When you reside in a heat sufficient local weather, pomegranates make glorious additions to the house backyard. They’ll tolerate average drought and excessive warmth, and are much less inclined to ailments 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 particular measurement or colour! 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 a couple of components to search for that point out when you may harvest pomegranates. You’ll additionally study the right way to harvest the fruits in a approach that retains your plant wholesome and productive for years to return.
Great Pomegranate Tree
- Produces candy pomegranates with darkish purple seeds
- Enticing darkish orange flowers in spring
- Upright, shrub-like progress with arching stems
- Low-maintenance and straightforward to develop
- Propagated from cuttings for dependable fruiting
View at Epicgardening.com
Chilly Hardy Purple Pomegranate
- Chilly-hardy selection thrives in chillier climates
- Produces vibrant purple flowers and ruby-red fruits
- Low-maintenance and straightforward to develop
- Attracts pollinators like bees and butterflies
- Offers antioxidant-rich, homegrown fruit
View at Epicgardening.com
When Are Pomegranates Able to Harvest?
Pomegranate fruits received’t start producing flowers, and due to this fact fruits, till they’re a couple of years previous. Most bushes begin flowering after they’re two to 3 years previous, however peak manufacturing received’t happen till a couple of years later. In case your tree is sufficiently old however nonetheless not flowering or fruiting, examine 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 big purple 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 might be purple 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 is dependent upon your location, the plant selection, and the climate. When September arrives, start searching for indicators that point out you can begin harvesting.
Indicators that Pomegranates Are Able to Harvest
In contrast to strawberries and blueberries, you may’t depend on colour alone that can assist you decide when pomegranates are prepared to reap. As an alternative, search for a wide range of indicators that point out these fruits are stuffed with juicy arils and able to pluck from the tree.
Not all pomegranates ripen on the similar time, so examine every fruit individually earlier than harvesting. The harvest interval could span a number of months for the reason that plant can produce flowers at varied time limits.
Expanded Form
Pomegranates begin as tidy, spherical objects that would double as a baseball. As their inside expands, they lose this neat form and start to develop flattened edges. It might additionally seem as if their insides are pushing towards the pores and skin.
Modifications 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 will likely be mushy and straightforward to puncture along with your fingernail or a uninteresting knife.
You might also discover the pores and skin cracking. When 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 progress, 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 stuffed with water slightly than air.
Calyx Form
The calyx is the crown-like association of the plant’s sepals. The calyx is situated on the aspect 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 virtually touching.
Methods to Harvest Pomegranates
After you establish 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, it’s possible you’ll need to placed on a pair of previous 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 follow.
Find ripe fruits and see 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 in case you go away 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 along with your fingers. Doing this may take away components of the fruit and reduce its shelf life.
All the time deal with the fruits rigorously throughout and after harvest. They might seem sturdy, however they’re inclined to bruising, which diminishes their high quality and shelf life.
Storing Pomegranates After Harvest
Pomegranates received’t ripen after harvesting, however they may maintain for over a month when correctly saved. When you’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 doable, since this may harm the pores and skin. You’ll be able to count on them to final for 2 to 3 months within the fridge.
When you don’t have sufficient room within the fridge, you may retailer them in one other cool, dry space. Simply don’t count on them to final as lengthy.
Often Requested Questions
Small pomegranates could also be as a result of selection or environmental stress throughout fruit formation. An absence of water is a typical reason for smaller-than-average fruits.
Most pomegranates are purple when ripe, however some varieties could also be yellow or pink after they’re mature. Subsequently, you shouldn’t use colour as a sole issue to find out in case your fruits are prepared to reap.