Pine nuts are rich in iodine, vanadium, copper, potassium and magnesium. This product is very popular, but cedar bears fruit, as a rule, once every 4 years, rarely 2-3 times. It can be collected only when the fruit ripens, early collection is prohibited by law. The official nut season in the Kemerovo region this year started at the end of August.
When to collect pine cones in Kemerovo
Pine nuts appear on a tree only after its full maturity, 10-15 years after it is fully matured. A large number of factors affect the ripening of nuts. Flowering begins in the summer, and the seeds ripen for a year and a half.
The formation of nuts is influenced by:
- The climate and terrain of the territory on which the tree is located.
- Soil composition.
- Weather during which nuts ripen.
If the spring and summer seasons turned out to be hot and sunny, there is a rapid pollination of the fetus and its ripening. In rainy and cold weather, the formation of nuts will slow down. In Kemerovo, the seasonal collection for harvesting cones falls in September and early October.
Where to collect in the Kemerovo region
Collect cedar cones in the Kemerovo region can be almost throughout its territory. They are both in the north and in the south, in the so-called taiga plain forest, and cedars also grow in the mountainous part of the region.
Areas where you can collect and prepare a nut product:
- Izhmorsky;
- Mariinsky;
- Tyazhinsky;
- Yaysky;
- Tisulsky;
- Yashkinsky;
- Guryevsky;
- Kemerovo;
- Yurginsky;
- Topkinsky;
- Promyshlenovsky;
- Yashkinsky.
Did you know? The properties of cedar wood were highly valued in ancient times. Many palaces and temples were erected from the planks of this plant, and in Egypt sarcophagi were made from cedar.
Collection rules
Harvesting cedar product is difficult. Usually, not one person is involved in this process, but a company of 5-10 people, and it should have several experienced assemblers who have visited the taiga more than once. The company from the "hunters" for nuts is selected into the forest for 1-2 weeks, equips the camp and begins the process.
Beginners should be prepared for the fact that in search of fruit trees you have to go long distances, so shoes should be comfortable and not new to avoid frayed legs.
The rest of the ammunition depends on the method of collection:
- Picking up fallen cones.
- Climbing the trunk with a rope.
- Climbing a tree with claws.
- Knocking down cones with a hammer.
Collecting Fallen Cones
For this method, special devices are not necessary, except for a bag or backpack for picking fruit.
The algorithm is also simple:
- Walk through the forest until you find a cedar with cones.
- Collect them and move on in search of the next.
This option is suitable for environmentalists and is considered the most environmentally sound. But it is worth remembering that many types of taiga animals feed on these products, so there will not be so many of them lying under the tree.
Knocking down cones from a tree
When choosing this option, it is worth stocking up not only with a container for a cedar product, but also with a mallet for hitting a tree. For a person who has at least once in his life dealt with carpentry work, making such a mallet will not be a problem.
For this we need:
- wood lump 70–80 cm long and 30–40 cm in diameter;
- the stem is 1.8–2 m long, 10–15 cm in diameter.
In the middle of the chocks, it is necessary to make a gash so that the handle is strictly in the middle. The hole is made at an angle, since the handle is inserted into it along with the buoy, and is not fastened with nails.
Each person in the manufacture of this item must remember that the crusher will have to work all day, that is, its weight is selected for personal physical abilities.
Algorithm for knocking cones:
- Find a tree with cones.
- Apply a few blows to the trunk.
- Collect the bumps.
The advantage in picking with a hammer is that almost the entire crop is removed from the tree. But cedar is damaged in this case, its bark and trunk are often damaged.
Important! During the collection with the hammer, you should be extremely careful. Cones fall from a tree in a hail of trees directly on the head collecting. For beginners who do not have dexterity, it is better to stock up on a construction helmet.
Climbing Method
On the plant, you can climb and shoot down the cones manually or with the help of a long thin stick. To do this, you should take a strong rope, a thin long pole and, if desired, shoes with construction claws.
Actions when choosing this method:
- Find a cedar with cones.
- Tie a rope around the trunk.
- Climb a tree.
- Knock down the fruits and, going down, collect them.
If you put boots with claws on your feet, the rise will be much easier, but then the tree bark will be damaged. The method is dangerous, but if you do not use "acute insurance", it is environmentally friendly.
Harvesting and storing cones
After the collection of the product has ended, upon returning to the temporary camp, one should proceed to the harvesting of nuts before sending them for storage.
To do this, bumps need:
- fraction;
- to peel off;
- sift;
- to dry.
Important! Cedar product can not be overdried - with strong drying it loses up to 80% of useful properties.
How are harvested cones handled?
If you have to deal with the cutting of the collected material manually, you must definitely put protection on your hands before doing this, as the cones are rich in resin. Then, for each individual cone taken, they hammer with a mallet, placing it on a solid flat surface until the nuts fall out.
You can get the core with the help of the ruble. This design is equipped with a circle with teeth, a board and a handle. The material is pressed down from above by a plane to a circle, which moves with the help of the handle, and thus is rubbed.
More experienced collectors use a mechanism similar in effect to a mill. The material is collected in a box in which several rollers are located. It is passed between them and cleansed.
Nuts are also dried in a temporary camp. The kernels are placed in a wooden log house, which is strengthened with iron plates and heated with a small flame. The shell from the grains themselves can be removed at home. To do this, they are fried in a pan or crushed with a special nut crusher.
Proper storage and timing
Unfortunately, this product is not stored for long, from 3 to 6 months. After this period, even retaining a visually unspoiled appearance, it loses its taste.
When storing pine nuts, the following rules must be observed:
- do not mix the product with syrup or sugar;
- cores must be dry and kept in a closed container;
- store the product in a cool place (cellar or refrigerator);
- You can freeze the kernels only after preliminary wrapping them with foil;
- shelling kernels for storage is not recommended.
Did you know? Cedar leaves secrete special substances that are unpleasant for the midges, so mosquitoes or midges under these plants do not exist.
Collecting pine nuts is not an easy task and requires the presence of an experienced company, but given the beneficial qualities of nuts, it is sometimes worth straining. In the Kemerovo region cedar pine trees grow in almost all areas, so finding trees is not difficult.
