A small prickly shrub with orange or yellow berries has long attracted attention. The ancient Greeks, for example, used it for medicinal purposes, because they knew how to collect sea buckthorn during ripening. Berries gave the soldiers and athletes that they were strong. And the horses that grazed next to the bush, found a shiny mane and wool. It is not surprising that Greece has long been a world power.
Currently, sea buckthorn is considered one of the most useful products. It is widely used in medicine, cosmetics and cooking. The composition of the berries includes a huge number of vitamin, minerals and active substances that affect the protective functions of the body. But when the crop ripens, many are interested in how to collect sea buckthorn, so as not to get hurt. After all, the berries are very small, and the branches with thorns. Because of this problem, the desire to “make friends” with the bush disappears, and the fruits remain to overwinter on it. Is there any way to solve this issue painlessly? Practice shows that yes.
Do not lose a single berry.
The collection of sea-buckthorn fruit should be started immediately after the first frost. If you wait a little, they will become softer, and they will be crushed in the hands if they are ripped off. Ripe berries should have a rich orange color and fit snugly on a branch to each other.
In the middle regions of Russia, sea buckthorn begins to ripen in early September, so the harvest period is determined by the climatic conditions of the area.
Before collecting sea buckthorn, it is advisable to know for what purpose the berry is needed. If you just eat, for compote or jam, then it’s better to get down to business at the very beginning of ripening. To make marmalade or squeeze out the butter - it is wise to wait for the time when the berries get wet and become more juicy. The optimal period is mid-autumn.
When the goal is set, it's time to get down to business. This will help a practical guide from the video: how to quickly collect sea buckthorn, without losing precious time.
Armed with knowledge, you can safely go for the healing berry, following a few simple rules:
- begin to collect fruits from the upper branches, gradually going down;
- to not get dirty with the juice of bursting berries, we wear old clothes;
- robust spike protection - durable gloves;
- prepare some simple devices for collecting sea buckthorn.
As practice shows, such principles help to harvest high-quality crops from a thorny shrub without losing a single ripe berry.
When they pick ripe berries, they burst, and juice flows out. Due to the large amount of acid, it irritates the skin. In view of this, it is imperative to protect your hands, face, and eyes from direct contact with an amber liquid.
Reasonable approach to the collection of useful fruits
Since sea buckthorn is very good for health, many summer residents use various devices to collect it. Traditionally it is done very simply. A cellophane or a piece of thick fabric is spread under the bushes. Then, a strong stick hit the branches and the trunk of the plant, after which the ripe berries fall down. When the bush is empty, the crop is poured into containers or wooden crates. You can build and such a simple device as shown in the photo.
Some connoisseurs of berries think about how to quickly assemble sea buckthorn without fixtures without damaging the fruit. Of course, this can be done only manually, directly from the bush. Each berry must be carefully separated from the branch and the stem, dropping into the prepared container. For convenience and speed of harvesting, the dishes hang on your neck. Although it may seem like a very laborious process, skillful hands will easily cope with the task.
Often, opinions on how to properly collect sea buckthorn differ. Therefore, everyone decides for himself which method to use. There are several options for home-made devices for harvesting healing berries:
- Loop.
- Scraper.
- Scissors.
- Tin tube.
Experienced gardeners know firsthand how to collect sea buckthorn from branches with the help of a homemade loop. Sometimes it is called - "cobra".To make such a device need a wooden bar for the handle and steel thin wire. First, a loop is made of wire that resembles the head of a cobra with an open hood. With the help of sewing, it is attached to the prepared wooden handle. The finished device can quickly collect fruits from the bush, even in remote places. In order not to beat the hands, the loop is fixed to the edge of the branch. After this, all fruits are cut off with a sharp movement.
Before using the Cobra, you need to put a wide container under the bush for the falling berries.
Another device, how to collect sea buckthorn - scraper. It is made of aluminum wire, 50 cm long. In the center of the segment curl is bent, like a spring. 
It can be obtained by attaching the wire to the neck of a glass bottle in one turn. The ends of the device align and fold in one direction at 90 degrees. With a ready-made fixture, a branch is clamped into a curl and the berries are removed, moving it down.
Using a sea buckthorn scraper, berries are often crushed, resulting in the loss of precious liquid.
If you do not want to bother how to pick sea-buckthorn berries with the help of tools, you can take scissors, a blade or a special mitten. 
With these items it is easy to remove ripe fruit from the branches, which were previously cut from the bushes. This method is convenient to use on the summer cottage in the yard or in the house. Carefully cut the berries with scissors pour sugar or make jam. What to say, it turns out very tasty dish for the winter.
Tin tube is a no less effective way of how to pick sea buckthorn from a tree. You can make it out of a tin plate 10 cm long. The diameter should exceed the size of the berries of the shrub. One edge of the tube is attached to a plastic bag. When the device is brought to the fruits on a tree and lightly pressed down on the stalk, they are smoothly downloaded into a bag. Simple technology allows you to collect a lot of berries in one parish. It all depends on the mood, finger dexterity and speed of movement. Sometimes orange berries are harvested using ordinary forceps. 
Of course, picking sea buckthorn berries is not an easy thing. After all, the shrub reliably protects them with thick, thorny branches from uninvited guests. And the fruits themselves are firmly holding the shoots. Complicating matters is the tender skin of the berries, which collapses when pressed. Due to such factors, gardeners cut sea buckthorn with shoots with large scissors or shears. 
Bring them home, and then removed from the branches. This option is acceptable if the plant is far from the dacha village. But it is worth working hard, because sea buckthorn is a real storehouse of useful vitamins for the body.
