by johnah on November 23, 2020
Lime Tree Harvest Time: When To Pick A Lime From A Tree
The best time to pick a lime from a tree is during the late summer or early fall. The reason why it’s better to pick them earlier than later is because they’re not very good for eating right away so you want to get rid of them quickly before they rot.
They’ll still taste pretty good after that though!
When to pick a lime depends on where you live. If you live in California, then the best time to pick a lime is around October 1st.
That’s when all the trees start producing their fruit. The other thing that matters is how many trees there are and how big they are. Limes produce a lot of fruit, but if you have too few trees then picking them won’t be possible at all. So make sure your area has enough trees and plenty of space!
What You Need For Your Tree
You need a tree with lots of branches and leaves. There are several kinds of trees that will work well, but you really don’t want to use one that’s already dead.
You might try using a cacti or succulents instead, but those aren’t as easy to grow and you may end up cutting down some of them while trying to keep the rest alive.
Choose A Good Tree Location
You’ll want to pick a location that’s easy to get to. Your tree doesn’t have to be near your house, but you should be able to reach it without having to do any backtracking.
Also make sure the area around your tree is nice and open. If it isn’t, then cut down some of the nearby trees so there’s a clear path leading up to the big one. Leave some of them behind though. You don’t want to make it too easy for people to walk up to your tree!
Choose A Good Tree
A lot of people try to use a dead tree rather than a living one. The thing is, dead trees are usually hollow and people like to take the wood from them.
Instead of doing that, it’s best to find a nice green tree that has lots of branches. More branches means more shade, and that’s exactly what you want! The best trees have a strong and sturdy trunk with lots of healthy-looking leaves. If the wind blows hard enough, you might even hear a rattling sound coming from the branches. That’s a good sign that your tree has lots of ripe limes on it!
Take Out The Competition
You’ll need to take out all the other competition before you can harvest the limes. If there are any other trees nearby, you’ll need to get rid of them.
Don’t worry, you don’t have to take out all the trees within eyeshot of your property. Just remove any that are close enough to compete with your lime tree. To do that, start by clearing away the smaller trees and shrubs around the base of your tree. Then, using a handsaw or chainsaw (depending on the size of the tree), cut off a few of its branches. Be careful not to cut off any of the branches that have ripe limes on them though! After that, just wait a few days and the tree should start dropping most of its leaves. This will help give your tree a chance to thrive without having to compete with anything else!
Maintaining Your Tree
Once you’ve harvested all your limes, you’ll want to keep your tree healthy and thriving. To do that, just keep an eye on it and remove anything relating to other potential trees (saplings, weeds, etc).
You should also keep the area around it free of any clutter. If you have an old swing set or slide in the area, you may want to take it out since children tend to play there a lot.
Harvesting The Limes
This process is very similar to doing it with oranges. You’ll need a bucket, a knife, and a bag.
The only real difference is that you’ll have to pick each lime individually as opposed to just shaking the tree as you would with an orange tree. It’s not the most fun thing in the world, but one good thing is you don’t have to wear gloves or worry about getting acid on your skin!
Once you’ve gathered all of your limes, you can either use them immediately or store them in a plastic bag in your fridge. If you want to get really fancy, you can even buy a plastic Lime tree basket to store them in!
When To Cut Down Your Tree
Just like with the oranges, there will come a time when your lime tree just won’t bear fruit anymore. Some trees will last longer than others, but when you notice that the limes become fewer and far between, it’s time to cut it down.
Don’t worry though, you can replant another one in the same spot and it should thrive if you take good care of it!
You should now have all the limes you’ll ever need. If you find that harvesting them is just not your thing, you can always pay a visit to your local supermarket and buy them there.
No matter what you decide to do, I hope this guide has helped you out!
Sources & references used in this article:
Identification and introduction of thornless lime (Citrus aurantifolia) in Hormozgan, Iran by SH Vand, TL Abdullah – Indian Journal of Science and Technology, 2012 – researchgate.net
Antioxidant activity of Viscum album ssp. album by E ÖnayUçar, A Karagöz, N Arda – Fitoterapia, 2006 – Elsevier
Flowering of the acid lime tree’Tahiti’submitted to water stress and treated whit paclobutrazol. by M Cruz, DL de Siqueira, LCC Salomão… – Científica …, 2009 – cabdirect.org
Basswood, linden, lime-tree by J Zasada – Minnesota BetterForests 8 (1): 12-13, 2003 – fs.usda.gov
Growing ‘Tahiti’Limes in the Home Landscape by JH Crane, JL Osborne – … of Agriculture, University of Florida, IFAS …, 2013 – researchgate.net
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