Looking for citrus Picking Tips in 2024?  Scroll down this page and  follow the links. And if you bring home some fruit or vegetables and want to can, freeze, make jam, salsa or pickles, see this page for simple, reliable, illustrated canning, freezing or preserving directions. There are plenty of other related resources, click on the resources dropdown above.  If you are having a hard time finding canning lids, I've used these, and they're a great price & ship in 2 days.

If you have questions or feedback, please let me know! There are affiliate links on this page.  Read our disclosure policy to learn more. 

What's in season in December 2024, and other timely information:

Notes for December 2024: Crop growth is slowing down, except for Christmas tree farms and if you live in southern California, southern Texas, Florida or along the Gulf coast where citrus are starting, and believe it or not, the blueberry and strawberry season in those areas is about to begin. See your state harvest calendar . This year, much of the country is still seeing mild weather, so lettuce, peas, broccoli, cabbage  and other greens are thriving.  And this is a good time to get a canner and  learn how to preserve foods for the winter, like canning some applesauce, apple butter or jam, which make great gifts. As do your own homemade specialty liqueurs! How about homemade cranberry sauce or a pumpkin pie made from a real pumpkin for the holidays? See our comprehensive list of easy home canning, jam and jelly making, preserving, drying and freezing directions. You can access recipes and other resources from the drop down menus at the top of the page or the site search. A fun winter activity is to make your own ice cream, even gelato, or low fat or low sugar ice cream - see this page. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to write me!

Valentine's Day - February 14 - See this website for Valentines Day history, facts and Amazon's top picks for fast, easy, inexpensive gifts for the man, woman or children in your life!

Easter will be April 4, 2021 - if you want to take your children to a free Easter egg hunt - see our companion website to find a local Easter Egg hunt!

 

Children's Consignment Sales occur in both the Spring and Fall  See our companion website to find a local community or church kid's consignment sale!

Picking Citrus Fruit: Tips and Tricks to Getting the Best oranges, grapefruit, lemons, mandarins and tangerines

Citrus  fruit, like oranges, grapefruit, lemons, satsumas, mandarins and tangerines are easy to pick and use, if you are lucky enough to live in the semi-tropical climates where they grow. 

In the US, that means southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, southern Texas, Florida and sometimes in southern Louisiana and Mississippi.  Citrus are fat-free, low sodium, and cholesterol-free.

Citrus Picking tips:

Most modern orange, grapefruit, mandarin or tangerine orchards have dwarf trees that are very close to the ground - my 3 year old finds it easy to pick citrus! (photo above and below)

 The color can be anything from dark green, to yellow, pink, orange, bright red, dark red or even a combination.  It all depends on the variety.  And color is not really how you tell when a citrus fruit is ripe. The key will be to ask the farmer which are ripe. 

1.  Look for  firm, bruise-free skin

2. Look for a heavy, solid feel to the fruit. heavier and more solid means juicier!

3. The dimples should have small, fine dimples on the peels

4. Watch out for soft, tender spots or wrinkled, folds in the rind.

5. The smell of the the fruit should be a strong, sweet citrusy smell.

The farmer/orchardist will also know what characteristics to look for in the particular varieties that he is growing.

 

When are citrus ripe - how to tell!

Citrus ripen from the outside of the tree towards the center, so the citrus out the outside of the tree will ripen first.  Once they are picked, they stop ripening. Picking citrus directly from a tree is easy.. abut  uniform orange color is not necessarily an indicator of a delicious, juicy orange.  Notice the photo at right.

 The best way to know if a citrus fruit is ripe is the smell and taste.  Try one and you will know what to look for in appearance and smell with the others.

When are Citrus in season?

Keep in mind that these are typical, general dates.  It can vary considerably upon weather, location, orchard and variety.

• Navel oranges - November to June.

• Valencia oranges - March to October.

• Cara Cara oranges December to May.

• Clementine oranges  -October to December

• Satsuma - October to January.

• Pineapple sweet oranges - November to February.

More Tips

• Once picked, don't throw the citrus into the baskets, place them in gently, or they will bruise and go bad more quickly.
• Don't wash citrus until just before using to prevent spoilage.
• Keep citrus cool after picking to increase shelf life.  A cool basement is ideal, but the fruit/vegetable drawer of a refrigerator will work, too. Kept cool, fresh-picked citrus will generally keep weeks, but it DOES depend on the variety.  Red and Yellow Delicious citrus do not keep well, for example; but Rome, do! High humidity helps to to keep the citrus from shriveling, but don't let them get actually wet. A wet towel placed nearby helps to keep the humidity up. A refrigerator is fine for small quantities of citrus. Boxed citrus need to be kept in a cool, dark spot where they won't freeze.
  Prevent contact between citrus stored for the winter by wrapping them individually in sheets of newspaper. The easiest way to do this is to unfold a section of newspaper all the way and tear it into quarters. Then stack the wrapped citrus
• Nutrition and miscellaneous facts: One-half cup of citrus is only 42 calories. Citrus contain no cholesterol or fat and are also low in calories. T Citrus are high in dietary fiber, Vitamin A and niacin. They contain iron and other trace minerals and are a fair source of Vitamin C. 
• Citrus are ranked No. 1 in Vitamin C and antioxidant activity compared with many other commercially available fruits and vegetables. That means a serving of citrus has more of the antioxidant power you need to fight aging, cancer and heart disease.

Storing Citrus

In a refrigerator, citrus can last 2 or3 weeks.. Keep them in a bag that has holes for airflow, ie. they have a few holes in them . The airflow is important to prevent buildup of moisture or condensation which causes mold growth.

At room temperature, Citrus will keep for about a week.

Recipes and Preserving Citrus

Canning and freezing citrus - fully illustrated, with step-by-step instructions

• How to can oranges, grapefruit, lemons, limes, tangerines, clementine's and other citrus
• How to make home-canned orange juice or other citrus juices
• How to make home-canned lemon juice or other citrus juices
• How to freeze orange, lemon, grapefruit or other citrus juices

Marmalades, Jellies, and Other Recipes, illustrated with step by step instructions

• FROG Jam (fig-raspberry-orange-ginger)
• Orange marmalade
• Lemon curd (or lime curd)

Citrus weights and measures

The weight of the citrus fruit, and the number of fruit per bushel varies depending on the size of the fruit , their moisture content and variety.  But, in general:

• 1 bushel = 48-72 oranges or 32-48 grapefruit.

• 3/4 bushel = 36-54 oranges or 24-36 grapefruit

• 1/2 bushel = 24-36 oranges or 16-24 grapefruit

Citrus Festivals

Here is a list of Florida citrus festivals  If you know of any more, please write me! Feedback.