5 Citrus Fruits You Must Try This Fall
With fall in full swing, it's citrus season here in Kauai! Now is the perfect time to pick up local citrus fruits when they're at their freshest.
Today's post will highlight five of our favorite fall citrus fruits. We'll cover what they look like, nutritional benefits they have, and how to grow them. Stay tuned to the end for a couple of our favorite citrus recipes...
Let's get started!
Tahitian Lime
Also known as "Bearss Lime" the Tahitian lime is a medium sized, vigorous tree that bears fruit nearly year-round. The fruit is seedless, juicy and a prolific, dependable bearer.
Tahitian limes are high in vitamin C and can lead to increased iron absorption when paired with iron-rich foods.
Caring for Tahitian limes requires fertilizing the tree every 2-3 months while it is growing. Once it has matured, you can reduce the fertilizing to three or four times per year.
Tahitian limes require pruning only to remove diseased or damaged branches.
The fruit is ready to harvest when it produces juice when cut into.
Improved Meyer Lemon
Improved Meyer lemons have a unique mild, juicy flavor and produce fruit almost year round. The fruits are large and round with smooth thin skin. Because of how often it produces fruit, the trees don't grow very large.
Like Tahitian limes, Meyer lemons are a significant source of vitamin C and antioxidants.
You should fertilize Meyer lemons regularly when they are growing, and prune the clusters down to two fruits when the fruits become marble-sized.
When the fruits have developed a greenish-yellow color, pick one and cut it open. If it's juicy then the tree is ready to harvest.
Star Ruby Supreme Grapefruit
Star ruby supreme grapefruit (what a name!) is the best all around pink grapefruit for Hawaii. The fruit is seedless, juicy, and delicious with no bitter aftertaste. The color is excellent, and the high-quality fruit lives up to its name.
The fruit is high in vitamin C and a good source of dietary fiber.
Star ruby supreme grapefruit trees should be fertilized three times a year and only pruned when dead or diseased branches are visible.
The fruit is ready to harvest when it begins to turn yellow/pink.
Minneola Tangelo
This cross between a tangerine and a grapefruit is sweet, tart, aromatic, and rich. The large orange fruit is ripe in the fall and winter months and tends to bear regularly and heavily.
Minneola tangelos are a good source of vitamin C, vitamin B, and folate.
While growing, fertilize as soon as any new growth appears on the tree. Only prune to removed damaged or diseased branches.
Minneola tangelos are ready to harvest when the fruit has turned orange and is firm to the touch.
Clementine Tangerine
Clementine tangerines are easy to peel, usually seedless, and ripen in the winter and spring months. They are juicy and sweet.
Clementine tangerines are a good source of vitamin C, potassium, vitamin A, and dietary fiber.
You should fertilize clementine tangerines only after the tree has one year of growth, and prune them only when dead or diseased wood appears.
Clementine tangerines are ready for harvest when the skin turns fully orange.
Recipes
Reading about these fruits is all well and good, but the best part is, of course, eating them. To help you do that as deliciously as possible, check out the two recipes below:
Tahitian Lime Pie - Courtesy of TastingHawaii.com, this recipe offers a tasty variation on the familiar key lime pie.
Clementine Cake - Devised by Nigella Lawson, this delectable cake requires only five ingredients.
If you try either of these recipes, please post a picture in the comments section for us all to drool over. :)
Conclusion
We hope you've enjoyed this overview of some of the best citrus fruits in season this fall. If you have any more detailed questions about growing these trees, contact us or stop by the nursery to ask one of our knowledgeable staff.
What are your favorite citrus fruits? Have any recipes or growing tips to share? Let us know in the comments section below!