How to Harvest Grapefruit Trees

Many people eat grapefruit for breakfast.

Grapefruit trees grow primarily in Florida and California. Types of grapefruit include flame, star rubies, ruby reds and white. With the exception of white grapefruit, your grapefruit should be a red color when harvested. Harvest times vary slightly depending on when the tree was planted, but generally trees are ready as early as September or October and will continue to produce fruit until April or May. Picking grapefruit from the tree can seem a little daunting at first, but can be done easily using the correct procedure.

Things You'll Need

• 1-gallon buckets
• Clippers
• Gloves
• Step ladder

Instructions

1. Pull off any low hanging grapefruits. You can either snap them off just above the fruit or cut them using the clippers. You will need to put on long gloves due to small thorns located on the branches.

2. Place the harvested grapefruits into the 1-gallon buckets. When you have filled a bucket, get a new bucket and continue harvesting grapefruit. Buckets can be stored in a cool area to protect the fruit, generally between 40 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Place the step ladder to the side of the tree from which you are harvesting grapefruits. Your ladder will need to be tall enough to reach the highest branches, which can range from 20 to 45 feet. Do not place the ladder against the tree, as this can damage the tree. You can also use a "cherry picker"--a small truck that has a bucket for a person to stand in, to pick the grapefruit.

4. Harvest the grapefruit from the upper branches. Just as you did with the lower hanging fruit, either snap or clip it off at the stem just above the grapefruit while wearing long gloves.

5. Place the harvested grapefruits into the 1-gallon buckets.

6. Move the ladder to another portion of the tree and continue to either clip or snap off the grapefruits from the tree while wearing gloves.

Tips & Warnings

• Mature grapefruits may stay on the tree as late as May and continue to grow in size.

• You may also use a modified olive-shaker, which will shake the trees on opposite sides to quickly harvest the grapefruit.

• Do not use a hook as this can damage the grapefruit.

• Grapefruit trees have small thorns on the branches, so you it is possible for you to be badly scratched while harvesting grapefruits.

References

• Purdue: Grapefruit
• Pick Your Own: Florida Citrus Harvest Calendar