Once upon a time on usenet Hypatia Nachshon wrote:
On Wednesday, February 3, 2016 at 7:51:49 PM UTC-8, Hypatia Nachshon
wrote:
On Friday, January 29, 2016 at 11:47:28 AM UTC-8, Hypatia Nachshon
wrote:
Follow-up to "Six Oranges".
Saved for ritual tasting by visiting family. One reported
"acidic". Why?!
I water & feed them regularly; they get plenty of sun; good soil.
My heart is broken. Any thoughts?
HB
Thanks to all for input.
These are dwarf Washington oranges. I tasted one and it was a
little on the "sharp" side, for a variety that is usually milder. I
fed tree with regular commercial citrus fertilizer.
Previous crop from same tree was less "acidic", if memory serves.
Is there any wisdom out there relating to types/effects of
fertilizer? I can't think of any other variable.
Would hate to wait another year for same result.
TIA
HB
Update: Several other "tasters" did not report "acidic"; just
normal. So that first orange may have been an anomaly for ? reason.
Will have to read up on fertilizers for next year.
HB
While degree of ripeness in oranges doesn't effect sweetness (which can mask
acidity) it *does* effect acidity considerably so be sure they're completely
ripe (it reduces as they ripen). Also a short period of post-picking storage
will reduce acidity (but always pick when completely ripe.)
That's off the top of my head by the way. Gathered wisdom which I use with
my own citrus harvest. I usually wait for the first couple of fruit from
each tree to fall before harvesting (most of) the rest with oranges. Unless
I'm in need of one or two for the kitchen.
--
Shaun.
"Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy
little classification in the DSM*."
David Melville (in r.a.s.f1)
(*Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)
To the best of my knowledge fertilisers have almost zero effect on acidity
or sweetness. About the only things that do are sunlight / leaf area per
fruit and /adequate/ fertilisation.
....... I was just in the process of double-checking that for you but I'm
busy right now so:
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=pre-harvest+fac...s+in +oranges
Good luck! I spent an hour reading before deciding to share a link rather
than collating and summarising the data for you.
