I have a Meyer lemon tree but I'm not sure when I should harvest the lemons. How can I tell when they are ripe?
Robert
Galveston
Hi Robert. Meyer lemons are a cross between an Calamondin orange and a lemon, and while they are still very good when the skin is yellow with no green remaining, they are completely ripe when the skin softens and turns to a golden orange/yellow. If the skin of the lemons is wrinkled, it's been on the tree too long.
Harvest from the lower branches first. Typically the lemons start turning from green to yellow in the fall. How fast this occurs depends on several conditions, but mainly cooler temperatures. I've had ripe Meyer lemons as early as Thanksgiving but generally they start arriving in late December and last until February.
Of course the best way to tell if Meyer lemons are ripe is to taste it.
Post edited 5:36 pm – February 8, 2012 by Nathan Clay
Great question. We've been experimenting with lemon trees here in Northern California. What we've found is that it's often hard to get them to grow to maturity. The deer eat the tips off (!!) and the watering sources have been drying up. Can you recommend a good fertilizer that can help make up for the lack of water? I've also seen some of the local lemon farms using those Raven Cruizers and other 'large scale, conventional' methods for keeping the trees inline. Are there any 'hobby farm' versions for planting rows straight?
Great question. We've been experimenting with lemon trees here in Northern California. What we've found is that it's often hard to get them to grow to maturity. The deer eat the tips off (!!) and the watering sources have been drying up. Can you recommend a good fertilizer that can help make up for the lack of water? I've also seen some of the local lemon farms using those Raven Cruizers and other 'large scale, conventional' methods for keeping the trees inline. Are there any 'hobby farm' versions for planting rows straight?
Nate, Navarro, CA
Nate, did you ever get an answer to this? I'm interested, as well.
Login 
Register 
Members 
Search 
Home
Print this Topic 
Reply to Post
Add a New Topic
Quote and Reply 
Topic RSS 
