Device for removing plums from a tree. How to make a do-it-yourself cherry picker from a tall tree. Design requirements

Harvesting fruits and berries is a pleasant but not always easy activity. This is especially true for cherries. It is very difficult to collect cherries from mature and branched trees, sometimes even modern high, comfortable stairs do not help. Meanwhile, a simple device that you can make in a short time will greatly facilitate this work and allow you to collect the ripest berries on the highest branches.

To make the device, take an ordinary PET bottle and cut it in half with a sharp blade. You will use the bottom of the bottle. Then, from a piece of wood, cut out a horseshoe-shaped segment, the inner diameter of which corresponds to the diameter of the bottle, and drill several holes in it, as shown in the photo:

The diameter of the holes should correspond to the diameter of the wooden chopsticks, which must be made in advance (or take ready-made chopsticks).

With the help of PVA glue, pieces of sticks must be fixed in the segment and this whole structure should be tied to the outside of the bottle with a wire or a thin rope, threading the sticks into the holes drilled for them.

The last step is to attach a pole or pipe of the required length to the manufactured container using adhesive tape (adhesive tape).

When it's time to harvest, many happy garden owners start to think again about where to buy or how to make a handy device for picking cherries from a tall tree. This is really a problem: a large part of the crop sometimes disappears due to the inability to reach the top of the plant.

Fixture Features

On the market you can find a lot of improvised means for removing cherries from the top of a tree, but you can do the same at home. The manufacturing process is simple, and the materials that are required for this, for the most part, can be found at home.

When choosing a device, you need to consider several factors.

• Efficiency (how quickly they can pick berries and whether they will crumble or deteriorate).
• Safety (can they get hurt, etc.).
• Convenience (how comfortable it will be to hold it in your hands, work for a long time).
• The length of the handle (it is important that it is sufficient to reach the top of the desired tree and pick the berries).

Types of pullers

Each person should be guided by what type of improvised means will be more convenient for him personally.

To collect fruits from a tree, gardeners often use one of the homemade varieties of pullers:

• in the form of an iron can with teeth;
• a plastic bottle with a hard wire hook attached;
• a hook from a tube through which cherries fall into a bag or bag.

From the tube

For this type of puller, you need to take a pipe with a wide diameter so that 3-4 cherries or sweet cherries can simultaneously slip through it.

Since the device will have to be kept on weight for a long time, the most preferred materials are aluminum or plastic.

One end of the tube is cut at an angle. The pointed end is cut into 2 parts. The groove between them should be such that the leg of the fetus can easily be inserted into it. The resulting 2 ends are bent so that you end up with a hook. To do this, it is best to heat them with fire and rest them on something solid.

The other end is also amenable to heating, after which it is placed on a solid base (for example, a cut bottle), on which a bag or bag for cherries will be put on during collection. Thus, picking high-growing berries will not be difficult.

This type of harvesting device is the most popular because of its convenience, but not everyone has a similar tube at hand in the country at a crucial moment, so you should familiarize yourself with other options.

From a plastic bottle

A home-made device made from PET bottles is also common. To do this, it is cut into 2 parts and after that the upper part is taken. A piece of hard wire is glued to it with a rope and glue or tape so that a watering can is formed. The stem of the fruit should pass into the narrowed groove of the wire, after which, when pulled, the berry comes off and ends up in the bottle.

The design is simple for making at home, therefore it is popular with gardeners.

In this case, they try to choose a stick according to the width of the neck of the bottle, so that it is convenient to put it on or stick it. Some prefer to use the bottom of the bottle.

From a tin can

This method is less common due to the fact that the resulting sharp edges can easily be injured.

It is not advised to use it, especially if you have small children in your family.

In a tin, you need to cut a hole so that there are teeth on top of the lid that can grab and hold the berry. The jar is tied to a stick or an aluminum metal tube so that the puller is not too heavy.

Usage

Depending on the type of device, its use may vary. It is important to take into account its structure and think in advance what difficulties may arise in the work.

Whatever option is chosen, its application will come down to one thing - to hook or hook a berry, and then, feeling that the berry is fixed, you need to pull it with force and remove it into a special container (jar, bottle, bag, etc. ). Then, from this container, cherries are poured into buckets or boxes.

conclusions

Every gardener can make a special device for removing high-growing cherries. Its design and materials are not complicated or inaccessible, but you should be careful and choose the material, as well as the type of puller, according to your needs. Harvesting with it will be much easier and more enjoyable.

You can estimate the height of my cherries in this photo by a ten-meter overhead power line pole located near one tree.

I don’t have an aerial platform, and the juiciest berries are located at the top: they are perfectly illuminated by the sun’s rays. For a long time I adapted to shoot them in three different ways.

