Berry and Fruit Picking Tips & Tricks

BERRY PICKING
When you pick berries that have thorns, wear long stockings with the feet whacked off--not nylons--or some similar heavy protection on your arms so you won't get too badly scratched. A leather belt around your waist with a half gallon can hanging on it is handy, and then you can empty the berries into a big bucket when the little one is full. Don't worry about leaves and such when you're picking. You can put the berries in water when you get home, and leaves will float to the top; you can just scoop them away.

SECRETS OF FRUIT PICKING
1. Pick on a dry day because damp fruit is more likely to spoil.
2. Store fruit in a cool place soon after it is picked.
3. For safety's sake, pick into something that leaves your hands free. This could be a bucket hanging from your belt, or a fruit-bag that fastens around your waist and hangs like an apron down your front.
4. For least bruising and best condition, pick each fruit by hand.
5. Bend the fruit upward. Twist gently to fee it from the branch. A ripe fruit should easily separate. Keep the stem in the fruit. If pulled out, rot can develop in the hole.

PRE-TREATMENT FOR FREEZING FRUIT
Fruit can be packed for freezing without a sweetener or liquid. Fruits that will be eaten raw or used for pies or jams after thawing will be fine without a sweetener. Just slice or crush them in their own juice, or even freeze them whole.

["Berry Picking" and "Secrets of Fruit Picking" excerpted from Chapter 6: Tree, Vine, Bush and Bramble. Illustration copyright 1994 by Cindy Davis. "Pre-Treatment for Freezing Fruit" excerpted from Chapter 7: Food Preservation.]

A Tree for All Seasons

Nothing embodies the lushness and fecundity of Mother Nature quite like a fruit tree. Raising fruit trees on your own takes a good deal of care and dedication, though the payoff is undoubtedly well worth the effort. Fortunately, there are several varieties beyond your standard apple or plum tree that can withstand tough conditions, bear copious fruit, and beautify any garden.

So, pencils out! Here’s a quick quiz for you to show off what you know about these lesser-known trees and shrubs. If you’re not feeling too confident, don't fret; take the quiz anyway and chances are you’ll learn a useful thing or two about some pretty terrific trees.

1. What tree will thrive on steep, rocky, poor-soil, arid hillsides, and though it takes 40 years to reach full maturity, will then produce a generous human-food and stock-food crop annually—even through drought and total neglect—for centuries?

2. What temperate-zone fruit has an 8- to 12-inch deciduous leaf, bears a delicious 5-inch fruit, is hardy to -30˚F, can grow in partial shade, can handle the competition of being in the middle of a lawn, and is virtually pest- and disease-free?

3. What tree, hardy to 20˚F or able to live in a container and winter in a basement, will bear two crops of fruit, one in June and the other in August, and (out of the South) is usually not bothered by pests or diseases?

4. What temperate to subtropical zone fruit will grow in subsoil clay where all the topsoil has washed away, or in sand; is drought-resistant once established; can grow in a lawn; can provide ripe fruit continuously from August or September to December or February; will store fruit in good condition on the tree all that time; bears fruit generously; and yields prized carving wood?

5. What plant that is not a pear, but is related to the pear, can produce yellow, baseball-sized fruits in zones 5-9 despite late frosts or drought and is a good choice if you have poorly drained soil?

6. What temperate-zone fruit tree can grow almost anywhere, can handle the competition of a lawn, heavy or poor soil and poor drainage, could get along on one deep watering a month, needs little pruning, is immune to fire blight, can produce for up to 75 years, and bears fruit you can store in your cellar 2-3 months while you get around to eating or preserving them?

Answers: 1. Carob. 2. Pawpaw. 3. Fig. 4. American persimmon. 5. Quince. 6. Keiffer pear.

(Check out our blog next week for tips on proper tree pruning.)