Harvesting aloe vera - GIF

[Altair]

Harvesting aloe vera.




Previously:

Coa tool for cleaning agave - GIF
Citrus shaker harvester - GIF
Potato harvester - GIF
Harvesting mushrooms - GIF
Sunflower harvesting - GIF

[desbromilow]

that looks like a different type of aloe than what I see in Australia, the cross section of the "leaf" is different.

[Elizabeth Greene]

Mine looks like this, but the ends are pointy instead of square because I've never cut it. What does yours look like?

[desbromilow]

Mine looks like this, but the ends are pointy instead of square because I've never cut it. What does yours look like?

the attached stock photos show the type of "aloe vera" plant I see in Australia, and it is grown commercially for harvesting to make skin care products. I've hand drawn a cross section to show what the "leaf" looks like, the light green is the gel stuff which we're harvesting.
it grows at ground level (not on trellis), and the leaves are "snapped off" at the stem for simple harvest, cut is for more commercial harvest. A lot of people will have one plant in a pot at their back door for treating burns and bites, there they may just break off a tiny piece from the tip of a leaf... the rest of the leaf seems OK, just the broken end shrinks by about 12mm (1/2") and dries to the shrivelled brown fibre, the rest of the leaf seems OK.