" Apples
Owners of private houses often have a small orchard at the end of the garden. This makes it possible to consume organic fruits throughout the winter, especially apples.
But with the advent of autumn, questions are brewing: when to harvest? How to get ripe fruits from the tops of trees? Are there special devices?
You will find answers to these questions in our article.
Start picking apples autumn varieties can in September-October. The main thing is to be in time before the onset of frost, but not later than a month before the onset of stable frosts.
If it's too late to start harvesting, you can damage the tree. Namely:
- the frequency of fruiting increases;
- reduces the frost resistance of trees;
- the ability of vigorous growth in the spring is reduced.
At the time of harvest, apples should be sour and firm. This will extend their shelf life. Depending on the variety, apples will reach consumer maturity after 2-3 months.
Autumn varieties of apples should not be allowed to ripen. Such fruits are worse stored. harvested prematurely will not reach the correct taste and color, and will also begin to wrinkle.
Removable maturity of apples is determined on several indicators:
- fruit age - you need to know how much time has passed since the beginning of flowering, take into account the air temperature during this period;
- apple size;
- the main and integumentary color of fruits;
- seed color;
- fruit pulp density;
- starch content.
Only a specialist can determine the harvest time according to these criteria. An amateur gardener will have enough take into account such features:
- a larger number of fruits acquired a color characteristic of a particular variety;
- fruits are well separated from the stalks;
- apple seeds winter varieties acquired a brown color;
- apples are sour and hard.
If in calm windless weather under a tree there will be no a large number of fruits without visible damage and disease - it is also a signal to start harvesting.
Timely harvesting of apples of winter varieties is the key to proper fruit ripening, in which the pulp becomes loose, the taste improves, the aroma intensifies and the color characteristic of the variety appears.
Terms of harvesting different varieties for storage
Antonovka ordinary
Grows in temperate and humid climates. It is resistant to severe frosts and scab damage. Tall trees with a branched crown.
Antonovka will please with the first apples already for 5-8 years. Fruits profusely every year. Apples are oval-conical, weighing 100-200 grams. The pulp is white, juicy, the peel is yellow-green.
Removable fruit maturity - from late September to early October. Consumer maturity comes in a month. In the refrigerator, fruits are stored until the middle of winter, and in the basement, the shelf life is extended until early spring.
Anise
Known anise scarlet and anise gray or striped. winter-hardy fruit tree with a round crown. Tolerates drought well.
The apple tree begins to bear fruit at the age of five. Harvest variety, but the fruits are small, within 65-90 grams.
The skin of the fruit has a light green color with a pink blush, while anise has an orange-red blush. The pulp is sweet and sour, dense, white.
To collect the fruits of anise scarlet ready at the end of August - beginning of September. The shelf life of fruits is 3 months.
Removable ripeness of fruits of anise striped variety runs from late September to early October. This variety of apples is well stored until March.
Jonathan
Medium variety. Prefers wet fertile soils. The fruits are medium, rounded, weighing 100-150 gr. The skin is greenish-yellow with a blurred blush of dark red color.
Second decade of September optimal time to collect apples for storage. If the storage conditions are observed, the harvest can last until May.
Bogatyr
The tree reaches 2-3 m in height. Fruiting occurs at 5-6 years. The grade differs in early fructification and high productivity.
Apples are light green in color, turn yellow during storage. The fruits are sweet and sour, the flesh is firm and strong.
You can harvest at the end of September. At proper storage fruits can be preserved until May.
Aport
The trees are tall with a wide rounded crown. Average resistance to low temperatures. The first harvest will appear in 6-7 years. Low yield is compensated by large fruits weighing up to 0.5 kg.
Fruit with slightly pronounced ribs, narrowed towards the apex. The pulp is juicy, friable and white. It has a sweet and sour taste.
Apple picking falls in October. At right conditions storage fruits lie until March.
Rules for picking apples in the fall for winter storage
Harvesting is done only in dry weather. The fruits must be dry. Wet apples are more susceptible to various diseases.
They begin to take fruit from the lower branches. Then they continue to pick apples from the middle branches, gradually moving to the top of the tree. This will allow you to harvest without loss.
