Author Topic: What fruit is ripe this time of year in SW Florida?  (Read 3167 times)

chad6159

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 163
    • Cape Coral, FL
    • View Profile
What fruit is ripe this time of year in SW Florida?
« on: February 06, 2019, 01:02:29 PM »
Would like to get a few fruit trees that have fruit ripe on them right now, or close to now.

The only fruit that I know of that is ripe right now are citrus and starfruit. What else is there? Having no fruit ripe from august until now is killing me!

Also, what do you guys consider to be the best starfruit variety, I like the ones that are purely sweet, I don't like the tart and sweet ones.

FMfruitforest

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 391
  • Tropical Fruit
    • USA, FL,zone 10a
    • View Profile
Re: What fruit is ripe this time of year in SW Florida?
« Reply #1 on: February 06, 2019, 01:31:38 PM »
From what ive seen recently Sapodilla, Muntingia Calabura, Loquats

Vernmented

  • Starry Nursery/Plant Hoarder/Zone Pusher/Biochar Enthusiast
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1331
    • USA, Florida, Sarasota, 9B/10A
    • View Profile
    • Starry Nursery Instagram
Re: What fruit is ripe this time of year in SW Florida?
« Reply #2 on: February 06, 2019, 02:01:44 PM »
papaya, atemoya, jaboticaba, avocado, black sapote, possibly the last indian jujubes.
-Josh

ftmyersfruit

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 158
    • Lee County Florida 33907
    • View Profile
Re: What fruit is ripe this time of year in SW Florida?
« Reply #3 on: February 06, 2019, 02:04:33 PM »
Also bananas. Green wax jambu. Canistel.

achetadomestica

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2243
    • FLORIDA 9b
    • View Profile
Re: What fruit is ripe this time of year in SW Florida?
« Reply #4 on: February 06, 2019, 02:22:20 PM »
This time of year can vary each year depending on the amount of cool/cold weather.
In my yard now I have 5 different types of 5' cherry tomatoes going. I just gave away 3
baggies full to some friends and they usually produce until April/May. I eat a handful everyday.
I am trying to grow strawberries for the first time with my 10 year old son and we have gotten 1-2
a day since November but I am seeing a very large flush of flowers so hopefully we get bowls full
soon. I am still eating Thai jujubes, red jaboticabas, red and yellow muntigia, Haysa and Silas woods
sapodillas are ripening 1-2 a week, pitangatuba, temple oranges, My Thai mulberry has hundreds of
unripe mulberries about to ripen. I also ate allot of good LSU purple figs this Winter but that is not
predictable

Things are about to explode if we don't get some freak cold weather. This has been a very cool winter and
now they are predicting 80F-60F for the next 2 weeks.  I fertilized on the 1st and am starting to increase water.
Last year we had a 37F in March that affected allot of flowers. The record low temp for my area is 28F in 1947 on
this date.

chad6159

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 163
    • Cape Coral, FL
    • View Profile
Re: What fruit is ripe this time of year in SW Florida?
« Reply #5 on: February 06, 2019, 04:11:40 PM »
Would love a Muntingia Calabura but do not really have the space for it. The ones I have seen, in order to get a good amount of fruit off of them, you need to let it get really big.

The Sapodilla that I have tried I was not really much of a fan, they were a little gritty for my liking. But that could have just been whatever variety that I tried.

I have a shangri la mulberry tree, but it might be nice to get a variety that fruits this time of year.

I am looking at getting a sugar belle tangerine tree and possibly a honey bell "orange" (tangelo) tree. The sugar belle is supposed to ripen before the honeybell so then I would have a continuous supply of citrus for a few months.

With this warm weather everything is coming to life at my place. Seems like only half of my mulberry tree stopped growing and the rest of it kept shooting up like crazy. It never did drop many of it leaves. Although they are kinda getting yellow from last weeks cold. My mango trees have been putting out new growth like crazy for the past almost month or so also.

If anybody has any other suggestions let me know!

pineislander

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2199
    • Bokeelia, FL
    • View Profile
Re: What fruit is ripe this time of year in SW Florida?
« Reply #6 on: February 06, 2019, 06:08:22 PM »
avocado, black sapote, possibly the last indian jujubes.
I second those for our area, Chad. I am on the last avocados but have been eating them almost six months. Black Sapote and Jujube are still loaded here in SW Florida.

chad6159

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 163
    • Cape Coral, FL
    • View Profile
Re: What fruit is ripe this time of year in SW Florida?
« Reply #7 on: February 06, 2019, 07:19:00 PM »
avocado, black sapote, possibly the last indian jujubes.
I second those for our area, Chad. I am on the last avocados but have been eating them almost six months. Black Sapote and Jujube are still loaded here in SW Florida.

