How to Harvest and Store Lemons

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

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Chances are that if you surveyed a group of gourmet cooks, they'd rank the lemon as the fruit they'd least want to do without. If you live where you can grow your own, count your blessings. And if good taste isn't enough, lemons also pack a load of vitamin C.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Baskets
Dwarf Lemon Trees
Garden Shears
Gardening Gloves
Ice Cube Trays
Juicers
Plastic Containers
Plastic Storage Bags
Reamers

Step1

Harvest lemons throughout the year.

Step2

Pick lemons - and all citrus fruits - when they're bright yellow.

Step3

Twist the fruit from the tree gently, or snip it off with clippers. Either way, take care not to damage the twigs on the tree.

Step4

Store lemons at room temperature and enjoy their cheerful color; they'll keep well for about two weeks without refrigeration.

Step5

Put lemons in plastic bags and keep them in the refrigerator for up to six weeks.

Step6

Keep a ready supply of juice on hand by squeezing lemons and pouring the juice into ice cube trays. Later, transfer the frozen cubes to a plastic freezer container.

Tips & Warnings

Even if you live in a cold climate, you can still have fresh lemons year-round. Several varieties of dwarf lemon tree can thrive indoors. Two of the best for containers are Meyer and Ponderosa.