Determining Citrus Harvest
Summary – Normal Citrus Harvest Periods
Vegetables to Plant in November
Master Garden Class
Question & Answer
Determining Citrus Harvest
Homeowners are beginning to enjoy the taste of fresh citrus from their trees. There is a bountiful crop of satsumas, navels, lemons and grapefruit. With that in mind, I often get the following question: When should I harvest my citrus? The answer can be complicated and based on several factors.
Variety of citrus is probably the highest priority to consider. Satsumas tend to ripen before navel oranges, which ripen before grapefruit. Ripening usually happens at a specific time of year but may vary as much as several weeks depending on the condition of the tree, drought, early temperature variances or weather conditions. Let’s look at a few factors.
Color – deep-green colored fruit are sour. As fruit nears ripening, skin color lightens to a pale green color and breaks into yellowing. In our area, skin color can be dark green, change to yellow and convert back to greenish if a long warm period follows the early color change. Fruit colors from out to in, top to bottom and sunny to shade. No tree has fruit ripened equally, so proper selection is necessary for success.
Taste preference – some people like the tangy bite of satsumas. Others wait until deep yellow skin indicates a syrupy sweetness. The old standards “Owari” and “Brown Select” produce quality fruit that ripens in late October through November and lasts until December. However, varieties with early-maturing fruit, starting in September, have skin that stays greenish but yields fruit that is sweet. These varieties, such as “Armstrong,” “Louisiana Early” and “Early St. Ann” will peak in flavor but quicky become diluted in taste quality within weeks. With these varieties, once fruit reaches desirable taste -- regardless of color -- harvest and put in refrigerator or share it, because its quality will decrease.
A critical point to remember about the tree is that the storage of fruit on a tree maintains a tree’s vigor in a period when the tree would be better served by being allowed to halt its growth through a pre-conditioning or slowdown. Trees should be completely stripped of fruit in January. This allows trees to prepare for the traditionally coldest periods and maintain sufficient energy for next year's blossom production. Keeping fruit late on trees has proven to lessen next year’s crop.
Problem areas – Usually fruit that has stayed and developed on trees now will continue to mature. Two exceptions to this are fruit splitting from excess water absorption or insect damage. Both of these are going on now.
If fruit has split vertically, then it indicates the fruit absorbed water quicker than the skin could, so a split occurs. This mostly happens to Satsumas and navel oranges. Secondly if plant bugs attack satsumas, the fruit often turns yellow and drops. Both of the above are happening in satsumas and navels now.
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Summary – Normal Citrus Harvest Periods
Satsumas
Early St. Ann – late August to mid-September
Louisiana Early – late August to mid-September
Armstrong – mid-September to early October
Brown Select – mid-October to mid-December
Owari – late October to mid-January
Oranges
Navel oranges – mid-November to late December
Blood oranges – early December to early January
Louisiana or Hawlin Sweet orange – mid-November to January
Other seeded oranges – mid-November to January
Other
Grapefruit – mid-December to January
Kumquats – late November to January
Pumelo – early November to late December
Mandarins – mid-October to mid-November
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Vegetables to Plant in November
Beets, shallots, garlic, Swiss chard, spinach, kale, radishes, mustard, carrots and turnips.
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Master Garden Class
We still have a few openings in the 2010 Master Garden Class, which begins in January and runs through the first week of March. If interested, contact Barton Joffrion at 985-873-6495 for details.
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Question
When picked, will citrus continue to ripen?
Answer
No, citrus stops maturing at harvest and will get no sweeter off the tree.
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If you have any questions or need more information, please give me a call at 985-873-6495 or you can also e-mail Barton Joffrion.