I share my experience on how to collect cherries from a tall tree with my own hands without involving complex equipment.

When to start harvesting cherries

The berries begin to ripen immediately throughout the tree, acquiring a brown color and an original sweet taste. Red fruits have not yet gained enough vitamins, they are sour. I leave them to ripen when harvested.

Mass picking of berries for winter harvesting starts from the bottom: from the root, and ends at the very top, gradually moving towards it along the height of the entire tree.

It is necessary to work in dry weather, when there is no excess moisture on the cherry. And after the rain, you should not collect: there will be porridge.

climber method

This method of picking cherries requires good physical fitness.

Always remember the safety rules

Climbing trees is possible only for people with good health and excellent coordination of movements, able to perform stretching exercises for a long time without fear of working at heights.

It is obligatory to have elementary skills in climbing work, to follow the safety rules for this specialty. To do this, they need to study and purchase safety equipment from falls.

I mastered and improved them while serving in the army, as well as working in electrical networks.

Based on my own experience, I warn you: work at height according to the current safety rules starts from 1.3 meters, and climbing - from 5 m.

Necessary climbing tools

To collect cherries at a height you will need:

1. installer's safety belt;
2. wire hooks for pulling branches with fruits;
3. a container for cherries with a hook suspended on knots;
4. preferably stairs.

Mounting belt

In industrial conditions, the employee is obliged to use a mounting safety belt. He saved the lives and health of so many people. I do not advise you to neglect this point: a tree branch or a ladder rung can break off at any moment.

And it’s not difficult to slip, balancing with a load of berries at a height. If it is not possible to purchase an industrial belt, then it is permissible to tie yourself with a safety rope.

The self-made belt shown in the photo should be supplemented with shoulder straps and a piece of rope with a self-clamping carabiner. Only in this case it can be used, relying on your own fear and risk, because such equipment must be tested for strength with ultimate loads.

Hooks for pulling branches

The tree at the top is growing. Thin long branches far away from the trunk. It is impossible to get them by hand. A simple homemade cherry picker helps.

I take a piece of steel wire a little more than a meter and bend its ends with a crochet hook on both sides. At a height it is convenient to take it in your hand, pull the distant branches with fruits.

The hook with the free side clings to the knot or bark of the trunk. As a result, the hands are free, the cherries are nearby. It remains only to collect them.

The photo shows that the color of steel rust merges with the background of the branches. Therefore, such a hook is periodically lost, remains on the tree. I advise you to paint it with white or yellow paint. I had such an idea for a long time, but my hands somehow do not reach ...

climber's bucket

Any container with a handle is suitable for picking cherries at a height. It is convenient for me to work with ordinary five-liter polyethylene buckets. However, they can be dropped from a height for any reason.

To prevent this, I tie them with soft wire with a hook. It is convenient for him to hang this container on an adjacent branch. Hands are freed to fix the body at a height and collect berries.

You can also fill ten-liter buckets with cherries. But climbing with them on the top of a tree is difficult: the weight affects. The berries from constant shaking when moving along the tree are once again crushed, letting the juice flow.

Yes, and removing such a load to the ground is not as easy as it might seem: you need an additional rope.

She also helps when there is a helper on earth. I trust him to replace the bucket of fruit with a new empty one.

Climb to heights only in good physical condition. If you notice a deterioration in well-being or a weakened reaction, then postpone this work until the moment of full recovery of strength.

A device for picking cherries from a tall tree

It greatly facilitates climbing work.

Design requirements

The idea of ​​this device was borrowed a few years ago from some video. The most interesting thing is that even children enjoy using it, quickly picking fruits from the lower branches.

When I was making it, I went through a lot of recommended designs. I didn’t like the ideas of lowering torn fruits from a height through pipes into a container: ripe cherries are very juicy and soft.

Upon impact, it is crushed or broken, splashing juice. If someone is satisfied with such a mess, then it does not suit me. Therefore, I pick the fruits with a comb, leading it over a cluster of cherries, and they fall immediately into a substituted jar from a five-liter PET bottle.

Below it is a soft lining made of ordinary crumpled polyethylene film. In this way, the berries are subjected to minimal damage.

It is difficult to lift heavy objects and operate them at height. Therefore, it is necessary to facilitate the adaptation as much as possible due to the choice of material and the optimal length of the stick.

Installation and device

As you already understood, my device includes 3 main elements:

1. a working comb for placing berries under the stalks and tearing them off;
2. container for catching falling cherries;
3. a pole that allows you to shorten the distance to the fruit.

It performs the main work, it is made of steel wire in the form of the letter "G". Short parts bent at a right angle are inserted into the holes of the cap screwed onto the cut-off neck of a plastic bottle.