Do not aim to harvest apples in one day. Harvest on the south side first, where the fruits ripen a little faster. After 2-3 days, start harvesting fruit on the north side of the tree.
Harvest preferably in soft fabric gloves, which will prevent damage to the skin.
When harvesting for laying fruits for storage never shake the tree. Each apple must be carefully picked along with the stem.
When harvesting, try not to break the branches. This will lead to lower yields next year. Harvested fruit must not be thrown away. They must be carefully placed in pre-prepared containers.
How to harvest apple trees: choose the right tool
by the most in a simple way harvest is manual assembly fetus. But this is not always possible due to the height and spreading of the branches.
In order not to damage tree branches, climbing a tree is not recommended. It is better to use a stepladder or ladder.
To harvest from a height, you need use special equipment. It doesn’t matter what apples are eaten with, the main thing is that this device meets certain criteria:
- firmly hold the fruits;
- reach high;
- do not injure fruit;
- be convenient to use.
In stores for the garden and vegetable garden, a large number of fruit pickers of different shapes and materials are provided. The fruit picker is a container with slots for fixing the fetus and its safe separation from the stalk. Let's present some of them.
Tulip device
Made from durable plastic. It has the shape of a glass with rounded petals. A long handle is attached to the bottom of it.
When harvesting, the fruit should fall into the glass, and its stalk will be placed between the petals. To detach the fruit from the branch, it remains only to twist the fruit collector to one side.
Collet pickers
Made from wire which is a plastic tube. At the ends, the wire is bent into a circle. A fishing line is threaded through the wire rings, which controls the mechanism.
An apple is placed in the center of the fruit picker and pulled by the fishing line. As a result, the wire from above is connected and the fruit is trapped. It remains only to twist the device and tear off the apple.
With grip. Suitable for picking up small fruits that are caught in plastic parts. They look like a three-fingered hand.
With the help of a lever, which is located on the telescopic handle, the cavities are closed and the apple is inside the device. It remains only to tear the fruit from the branch.
Fruit pickers with bag. With this device, you can shoot several fruits at the same time. The bag is attached to a round shape with tin petals that act as a knife. It also has a handle holder.
It remains only to cut the apple, which will fall into the bag and not be damaged.
Fruit Picking Device
Fruit Picking Device - the latest device for harvesting. It is a long pole that extends 3 m.
A pruner is attached to its end, which is controlled from the other end. A mesh-stocking is attached along the length of the pole. After cutting, the apple falls into the net and rolls along it right into your hands.
The Fruit Picking Device is the latest and handy device for picking apples How to make a device for removing fruits from the top with your own hands
From improvised means and tools, it is possible to independently make a device for picking apples.
2 liter plastic bottle cut into two halves. You will need a part of the bottle with a neck.
A wedge-shaped slit is made on the cut line, with the help of which the stalk will be separated from the branch. Attach a stick of the desired length to the neck of the bottle.
The same two-liter bottle is taken just don't need to trim it. A long pole is attached to the neck. A circle is cut out in the middle. It should be a couple of centimeters larger in diameter than the apples being removed.
In the cut out circle, a v-shaped incision is made with a sharp part towards the neck. When harvesting with a closed fixture, apples are unlikely to fall out and be damaged.
In a 2 liter plastic bottle, cut off the bottom. On the same side, with the help of scissors, we form petals, in each of which we make two holes. We pass the fishing line through the neck, then we pass it in turn through each hole and bring it out again through the neck.
The result should be a bottle, from the neck of which two ends of the fishing line come out. We attach any holder available in the household to the neck, which is hollow in the middle (you can use a mop handle). We pass a line through it.
At the time of harvest, you need place the fruit in the center of the bottle and pull the line. In this case, the edges of the bottle will shrink and prevent the apple from falling out. By turning the handle of the device, the fruit will separate from the branch.
Do-it-yourself fruit picker from plastic bottle and rails:
Summarizing the above, it can be concluded that it is not enough to properly care for apple trees for getting big harvest for storage.
As well as it is important to take into account the variety of apples, clearly determine the removable ripeness of apples late varieties , rules for collecting bulk fruits, decide on a device for harvesting.
