If you happen to stay in a heat sufficient local weather, pomegranates make glorious additions to the house backyard. They will tolerate average drought and excessive warmth, and are much less vulnerable to illnesses than fruits like apples and peaches.
When you see fruits seem, it’s time to consider harvesting. However don’t simply choose the fruits as quickly as they attain a selected measurement or shade! Harvesting pomegranates too quickly can lead to immature fruits that lack the candy and juicy arils that make the fruits so scrumptious.
I’ll cowl just a few components to search for that point out when you’ll be able to harvest pomegranates. You’ll additionally be taught methods to harvest the fruits in a manner that retains your plant wholesome and productive for years to come back.
Fantastic Pomegranate Tree
- Produces candy pomegranates with darkish crimson seeds
- Enticing darkish orange flowers in spring
- Upright, shrub-like development with arching stems
- Low-maintenance and simple to develop
- Propagated from cuttings for dependable fruiting
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Chilly Hardy Purple Pomegranate
- Chilly-hardy selection thrives in chillier climates
- Produces shiny crimson flowers and ruby-red fruits
- Low-maintenance and simple to develop
- Attracts pollinators like bees and butterflies
- Supplies antioxidant-rich, homegrown fruit
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When Are Pomegranates Able to Harvest?
Pomegranate fruits received’t start producing flowers, and subsequently fruits, till they’re just a few years outdated. Most bushes begin flowering once they’re two to 3 years outdated, however peak manufacturing received’t happen till just a few years later. In case your tree is sufficiently old however nonetheless not flowering or fruiting, test for different issues.
Keep away from widespread pomegranate care errors, resembling planting in partial shade and making use of extreme nitrogen fertilizer. Offering ample daylight and watering in periods of drought will assist promote fruit manufacturing.
Wholesome pomegranate vegetation flower from late spring to early summer season. Some varieties proceed to provide new blooms into the autumn. The massive crimson flowers are simple to identify, so that you’ll discover in case your plant isn’t producing any.
Professional tip: Not all pomegranate varieties produce edible fruits. If you wish to benefit from the juicy arils, keep away from cultivars that produce small, decorative fruits.
After the flowers are correctly fertilized, they’ll flip into small, spherical fruits. Most pomegranates begin inexperienced, however some varieties produce immature fruits which can be crimson or yellow. The fruits proceed to develop all through the summer season and into the autumn. It takes between 4 and 7 months for a flower to develop right into a mature fruit.
Pomegranates are prepared to reap within the late summer season or fall. The precise harvest window will depend on your location, the plant selection, and the climate. When September arrives, start in search of indicators that point out you can begin harvesting.
Indicators that Pomegranates Are Able to Harvest
Not like strawberries and blueberries, you’ll be able to’t depend on shade alone that can assist you decide when pomegranates are prepared to reap. As a substitute, search for quite a lot of indicators that point out these fruits are crammed with juicy arils and able to pluck from the tree.
Not all pomegranates ripen on the identical time, so test every fruit individually earlier than harvesting. The harvest interval could span a number of months for the reason that plant can produce flowers at numerous time limits.
Expanded Form
Pomegranates begin as tidy, spherical objects that might double as a baseball. As their inside expands, they lose this neat form and start to develop flattened edges. It could additionally seem as if their insides are pushing towards the pores and skin.
Adjustments within the Pores and skin
As pomegranate fruits ripen, they develop thicker and extra leathery pores and skin. The pores and skin of ripe fruits shall be comfortable and simple to puncture together with your fingernail or a boring knife.
You might also discover the pores and skin cracking. Whilst you can harvest earlier than cracks seem, they’re a surefire approach to decide that the fruits are ripe. Keep away from letting massive cracks develop, since these open the pomegranates as much as pests and decay.
Weight
Pomegranate fruits begin small and develop earlier than reaching their closing measurement. In the previous few months of development, they’ll stay the identical measurement however develop heavier. Ripe pomegranates will all the time really feel heavy for his or her measurement and appear to be crammed with water fairly than air.
Calyx Form
The calyx is the crown-like association of the plant’s sepals. The calyx is positioned on the facet of the fruit reverse the place it attaches to the tree.
Immature pomegranates have a calyx with sepals that bend outward. Because the fruits mature, the sepals start bending inward so their pointed ends are nearly touching.
The right way to Harvest Pomegranates
After you identify that your fruits are ripe, it’s time to reap. Keep away from leaving the pomegranates on the tree after they’re ripe, since this encourages splitting and illness.
Since pomegranate juice simply stains, chances are you’ll wish to placed on a pair of outdated garments earlier than harvesting. Seize a pair of sharp clippers or pruning shears and sanitize them by washing them in sizzling, soapy water. Cleansing your harvest instruments will assist stop the unfold of illness, so it’s all the time a great observe.
Find ripe fruits and spot how they’re linked to the tree with woody stems. Use your clippers to chop the stems inside an inch of the fruits. It’s not an enormous drawback should you depart a bigger part of the stem, however that is pointless and likewise creates a pointy finish that may poke different fruits.
Some individuals say that ripe fruit will simply pull from the tree, however keep away from tugging on the fruit together with your arms. Doing this may take away elements of the fruit and reduce its shelf life.
All the time deal with the fruits fastidiously throughout and after harvest. They might seem sturdy, however they’re vulnerable to bruising, which diminishes their high quality and shelf life.
Storing Pomegranates After Harvest
Pomegranates received’t ripen after harvesting, however they may hold for over a month when correctly saved. If you happen to’ve picked a number of fruits, all the time eat these with cracked pores and skin (and a delayed shelf life) first.
The fruits retailer greatest within the fridge. Keep away from stacking them if potential, since this may harm the pores and skin. You’ll be able to anticipate them to final for 2 to 3 months within the fridge.
If you happen to don’t have sufficient room within the fridge, you’ll be able to retailer them in one other cool, dry space. Simply don’t anticipate them to final as lengthy.
Incessantly Requested Questions
Small pomegranates could also be as a result of selection or environmental stress throughout fruit formation. A scarcity of water is a typical explanation for smaller-than-average fruits.
Most pomegranates are crimson when ripe, however some varieties could also be yellow or pink once they’re mature. Due to this fact, you shouldn’t use shade as a sole issue to find out in case your fruits are prepared to reap.