They are wound between the segment of the neck and the side walls of a wooden pole inserted inside. From above they are clamped with a screwed-in self-tapping screw with a metal washer.

Lateral movements of the comb elements are limited by wound soft wire.

Cherry picker

A five-liter PET bottle is cut off from the bottom and put on a pole.

I selected the shape of the cutout empirically, gradually increasing the space for introducing the working comb to the clusters of berries.

Here it is necessary to observe the optimal size. Otherwise, it will be difficult to provide two questions at the same time:

1. Get a comb over the cherries.
2. Avoid falling fruits when falling past the prepared jar.

container mount

There is a rather large void between the walls and the stick. I filled it with plastic wrap: it also softens the blows of falling cherries. When it gets dirty, I just change it with a clean piece.

And from above, through the punctures in the wall, he tied the jar with a wire clamp.

A self-tapping screw with a wide washer can also be screwed into this place. But my wire works for several seasons.

Pole

Choose the material and length according to your needs. When I was experimenting with the design, I came across a piece of birch stick. He remained on this device.

A dried thin tree trunk will be longer and lighter. I also had an idea to use an old bamboo rod. But I haven't tried it yet. I still work with birch.

How the fixture works

I wind the comb from above over the hanging cherries and make a sharp downward movement, tearing them off the stalks.

The berries fall into the jar. I fill it no more than half, and then I tilt it to the substituted bucket and carefully pour it into it.

You can work at any height. My high tree cherry picker is easy to use from the ground.

I often get them to the fruits located at the top, being on a ladder.

For the manufacture of such a device, scarce materials, tools and equipment are not needed. Even a schoolboy can do it in ten minutes. But, it really makes it easier to pick cherries from a tall tree.

Crown thinning

Here, too, climbing skills are needed. But they should be supplemented by the experience of a gardener: it is necessary to take into account the subtleties of pruning and rejuvenation of trees. This process allows you to form the correct cherry crown, providing it with optimal lighting and ventilation.

The highest branches, especially those that stretch to the wires of the overhead power line passing nearby, always have to be cut. If this is not done, then the mobile team of rural power networks can remove them on their own, or even cut a tree growing in the overhead line protection zone.

How to optimally cut a branch with fruits of juicy cherries

Once upon a time, I tied a hacksaw for wood to a long pole and, with such a simple device, cut a high-lying branch directly from the ground. She was falling. And sometimes it clung to the top of neighboring branches. I had to separate it all somehow.

The fall of a cut branch from a height to the ground ended with the fact that juicy cherries not only burst upon impact, but also broke away from the stalks, falling to the ground. Garbage sticks to them: sand, mud, dry grass.

As a result, a quarter of the crop had to be lost by simply throwing it away. I refused this method, I do not recommend it to you. And I trim the extra branches in the following sequence:

1. I climb a tree trunk with a hacksaw and two long ropes.
2. I tie the ends of the ropes to the branch being cut off above the place of the future cut.
3. I throw one rope down to my assistant. He will use it as a quickdraw, change the direction of lowering to the ground, and prevent branches from clinging.
4. I leave the end of the second rope to myself, but I pass it through a strong cherry bough. It is desirable that it be slightly higher: it will work better as a support or block. I leave this end short, I fix it on a tree.
5. With a hacksaw, I completely cut the branch below the place where the ropes are attached. She falls and hangs on my rope.
6. Together with a partner, with joint neat actions, we lower a branch with juicy fruits of cherries.
7. It remains only to collect them on the ground, picking them from a branch: this is an easy job even for children.

Here is such a simple sequence of seven actions allows you to remove the cherry from the very top neatly and without damage.

You should not be afraid that pruning will damage the tree. This method is used to improve fruiting in subsequent years: the berries become larger and juicier. On the cut place, young shoots are formed, giving a good harvest of cherries.

My neighbor in the country does not do pruning. The crown of its cherries is thickened with numerous shoots. Some of them have already dried up, additionally obscures the sun, impairs ventilation. The fruits grow small and singly. There are practically no clusters of cherries.

That's basically the whole description of my three proven ways to collect cherries from a tall tree. I use each of them according to the circumstances, and you choose the one that you like.

As a small bonus, I recommend a simple homemade product that allows you to perform pitting cherries at home fast and convenient.

If something is not clear, then ask in the comments. I will answer.

Those gardeners on whose plots fruit trees grow know how difficult it is to quickly harvest them. To help in this matter, you can make a device for picking cherries yourself from improvised materials. How to competently make such a fruit collector, and how then to use it?