Only by combining all this into one whole, you can delight your family with homemade organic apples throughout the winter-spring period.
If the harvest of your apples is “on top” in every sense, this cannot but rejoice! But getting ripe juicy fruits from this height is not an easy task. An ordinary garden ladder can also help in this matter, but modern gardeners are used to saving time and effort. Therefore, today we will learn together how to make a device for removing apples from a tree, which will help you quickly and without loss to harvest the entire crop from any apple tree.
If you have only one or two trees with apples on your site, then there is no point in making a “capital” fruit picker, it is enough to make a simple device from a plastic bottle. Well, if your country house has a whole apple plantation, then it is best for you to buy a ready-made fruit picker
In the markets garden tools we have seen ready-made fruit picking devices more than once. According to their principle, we will create a fruit picker with our own hands. Our future fruit picker must meet the following requirements: to reach high and firmly hold the fruits, to be convenient to use. Let's look at the options that experienced and resourceful gardeners offer us.
As a rule, fruit pickers are made of plastic, but there are options made of metal. For example, the fruit picker, which is shown in the photo, costs around 700 rubles in stores, it is quite expensive, but the purchase will justify itself and will serve you for more than one year
But such a device for removing apples from a tree will cost, on average, 1200 rubles. Its advantage is that it is made of plastic and does not require special care, just store it in some shed and it will serve you for decades.
Option number 1: tenacious hand of the farmer
The device will consist of a grab and a holder. You will need:
- old plastic bottle;
- long fishing line (2.5-3 meters), awl, scissors;
- handle from an old plastic mop (can be replaced with a PVC pipe).
The manufacturing process of this fruit picker in the program "Crazy Hands":
So, let's start our easy work.
Step 1. We make enough (two-liter plastic bottle). We cut off the bottom of the bottle in a crown-like manner to form “petals”. We make 2 holes in each of the petals. To do this, you can use a small hole punch or a regular awl.
Now let's give the bowl tenacity. Take the fishing line and pull it through the neck into the bottle so that the latter is just below the middle of the fishing line. We thread the upper end of the fishing line in turn into each hole in a circle and bring it back through the neck of the bottle. Thus, we got a plastic bottle without a bottom with two long ends of the fishing line coming out through the neck.
Step 2 We fix the holder. As a holder, we take a hollow PVC pipe or a handle from an old plastic mop. A double line from a plastic bottle is threaded through the hole in the holder and exits from it. reverse side. If your mop handle has a detachable handle, you're in luck! It is to this part of the holder that the ends of the fishing line should be fixed. Make 2 holes in the handle, through which thread the fishing line, securing the ends tightly with each other. Put the handle back on the mop handle.
We have a plastic bottle fastened with a fishing line with a holder with a removable handle. Now try to remove the cap again, pulling the line slightly towards you. The cut edges of the bottle are compressed, while making grasping movements. Now not a single apple will leave you!
The scheme of another device for collecting fruits from trees: it will take a lot of time to create it, so we do not recommend that you take on its creation. Just showed what else homemade devices can be made
If the mop does not have a removable part, you can simply cut off its end by 15-10 cm. Make 2 holes on its sides, where the ends of the fishing line will be drawn. Then fasten them by tying them together.
Once again, if you have a lot of fruitful trees, then it is better to spend some money and buy a ready-made fruit picker that will last you more than one season.
For PVC pipes as a pen, you can use several caps from plastic bottles. For example, take 10 covers and make a hole in the center of each with an awl. Thread the free ends of the fishing line into the caps in turn and fasten to the last one. For stability, glue the caps together or make a knot from a fishing line with inside first cover. It turns out a convenient removable handle from the caps. Use it the same way you use a mop handle.
Video option for making a fruit picker with your own hands
And another option for creating a capital fruit picker
Option number 2: the simplest apple picker
1. Fruit picker with bowl
Step 1. And again, we can not do without such a necessary thing in the household as a plastic bottle. Cut it in half, separating the bottom part from the neck. We don't need the bottom anymore. On the cut edge, we cut out deep teeth, and drill 2 opposite holes in the neck.
