I was wondering about the pronged berry picker myself. We had a spell of very wet weather during which I could not get to my allotment. In the space of a week all my blackcurrants went from unripe to very ripe. I tried to pick as many as I could but work and other commitments meant I got less than 1/10th of the berries before they started to burst when picking. I was wondering if those berry pickers work well with blackcurrants and if they would be more gentle than my hands so next year if the same happens and they ripen quickly one of these would get those very ripe blackcurrants that by hand they would burst.
Same goes for gooseberries. They ripened about two weeks later and we had a lot of rain and I was very busy too. Result I lost (burst on the bush or in the hand or kind of rotted on the bush in the rain) most of the crop. If there is a picker that works on those too. Shame as it was a reeal bumper crop this year since we had that cold spell early on then a warm, dry spell for the flowers and a wet one that reallt brought the berries and currants on. Just as well as I have a freezer full with them and other stuff. Still I hate to see the bushes so full of spoilt berries. Still only my first year on there and I am learning a lot. Through my mistakes of course but learning all the same. Next year I will be more prepared and get more right.
