About to start Meyer harvest

11 years ago

My three Meyers have really loved the abundant rain that started on time this year. Droughts are a regular occurrence in CA so everybody is grateful although those cold Alaskan storms have wrecked havoc on some of my other garden plants.

I've already promised friends and family that they will get an abundance of lemons from our excess. We really can't use that many, and should have only planted one Meyer instead of three! Oh, well....it's nice to be popular [smile].

The ground is so wet I can't check too often, but it looks like I'll start harvesting in a week or two. Have made a note to empty out a shelf in the freezer to get ready for the 2013 juicing:

Our front yard Meyer, this side gets full sun:
{{gwi:559468}}

Same tree, other side. This gets more indirect sun, so the lemons ripen more slowly:
{{gwi:559469}}

Back yard Meyer, pruned hard as it was overhanging a walkway. Working to get this one more upright, lack of direct sun makes it lean over:
{{gwi:559470}}

Same tree, this side of it gets little direct sun but very bright all day:
{{gwi:559471}}

Our oldest Meyer sprang up from seed, and is thus a true bush. It is in the worst soil and the worst possible spot. Despite this, it's massive, so large I have trouble getting back far enough to get it all into one photo. Don't be misled by our severe downslope - that Meyer is over 6' tall and at least 10' wide, front to back:
{{gwi:559472}}

My neighbor has a very old Eureka or Lisbon-type lemon tree. She never picks them and they hang on the tree for months and months. They are big, extremely juicy, and almost entirely seedless. At one time most of this area was fruit orchards and small 'country summer cottages', until the developers began building in the hills.
{{gwi:559473}}

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Comments (13)

mksmth zone 7a Tulsa Oklahoma
11 years ago
Wow. Those are great. Thanks for sharing.
johnmerr
11 years ago
Beautiful Meyers; but they are overripe. Pick them now; give the tree a big shot of fertilizer, watered in well, and you will soon get flowers for the next season. Leave them on the tree longer, and your crop next year will be notably smaller. A hint, if you are going to store them, don't pull off the fruit, cut them leaving a small piece of stem; the difference in shelf life is dramatic.
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jakkom
Original Author
11 years ago
No, John, they are NOT overripe. Quite hard yet, and not willing to come off even with a firm tug. Still green on the undersides, too. Our nighttime temps this past month have been flirting with frost lows. This winter has been much colder and wetter than the last two years.

I never worry about storage. We either use them up within a month, juice/freeze them, or give them away. The Meyers are old enough now that I always have at least a dozen or more lemons all the time.
johnmerr
11 years ago
Technically they are over-ripe, ripe/mature being defined as 8 to 8.5 brix. If you leave them longer on the tree, they will begin to lose juice; but some people prefer them that way, and lots of people only pick them when they want to use them; that method means a mature tree will almost always have fruit. For garden trees that is a good system as any; but it does mean the tree will produce somewhat less fruit in a year... for a Meyer that is still a lot.
MrClint
11 years ago
jkom51, your trees look great. Lots of good looking fruit. Much more fruit than I would want to deal with all at once. :)

Johnmerr, you are being a bit of a bully. jkom51 was just sharing his trees with us, he wasn't asking for help or advice. He seems to have a handle on how he wants to utilize his crop.
johnmerr
11 years ago
Bully? Teacher? free advice giver..... don't ask, don't tell... Anyone can take my advice for what it is worth...for free.. or leave it alone... same to me
MrClint
11 years ago
Got it. You believe that this forum is your bully pulpit. I accept the invitation to ignore your unsolicited advice.
Kippy
11 years ago
Those look wonderful!

A tad further south than you I am guessing in Santa Barbara, our 2 Meyers planted last year have fruit that is just turning yellow too. Like yours still a tad green but they are tasting better than a couple of weeks ago.

We probably only have a couple of dozen on both trees, but pretty good for little trees just planted 11 or so months ago.

Mom had never tasted a Meyers and is already in love with the flavor.
jakkom
Original Author
11 years ago
Well, you have to remember that John is a commercial grower - I believe the only one, in fact, on this forum. The rest of us are home gardeners. Two different worlds colliding [smile].

Because my trees are in different spots with very different levels of light, at this point I almost always have some fruit ripening year-round. The front yard tree always ripens first as it has the best site: full sun, a berm that lifts it up off the cold ground, good air circulation.

The others: one in partial sun and one in almost full shade - are always slower to ripen. So between the three Meyers I can pick a bucketful or two every week or so during prime harvest, beginning in December and going through April or so.

Citrus is so plentiful around here in winter, nobody cares if the Meyers aren't as juicy as possible. They're still fine for home use, especially when they're free to my friends and family (heck, I even pay the postage to ship them).

We're getting a major cold spell tonight that will last all weekend - even San Francisco is going to dip below freezing by tomorrow night. I wish my pelargoniums were as frost-tolerant as my citrus, LOL.
Kippy
11 years ago
Not trying to be rude or anything, but I thought you had to test brix physically. Like with a brix tester.

Is there a way to tell by fruit color (photos) instead?

Could save myself some cash if it is just matching fruit to a photo on the web.
johnmerr
11 years ago
Brix testing is really for commercial production; most garden growers is just color and timing... no worries.. A Meyer lemon harvested at less than perfection is still better than any other lemon in the world... be happy you are a Meyer grower, and enjoy the harvest
alabamatreehugger 8b SW Alabama
11 years ago
How is the fruit on the seedling bush? Is it comparable to the others?
jakkom
Original Author
11 years ago
Yes, the fruit on the seedling bush is identical to the commercially grafted Meyers I purchased. I'm always amazed how happy it is in such a poor site!