Step 2. We are preparing a wooden pole, one end of which we adapt to the opening of the bottle. A handle from an old garden tool will do. Now we put the bottle with the neck on the pole and fix it with two self-tapping screws.
Collect apples with this device as follows: we bring the device to a branch with an apple; place the apple inside the bottle and rotate the apple tree picker clockwise. The teeth cut off the fruit, and it is inside the bottle. You can pick 2-3 apples at a time.
2. Closed fruit box
You can not cut off the bottom of the bottle, but just cut it out round hole on the side. From the bottom side in the hole, make a few cloves. After that, put the bottle on the pole in the already known way and start picking apples. The fruits are placed inside the bottle and plucked in one motion. A closed fruit picker picks apples more easily, but can pick up no more than two fruits at a time.
With the help of such a device, it will not be possible to collect many apples at a time, but the advantage of this device is the speed of its manufacture: if you have all the materials at hand, you will need a maximum of five minutes, or even less
The scheme of the device is simple: we cut a hole in the shape of a heart on the side of a plastic bottle, fasten the bottle to the holder with a screw or tape, and we can start picking apples or other fruits
Now you do not need to master the science of climbing trees and endless maneuvers with garden ladders, and the question of how to pick apples from a tall tree can no longer be asked. The most juicy apples will be harvested without difficulty thanks to your skillful hands and desire. A bowl of such homemade fruit pickers will last you a couple of years. After wear, it can be easily replaced using a new plastic bottle. Well, it remains for you to wish that the fruits of your skill will definitely help you get all the fruits from your apple trees!
How can you still pick an apple if it is on the top branch? If you don’t want to climb onto a stepladder, make a fruit picker. Here is at least one like that of V.S. Krutov from Vyborg. The device is convenient to use, easily separates the fruits from the branch, does not break the fruits (Fig. 124, A, B).
Rice. 124. Fruit pickers (dimensions in mm): A, B - designs by V.S. Krutova (1 - hole for attaching the bag, 2 - cord, 3 - pole); B - design by I.I. Lyashenko (1 - cutting 3-5 m, 2 - inner stick).
The material is a stainless steel plate with a thickness of 0.2-1 mm. If there is no such plate, an ordinary tin can will do. But for it to turn into suitable material, additional work is required: riveting the spring from the alarm clock for the elasticity of the glass and riveting the cutting edge, machined like the edges of scissors. We will make a bag for collecting fruits from a nylon stocking, it includes 5-6 fruits. You will also need a prefabricated pole (like a rod) and a cord. When removing the fruit, we bring the puller under it, turn it around the axis, and if the fruit has not separated, we will use the cord, then the apple will be cut like scissors.
Gardener from Sevastopol I.M. Lyashenko also uses tin can in the manufacture of the fruit picker, but somewhat differently. It makes three cone-shaped cuts 35 mm deep and 25 mm at the top (Fig. 124, B). Any pole 3-4 m long, 35-45 mm thick is attached to the bank. Drills two holes in the jar for 3-4 mm bolts, tightens them with screws of the same thickness. For better fixing, a bar is inserted inside the jar. In order not to damage the fetus, he glues the bike from the inside of the device.
The largest and tastiest apples are usually located on the upper branches, and it is very difficult to pick them. Fruit pickers, which are sold in the store, pluck only one fruit at a time. It is very long and inconvenient. You can’t take several pieces at once: apples are beating. Gardener from Tula B.F. The storm somewhat changed the fruit picker. I ripped open the textile pocket from the bottom and sewed on an apple conduit from 2-3 cotton stockings that had served their time. He cut off their socks, and sewed the stockings to the pocket one to the other so that the resulting sleeve did not narrow. With the scheme, each apple, pushing the walls of the stocking, falls smoothly, without damage. The length of the handle and the number of stitched stockings depend on the height of the tree.
