Harvesting of Haskap berries is a delicate process, requiring precision and care to ensure the berries are picked at their peak ripeness. Here’s how everything is carried out:
- Timing is Crucial:
Harvesting Haskap berries at the right time is essential to capture their peak flavor and nutritional content. Though timing varies depending on the specific variety and local climate, generally, it occurs in late spring to early summer.
- Visual Inspection:
Harvesters visually inspect the berries to identify their optimal ripeness. Ripe Haskap berries are plump, uniformly colored, and have a slightly soft texture. They should be free from any signs of unripeness, such as a green hue, and overripeness, such as a mushy consistency.
- Hand Harvesting:
Haskap berries are typically hand-harvested, requiring skilled labor. Harvesters carefully pick each berry by hand to avoid damaging the delicate fruit and to ensure only fully ripe berries are collected. This technique allows for selective picking, as not all berries on a single bush ripen simultaneously.
- Gentle Handling:
Harvesters use soft containers or baskets to collect the berries without causing damage. The delicate nature of Haskap berries requires gentle handling throughout the harvesting process, ensuring the berries aren’t bruised or crushed.
- Multiple Passes:
All Haskap berries don’t ripen at the same time. So, to maximize the harvest, multiple passes are often made through the same field or orchard, ensuring that each berry is picked at its peak, contributing to a higher-quality yield.
- Harvesting Techniques:
Various harvesting techniques may be employed, depending on the scale of the operation. For instance, for small-scale or backyard growers, handpicking is the most common method while larger commercial operations may require mechanical harvesters to gently shake the berries loose from the bushes, allowing for a more efficient harvest.
- Quick Processing:
Once Haskap berries are harvested, they are quickly processed to maintain their freshness and quality. This involves sorting, cleaning, and packaging the berries for distribution. Rapid processing is particularly crucial due to the berries’ limited shelf life.
- Storage Considerations:
Proper storage is vital to preserve the quality of harvested Haskap berries. They are usually kept in cool storage conditions to slow down deterioration. Further, refrigeration or freezing may be employed to extend their shelf life for both commercial and home use.
So, harvesting of Haskap berries involves careful inspection, gentle handling, and swift processing. To witness this entire process, you can visit Haskap blue honeysuckle farms for a real-time berry picking experience.