I would love to have an avocado tree. I believe I told you about the one I got that I guess ended up getting root rot. Even though water never sits there for any period of time. even during the bad flooding prior to Irma last year. I want to get another one but just have not found the time, it is on the list of things to get. I think I might have found a better spot for it also so hopefully it does not get root rot this time. My wife would kill to be able to eat fresh avocados for 6 months straight!

pineislander

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2199
    • Bokeelia, FL
    • View Profile
Re: What fruit is ripe this time of year in SW Florida?
« Reply #8 on: February 06, 2019, 10:14:23 PM »
Avocado listing in approximate order to get 6 months:
Mexicola
Brogdon
Day
Pollack
Monroe
Simmonds
Marcus Pumpkin
Choquette

There are also several unidentified varieties and some multiple trees of the above which seems to spread out the harvest, plus the squirrels got quite a few.

chad6159

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 163
    • Cape Coral, FL
    • View Profile
Re: What fruit is ripe this time of year in SW Florida?
« Reply #9 on: February 07, 2019, 08:16:46 AM »
I remember seeing those huge Markus Pumpkin avocados at your place, how did they end up tasting?

pineislander

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2199
    • Bokeelia, FL
    • View Profile
Re: What fruit is ripe this time of year in SW Florida?
« Reply #10 on: February 08, 2019, 07:00:15 AM »
Some of those avocadoes weighed over 2 pounds each. They were good tasting but at the time with 25 trees I had more avocado ripening than I could eat. I got an offer to buy the whole crop so I sold them. Almost all of the West Indian type avocadoes are good if you leave them on the tree as long as possible. Once squirrels figure out they like them they will pick one every day.

bradflorida

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 849
    • Osprey, FL. Zone 10A.
    • View Profile
Re: What fruit is ripe this time of year in SW Florida?
« Reply #11 on: February 08, 2019, 07:13:19 AM »
On my trees now in Sarasota: choquette avocado, Monroe avocado, last of winterset persimmon, Maher Black sapote, fwang tung starfruit
Brad

pineislander

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2199
    • Bokeelia, FL
    • View Profile
Re: What fruit is ripe this time of year in SW Florida?
« Reply #12 on: February 08, 2019, 07:29:14 AM »
Maybe the next few months is best for Cecropia fruit. While we are in the dry season they ripen well, but as rainy season progresses they tend to rot/ferment. It is a big fast growing tree though that needs management to keep small.

chad6159

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 163
    • Cape Coral, FL
    • View Profile
Re: What fruit is ripe this time of year in SW Florida?
« Reply #13 on: February 08, 2019, 07:53:56 AM »
On my trees now in Sarasota: choquette avocado, Monroe avocado, last of winterset persimmon, Maher Black sapote, fwang tung starfruit

Yeah I think it looks like I need to give avocado another shot.

For persimmons I have tried Saijo, Hachiya and Fuyu. Listed in most liked to least liked. I thought I really liked them, until I realized that I would buy 10 or so from people locally and then I would wait until they got super squishy(because they were astringent varieties) then I would eat 2 or 3.  I would put the rest in the fridge and maybe eat one more before they would go bad. I just figured if I really liked them then they wouldn't sit in my fridge for a week +, I would want to eat them all up. If I had more space I would get a tree. But with all the trees I already have, and me still wanting a yard, I don't know if I can plant a tree that I'm not all that excited to eat the fruit from. If I had a bigger piece of property I would plant one for sure though.

I'm really not trying to sound picky because I do like most fruit. Just with my limited space left I would like to put a couple more things in that I really like.

I would like to try loquats sometime. Have never had one.

Thank you guys for all of the ideas, and keep them coming!

chad6159

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 163
    • Cape Coral, FL
    • View Profile
Re: What fruit is ripe this time of year in SW Florida?
« Reply #14 on: February 08, 2019, 07:55:13 AM »
Maybe the next few months is best for Cecropia fruit. While we are in the dry season they ripen well, but as rainy season progresses they tend to rot/ferment. It is a big fast growing tree though that needs management to keep small.

When I was at your place you did have me try Cecropia, which I thought was very good. I took home a piece for my wife and although she said it looked weird, she thought it was pretty tasty.
 Ill have to do some reading about them.

forumfool

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 272
    • Canton, GA 7b
    • View Profile
Re: What fruit is ripe this time of year in SW Florida?
« Reply #15 on: February 08, 2019, 09:21:29 AM »
Have you tried drying the Hachiya and saijo? They are one of the best fruits to dry and you won’t have waste

chad6159

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 163
    • Cape Coral, FL
    • View Profile
Re: What fruit is ripe this time of year in SW Florida?
« Reply #16 on: February 08, 2019, 01:08:35 PM »
Have you tried drying the Hachiya and saijo? They are one of the best fruits to dry and you won’t have waste

No I have not. I have seen a video of people doing that but for whatever reason I have never thought to try it, even thought I have a dehydrator....

Sadly that means I'll have to wait a long while now for them to come back into season. Dried would be a perfect snack, especially for my daughter. I think she likes persimmons more than I do!

roblack

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3008
    • Miami, FL 11A
    • View Profile
Re: What fruit is ripe this time of year in SW Florida?
« Reply #17 on: February 08, 2019, 07:47:03 PM »
Here in SE FL, just picked up the last of the passion fruits, silas woods sapodillas are ready day to day, hybrid red jabo, papaya, jujube, mulberries off and on, and purple caimito is getting closer to ripeness. lemon drop mangosteen almost ripe it seems. picked a couple of miracle fruit the other day as well.