N.P. Bezmelnitsyn from Volgograd made a device for picking fruit from a plastic bottle - packaging for detergent(Fig. 125). It will take only 5-10 minutes to cut the bottom and make a cut in the form of four petals on the cylindrical part near it, put the neck of the bottle on a wooden stick, attach it to it with a carnation. That's all: you have hands light(weight about 100 g), not damaging the fruit, convenient fruit picker. It is suitable for picking apples and pears; with a diameter of 85 mm, 4 fruits are placed in it at the same time, with a smaller diameter (76 mm) - 10-15 plums or apricots. The handle can be made removable, and its parts can be connected with an aluminum or duralumin tube.
Rice. 125. Fruit picker designed by N.P. Bezmelnitsyn (dimensions in mm): 1 - plastic bottle, 2 - wood detail, 3 - metal detail.
N. Yasinsky, a resident of the city of Livna, Oryol region, also turned out to be a good fruit picker. The device is easy to handle, does not damage the fruit during removal due to soft rubber rollers. A wooden pole, made up of two halves, allows you to pick up fruits from a great height. The fruit picker consists, according to the gardener, of a catcher, a pusher and a cloth or mesh bag attached to a pole (Fig. 126). Catcher and pusher are made from one piece of wire rod with a diameter of 3-4 mm "circle" in the form of a figure eight, bent at an angle of 90 °. You can shoot fruits up to 140 mm in diameter.
Rice. 126. Fruit picker designed by N. Yasinsky.
On the fruit picker, which was designed by P.I. dick out Stavropol Territory, rims and protrusions for prying fruits are made from a single sheet of durable roofing iron, corrugated along the length of the rim in one line, which gives it additional strength (Fig. 127). After riveting the ends of the rim, a circle with a diameter of 15 cm is obtained. The protrusions 4 cm high are further apart from each other than with commercially available plastic fruit pickers. A tube made of the same strong iron is riveted obliquely to the rim. A cutting of any length is inserted into it. Holes are punched at the bottom of the rim, through which a bag is sewn to the rim. When harvesting, it invariably occupies a vertical position, so the fruits, and they are collected in a bag up to one kilogram, do not fall out of it.
Rice. 127. Fruit picker designed by P.I. Dick.
V.D. Saraikin from Donetsk uses a delimber bought in a store to pick fruits. Reinforces it at the end of a 4-meter wooden pole with a diameter of 40 mm. And just below it attaches a wire ring with a diameter of 400-500 mm with a bag of rare nylon mesh (Fig. 128). To the moving end of the lopper he ties a twine of the same length as the pole.
Rice. 128. Fruit picker designed by V.D. Saraikin.
Gardener M. Abdusalyamov did not like the purchased fruit picker. Decided to do it to my liking. I took a 6-mm wire, made a ring with a diameter of 15-16 cm from it. I conditionally divided it into four equal parts (Fig. 129). I welded a tube to mark 1 at approximately an angle of 120 ° to the plane of the ring for the handle, to marks 2 and 4 - teeth at an angle of 60 °, to mark 3 - a cutter at the same angle. The teeth, 45 mm high and 10-12 mm wide at the base, are made of a bent 5 mm wire, and the cutter is made of a 1.5 mm thick steel plate sharpened from the inside. Attached to the ring is a pouch 25 cm long made of durable fabric. The cutter helps to pick any fruit from a freely swinging branch without damaging the buds and without shaking off the fruits growing nearby. With his device, the gardener picks up to 15 apples, pears or peaches at a time. For a working day, without any stairs, he collects 300-400 kg of fruit. According to the gardener, the device is also suitable for grape harvesting.
Rice. 129. Fruit picker designed by M. Abdusalyamov (dimensions in mm):
1, 2, 3, 4 - conditional labels; 5 - ring; 6 - tooth; 7 - cutter; 8 - cloth bag.
A.M.'s own device for picking up fruits. Stetsko from the Dnipropetrovsk region produces with the help of a metalwork vice or pliers. With the help of these devices, he bends two figures of different shapes from 4-5 mm wire, they are tied at the top and tied together to the pole. A mesh with small cells is attached to the fruit picker (Fig. 130). The stalk of an apple or pear occupies the corner of the inner figure and, turning left and right, breaks off from the fruit.