Juicy and sweet cherries are loved by everyone without exception - both small and adults. After all, the fruits of the cherry tree are not only very tasty, but also very useful, since they contain many vitamins, macro- and microelements necessary for the human body. It is with the use of cherries that not only jams, jams and compotes are made, but also delicious pies, cakes, cookies.

But before you start preparing delicious desserts, you should harvest from fruit trees. And just here certain difficulties can await gardeners - after all, there are berries on the branches high enough, for which you have to not only climb an uncomfortable ladder, push the branches apart with your hands, but also spend a long time under the scorching rays of the sun. Therefore, in order to make it easier for themselves to pick berries, the craftsmen came up with the idea of ​​making a simple device. In order to make it yourself, you need to take a not too thin pipe - such that several cherries can slip through it at the same time. Also, the pipe should not be very heavy, as it will take some time to keep it on the weight.It is best to choose a tube made of aluminum or plastic.Then it needs to be cut obliquely on one side, cut a groove that will hold the legs of the berries when picking, and bend inward so that a hook is obtained.

Using a product made from PET bottles is also easy. Grab the cherry with this tool and pull it down. The berry comes off the branch and falls into the prepared container. Having collected a sufficient number of cherries in this way, lower the structure and pour the resulting crop from the container into the dishes you need. Thanks to the excellent inventions of craftsmen, there is no need to climb a shaky ladder and spend a long time on it in the heat. From now on, you will be able to quickly, being near the cherry tree, produce an efficient harvest, spending a minimum of effort.

Video “Device for picking cherries”

In the video, a man demonstrates how to make a device for picking cherries from improvised materials with his own hands at home.

This year I decided to break the established tradition and personally be present at the ripening of cherries. As it turned out, the cherry begins to ripen at the very top of the tree, where the berries are best lit during the day, and maybe for some other reason - I don’t know, I’m not a botanist (and they don’t seem to be called berries, but how else to call them - don't know either). And since there are no special ladders, scaffolds or other tricky devices for picking cherries from the very top of a tree in the country house, there hasn’t been a desire to climb trees for 30 years either, I thought about how I can pick ripening cherries.

First of all, I got into the Internet, but there was only one more or less adequate answer to such a request. And even then it turned out that to break the cherries, you need a long stick, a plastic or metal pipe, a piece of a bicycle tube, a rope and a bag for picking up the plucked cherries. There were no drawings or photographs on the site, and from a short description I understood how to connect it all together and, most importantly, how to fasten the rope so that the ripe sweet cherry is clamped in the camera trim. Therefore, I was no longer interested in how the cherries would roll down the pipe and get into the bag, and I began to develop my own system for picking cherries.

I had the main thing - a stick about 3-3.5 meters long. I went to the tree and made sure that I could reach almost any berry. It remains only to figure out how to pick a cherry with this stick.

Various ingenious systems like the one shown in the cartoon about Donald Duck and badgers climbed into my head. Well, there are scissors at the end of the stick and, again, a rope. And if without a rope, then somehow expose the blades of the knives (I have old disposable ones in the garage). But then the details of a children's metal constructor came under my feet, and I quickly designed a fully functional system.

I took a strip, bent it to make a brace, and screwed the brace to the stick at about a 40-45 degree angle. And then, to the top of the bracket, another piece is heavier so that when the stick rotates, when the bracket instead of the horizontal one takes an almost vertical position, the piece falls and thus clamps the sweet cherry previously caught in the bracket.

In general, the system turned out to be quite efficient and even passed field tests, I even picked a few cherries. However, sweet cherries grow quite densely, the distance between cherries is sometimes less than 1-1.5 centimeters. Therefore, the created model of the cherry tree, although it passed field tests, it was decided to develop a simpler, smaller and more reliable model. Therefore, I do not enclose drawings and photographs of the first model of the cherry roll.

And then I remembered that either in "Young Technique", or in "Science and Life" in the section "To the Home Craftsman - Tips" a similar topic had already been discussed and one of the craftsmen suggested using an ordinary hairpin for this purpose, which women use to create hairstyles a la "Butterfly". It is enough to bend one leg of the hairpin so that the cherry leg passes between the legs of the hairpin, and fasten the second leg to the stick. Or maybe I saw something similar in a store like "Everything for the garden and garden", but then I did not attach any importance to this. Nevertheless, I decided to reproduce this design, and since there was no free hairpin at hand, I used steel wire. Now the cherry tree looks like this:

And at work like this:

I don’t give the younger one (he’s 2 years old) a cherry roll yet (he has enough fishing rods), and the older one (this one is already 10) tears the cherry with this device quite normally, but he’s not in a hurry to put the tool back in place. That's it.

P.S. As usual, it took no more than two hours to make a cherry roll, but even 3 days were not enough to write this article.