I need a fruit picker to reach fruit that are too high up on the tree. In previous years I used the ladder or left them to drop to the ground. Now that I am getting older, climbing up ladders is not a good option. Pickers sold in the shops are quite expensive. Does anyone have any suggestions for a DIY version that I can make myself?

Just as the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, the largest, ripest fruit are always out of reach at the top of the tree. And since the days of our hunter-gatherer ancestors, humans have come up with all sorts of ingenious ways of making food gathering more efficient.

When we asked Get Growing readers for DIY fruit picker suggestions, dozens of people responded with memories of picking fruit with a tin can attached to a long stick.

Plastic drink bottles can be used in a similar way. If you’re lucky, the bottle will fit snuggly onto a broom handle or other pole. If not, duct tape will hold the bottle on securely.

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Here are some more inventive ideas.

Fruit pickers with detachable telescopic handles are worth the price in the long run if you have several trees. The picking bags last for many years and the handles can be used with many other attachments including pruning saws, rakes, and rolling baskets for picking up nuts.

If that’s just too pricey, here’s a cheaper version.

But the last word goes to Lyn Mckay from Blenheim.