Rice. 130. Fruit picker designed by A.M. Stetsko (dimensions in mm):
1, 2 - parts of the fruit picker, 3 - combined parts, 4 - connection with the pole, 5 - finished fruit picker, 6 - fruit clamped in the fruit picker.
The next fruit picker (Fig. 131) was invented by M.I. Shetnev from Brovar. The device also consists of two wire rings (wire cross section 3-4 mm) with a diameter of 150 mm and two aluminum tubes 300 mm long (from old cot). The ends of the wire wheels are pressed into a tube and riveted. For the bolt that fastens both parts of the fruit picker, holes are made in the tubes 160 mm from the ring. Near it, on a long tube, a block for a cord is fastened, the end of which is fixed near the second ring. The second tube is connected to the first spring or rubber band to keep both rings at a given distance. A stocking bag is attached to the first ring, and a piece of tarpaulin is sewn to the second, according to its size. The free end of the first tube is connected to a collapsible pole. When harvesting, the gardener brings the device to the fruit, connects the rings by pulling the cord, the fruit is pressed against the ring and the tarpaulin, the bag opens, and the apple falls into it. If the fruit does not come off immediately, then the fruit picker must be turned in one direction and the other, the cord should not be released. This can be done when the fruit is already in the pouch. At one time, it is better to remove 3-5 apples or pears, otherwise the device will be difficult to hold.
Rice. 131. Fruit picker designed by M.I. Shetnev: 1 - ring, 2 - block, 3 - pipe, 4 - bolt, 5 - pole,
6 - stocking, 7 - canvas, 8 - lever, 9 - cord, 10 - spring.
Before sheathing the rings, the gardener wraps the wire in three layers with insulating tape so as not to damage the fruits. For picking apricots, plums and cherries, it uses a fruit picker of the same design, but with rings of a smaller diameter (25 mm).
And G.I. Tsybulnik from Dnepropetrovsk wanted to help the elderly collect fruits from the ground, especially those that rolled into the bushes of prickly gooseberries. He designed an original collector device, taking a thin-walled stainless steel tube with an outer diameter of 12 and a length of 800-850 mm. At one end of the device, the gardener welds a handle made of the same tube, at the other he fixes two aluminum tablespoons connected like scissors (Fig. 132). Pre-bends the same tube, on the second one fixes two aluminum tablespoons connected like scissors (Fig. 132). Preliminarily bends the handles of spoons at an angle of 90 °, holding them in a vise. Three holes are drilled on the handle of the upper spoon, and a weight of 40 g is strengthened at the end of it.
Rice. 132. Fruit picker designed by G.I. Tsybulnik (dimensions in mm):
1 - cork, 2 - plastic ball, 3 - string, 4 - load.
To the top spoon of EI. Tsybulnik ties a non-stretching cord, the second end of which is tucked into the hole and clamped with a wooden plug. A plastic ball with a diameter of 16 mm with a hole of 3.5 mm strengthens on the cord. The tension of the lace and the distance of the ball from the handle are set at your discretion. With one hand, the burst collector by the handle leads to the fruit lying on the ground, index finger presses the ball - the spoons clamp the fruit, and when it is brought to a bucket or basket, it releases the ball, the spoons release the fruit under the action of the load.
That's all about apple trees. However, not only they grow in the garden, but also other species. fruit trees. Their specific features and the ability of gardeners to "please" their pets will also be discussed in the book.
Hello to all DIY lovers!
At present, summer is drawing to a close and many have gardens in their dachas and household plots a rich harvest of apples, pears, plums and other fruits ripens.
At the same time, the issue of collecting these fruits is often very acute, especially since for long-term storage, fruits that have fallen and hit the ground should not be used, but it is necessary to carefully pluck them from the tree using some kind of fruit picking device.
I must say that for many years (almost since the appearance of plastic bottles), home-made fruit pickers made from a long stick with the top of a plastic bottle cut off at its end have been very popular among the people. The plastic bottle puller in this case is attached to the stick, usually with a small screw or nail.
I myself have been using a similar homemade fruit picker for many years.
However, during operation, I noticed that such a device with a permanent non-replaceable fruit picker has some drawbacks.
