the bush. When deciding when to pick ripe strawberries, you need to take into account that it takes 20 to 30 days for the berries to fully ripen.

Strawberries begin to ripen gradually, and not simultaneously, due to which the harvesting period also lasts up to 30 days

Crowberry

Why it is useful: Another name for crowberry is crowberry or crowberry. The berry strengthens the immune system and is useful for high blood pressure and metabolic disorders. It has antiseptic and wound-healing properties, relieves inflammation and spasms. Crowberry is also rich in antioxidants and vitamins. Another advantage of the berries is their ease of storage; just fill them with water and put them in the basement, so they will last until the next harvest.

When to pick: The berries grow in the tundra beyond the Arctic Circle, ripen in August, and are collected until late autumn, until frost sets in. Even in winter, the leaves of the crowberry bushes do not fall, but after cold weather they acquire a purple-black color.

When to collect depending on region

When to pick strawberries depends on the weather and climatic conditions of the specific region where they grow. In the central regions of Russia, berry picking can begin in June or early July. The further north the region is located, the later the berries ripen. Residents of Siberia collect strawberries in the forests and fields until the end of August.

In the south of the country, strawberries will ripen much earlier - in the last weeks of May. Ripe berries can be picked until the end of June.

When strawberries are harvested in different regions:

Note: We can conclude that in the southern regions you can start picking strawberries at the end of May or from the first days of June in the northern regions - throughout July. In this case, strawberry flowers and leaves used for tea are collected during the flowering period of the plant, before the berries ripen.

Taste of fruits

When strawberries ripen, at first the fruits have a sour, slightly bitter taste, but this is normal for wild strawberries. When the next wave ripens, the taste becomes sweeter than the previous one and the bitterness disappears. Subsequent berries have an even more pronounced sweet taste.

The taste of the berries also depends on the weather conditions under which the strawberries ripened. If the summer is rainy, the berry becomes unpleasant to the taste, too soft and watery. Picking such berries is bad, as they turn into mush in your hands.

In dry summers, when wild strawberries ripen, the fruits become small and dry. Under fairly normal summer conditions, strawberries look tasty and appetizing, the berries are beautifully shaped, have an even color, are juicy and aromatic.

Features of collection

The duration of strawberry fruiting depends on several factors. With prolonged drought, the fruiting period is rapidly shortened, the berries quickly wither and spoil. Therefore, in the heat, you should not hesitate to go to the forest.

It is advisable to pick strawberries early in the morning - this will increase their shelf life, and midges and other insects will not bother you while picking the berries.

The fruits must be carefully inspected before harvesting. They should be completely red. Green tips indicate that the strawberries are not yet ripe. If the berries are too soft, they are overripe

Collection container

Strawberries are a very delicate and fragile berry that is harvested exclusively by hand. Its collection is quite labor-intensive. To prevent it from leaking juice immediately after being removed from the bush, it can be placed in low plastic bowls.

For collection, it is most convenient to use plastic containers with ventilation holes. With their help, you can monitor the condition of the collected fruits - as soon as drops of juice appear in the holes, the container is already completely filled.

For this purpose, you can use ordinary plastic baking containers, having previously made 15-25 holes in them. It is advisable to take several of these containers.

Since the collected strawberry fruits quickly deform and begin to drain juice, the following containers are not used for collecting them:

• glass bowls and jars;
• metal cans;
• galvanized and aluminum buckets.

An ordinary wicker basket is a good option for carefully and delicately picking strawberries. Such containers do not compress the fruits and provide them with natural ventilation

Collection rules

One of the main conditions for properly harvesting strawberries is picking ripe fruits along with green calyxes. That is why the process of harvesting wild fruits is long and labor-intensive.

Basic collection rules:

When can you collect pine cones for jam?

• Berries should be picked only in dry and warm weather. Drops of rain or dew on the fruits will lead to their rapid spoilage and rotting.
• When harvesting for jam or preserves, it is better to pick the berries in small armfuls. This will significantly reduce collection time.
• The fruits must be picked very carefully and carefully. Strawberries have a fragile and sensitive root system and with strong pressure you can easily tear out the entire plant.
• Strawberries cannot be compacted; they are placed in a container in no more than 2-3 layers.
• If it starts to rain while picking or transporting strawberries, the collected berries should be spread out in an even layer in a cool room and left until completely dry.

Strawberries are picked by hand. Many farmers and gardeners use scissors to harvest, carefully cutting off the berry with a long tail or cutting it off at the very base. This method is quite effective, since the cut berries do not leak juice and are not deformed.

If the harvested crop will be used for making preserves and marmalade and will undergo heat treatment, you can use special fruit harvesters.

Blueberry

Why it is useful: This medicinal berry is rich in vitamins and minerals, it improves tone, stimulates metabolic processes, and relieves inflammation. The most important property of blueberries is its antioxidant effect. It contains lutein, which has a beneficial effect on the visual apparatus, flavonoids, which improve the condition of nervous tissue, anthocyanidins, and rejuvenating cells. Blueberries are recommended for the prevention of age-related blindness, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

When to Harvest: Blueberries are harvested from July to September.

Harvesters for harvesting

Convenient harvester-harvesters designed for harvesting can be purchased in specialized stores for gardeners and vegetable gardeners. They greatly simplify and speed up fruit harvesting.

There are two types of berry harvesters:

• Manual - primitive devices. Outwardly, they resemble a small box with “teeth”, with the help of which berries are picked from a branch.
• Mechanical - the principle of operation of such devices is reminiscent of a grain harvester with a fully automated fruit harvesting process. Most often, such devices are used on large farms with large-scale berry plantations.

When choosing a small hand harvester from a gardening store, you need to pay attention to the size of the tines. For strawberries that are small in size, devices with gaps of up to 6 mm between the cloves are best suited. Such harvesters will pass through leaves and branches well, “collecting” the berries in a box.

To harvest strawberries, you cannot use devices with too many teeth, as they cause serious damage to the desired bushes, reducing their yield for several years. That is why such harvesters are considered poaching, and their use is punishable by fines.

Chemical composition

One hundred compounds have been identified in strawberries, including esters, aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, terpenoids, furans and lactones.

The berries contain:

• proteins;
• oils;
• Sahara;
• acids (ascorbic, citric, salicylic, oxalic, malic);
• vitamins (A, C, group B, PP);
• micro- and macroelements (magnesium, iodine, iron, phosphorus, potassium, copper);
• pectin, nitrogenous, phenolic and tannin compounds.

Due to the presence of a large amount of water in the fruits, the energy value of 1 kg of berries is only 390 kcal.

Answers on questions

How to store the harvested strawberries are perishable berries. If storage rules are not followed, the fruits quickly lose their marketability and taste. It is for this reason that strawberries cannot be washed after picking, and soft brushes are used to remove debris.

Rules for storing strawberries:

• Go through the collected fruits - remove all rotten, softened fruits, as well as all specimens with traces of mold. One such berry can lead to rapid spoilage of the entire harvest.
• Strawberries can be stored in a plastic container with ventilation holes for no more than 2 days. In a wicker basket, fruits are preserved much better and longer.
• Plastic containers lined with paper napkins are used to store strawberries. The optimal temperature is from 0°C to +2°C. In such conditions, the berries will last up to 5-7 days. The higher the air temperature, the shorter the shelf life of strawberries.

How long can crops be stored fresh? Strawberries do not last long. It is advisable to start processing on the day of collection. Leave in the refrigerator for a maximum of 2 days. Longer storage is possible only in frozen form.