So, for example, the fruits that have to be collected are of very different sizes. For example, plums (even large ones), as well as summer apples and pears, are quite small, while many varieties of autumn and winter apples are truly huge.
Of course, you can attach a puller cut from a plastic bottle of the largest size to a stick and collect all the fruits with it.
However, practice shows that this can be very inconvenient, since the trees on which many small fruits grow, say, plums, have a very dense crown, through which it is often very difficult to squeeze a large fruit picker.
In addition, replacing a fruit picker attached in this way to a stick in case of breakage, say, if cracks form in the plastic, will not be possible quickly and easily enough!
As a result, the idea came to me a long time ago to make such a stick or a fruit picker bar so that, depending on the size of the fruits being harvested, it would be possible to quickly change the pickers from plastic bottles on it.
However, in past years, hands somehow did not reach this point, especially since there were no harvests similar to what is expected this year.
However, this year, in the face of a literally unprecedented harvest (and this year we had a truly unprecedented harvest of apples, pears and plums), I nevertheless decided to make such a device.
So, for the manufacture of a fruit picker with quick-change nozzles, we need the following accessories:
Materials and fasteners:
Long wooden stick or barbell;
Plastic cork from a plastic bottle;
Several plastic bottles of different sizes;
Three small screws 3x15 mm;
Insulating tape.
Tools:
Scissors (possibly a clerical knife);
Small saw for wood;
Electric drill;
Drill for metal with a diameter of 3 mm;
Screwdriver with a PH1 tip, or a corresponding bit;
Manufacturing process
First we saw off with a saw, the tip is at our stick. And we try to do it in such a way that the saw cut is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the stick.
Then we outline with an awl three holes in the cork from a plastic bottle. The centers of these holes should be 3-4 mm away from the side of the cork.
Now we drill the marked holes.
Then we screw the cork with screws to the end cut of our stick.
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After that, we firmly wrap the screwed cork and part of the stick under it with insulating tape. This is done to give additional strength and rigidity to both the cork and the top of the stick.
Now we cut out the fruit pullers from plastic bottles.
So far I have cut out two pullers (and I already had one), and they all turned out different sizes, respectively, to collect fruits of different sizes.
Now you can take any fruit picker and screw it into the cork. It only takes 2-3 seconds.
And now our device for collecting fruits is ready.
If necessary, we can quickly change the fruit picker to another. Again, this will only take a few seconds.
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Thus, our universal fruit picker with a set of nozzles is ready to go!
Now let's try it in action.
For example, let's use it to collect a basket of pears. To do this, I put on the middle nozzle.
And now the pear has already been plucked.
And now, in a very short time, I have narrated, in this way, almost half a basket of pears.
By the way, here I want to make a very important remark.
When working with such a fruit picker, you must remember that if you have to scroll it in order to pick the fruit (or cut off the fruit stem with the teeth of the nozzle from a plastic bottle), then you need to do this only clockwise, looking upwards. Otherwise, the plastic bottle nozzle may unscrew from the cork. However, after some practice, this is already done automatically.
In general, after several experiments on collecting different fruits with such a fruit picker, I was very pleased!
I must say that at the beginning I had fears that the cork from a plastic bottle, used as a fastener for various puller attachments, might be too flimsy. Still, during the harvesting of many fruits, rather large loads act on the puller nozzles (especially when you have to pick some fruits).
But nevertheless, as a result, the cork withstood everything very well, and without a single damage, which proved the practical suitability of such a fruit picker.
In addition, in the process of further operation, other advantages of this fruit picker were revealed.
For example, it turned out that a stick without a puller bottle is much more convenient and easier to store than with a screwed bottle.
Also nozzle-pullers, it is very convenient to store by inserting them one into the other like nesting dolls. So they take up very little space.
Moreover, I am thinking in the future to make two more nozzle-pullers from plastic bottles, one of the smallest - from a bottle of about half a liter and one large - from a 2.5-3 liter bottle. Right now I don't have bottles of this size on hand yet, but I will definitely do so in the future. Then the set of nozzles will be complete.
It is really convenient and greatly facilitates and speeds up the work!
Well, that's all for now and a successful harvest!