Would you want to know when to harvest strawberry guava? My own experience suggests that Psidium cattleianum, guava-strawberry. Little tree, 3 to 5 meters tall, with newly formed greenish-purple leaves.
Fruits, 2 cm in diameter, purple-red. Harvest in the summer and fall.
When the fruit is deep purple, velvety to the touch, and strongly scented with strawberries, it is optimal for consumption.
Its rich taste and all of its sugars have fully formed.
If it had been picked earlier, when it was still a pale pink color, it would have been rather tart and lacked the same depth of flavor. But that’s not all; I’ll provide additional information as you read.
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Now, let’s get started.
When Are Guavas Harvested
The guava is a lovely crimson, glossy tropical fruit with a slightly sour aftertaste. It is a tiny tropical fruit. The orchards and woodlands of the island are where it matures throughout the winter months.
Beginning at the beginning of April and continuing until the end of August, the harvest is when all of the automobiles on the island congregate on the plateaus on Sundays.
When the color of the fruits changes from green to yellow-green or yellow, guavas are ready to be harvested. Harvesting can begin at this point.
Guavas can be stored in the refrigerated for longer periods of time, or they can be allowed to soften at room temperature for a few days.
Pruning guava trees once or twice a year is beneficial because it removes congested branches and helps manage the trees’ size.
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How To Harvest And Store Strawberry Guava
Harvest: In moderate areas, strawberry guavas usually bloom all year round. But spring is the most outstanding season.
After blooming, the fruit takes 90 to 150 days to mature thoroughly. The fruits taste better if they ripen on the tree.
After being transplanted, the trees keep growing and produce fruit in two to four years. Trees may live for up to 40 years, but after 15 years, they produce less fruit.
Storage: Keeping the berries green is preferable to preserve the fruit. They won’t go wrong if kept in the fridge for three to five weeks.
Overripe berries usually bruise after a few days. Refrigerating strawberry guava fruits after wrapping them in plastic is the best way to keep them fresh.
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How To Do Strawberry Guava Care
Taking care of the strawberry guava (Psidium littorale) is crucial if you want to harvest huge fruits from it.
In this post, you will discover how to savor the mouthwatering tropical fruits throughout the year correctly.
In this post, I’ll share with you some advice on how I’ve grown many big, juicy, delicious fruits throughout the years.
The selection of the site:
It is not winter hard to grow strawberry guavas. As such, it requires a summertime and wintertime location that works.
The setting should be as warm and bright as possible in all seasons. The strawberry guava grows sweeter the more sun and warmth it receives.
A sunny area in the yard or patio is perfect in the summer. The house’s south wall is inappropriate in the summer since it would need too much water otherwise.
A south-facing window or a heated conservatory are good places to be in winter.
Watering properly: Psidium littorale requires a lot of water, just like all other guava species. It may receive three daily waterings in the summer.
When the shoots hang, you know they’re too dry. The plant also sheds its leaves in response to a severe water deficiency.
Depending on its size, each potted plant needs five liters of water on hot summer days. The guava will produce poor-quality fruit if it does not get adequate water.
Water it far less in the winter, but only as much as the plant needs. Watering once a week is generally plenty.
The root ball must never entirely dry up, though. The best container is a water saucer, which the guava plant uses to get water.
The appropriate size bucket:
Similar to the majority of guava species, Psidium littorale grows quite quickly. Regretfully, big plant pots are also necessary for the robust growth of strawberry guava.
Regretfully, Psidium littorale rapidly outgrows your container. The plant will always be without water if the pot is too tiny.
Due of this, you will need to repot the plant every few years into a container that is somewhat larger than the one it was originally grown in.
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How To Grow Strawberry Guava
Psidium cattleianum, often known as strawberry guava trees, is a fruit tree that grows quickly, is tasty, and looks good in your backyard.
The first step in growing Strawberry Guava from seed is to pick the brightest, plumpest seeds from ripe fruits. For viability, these are your best options.
A pre-treatment soak is beneficial for seeds before planting.
Immersing them for a whole night will help to soften the outer shell and will also enhance germination. One may think of it as a gentle nudge to start them moving.
Here’s a quick rundown on how to grow guava strawberries and what to anticipate in the coming weeks.
Seed Availability:
Strawberry guava is spread via seeds, which birds and branches frequently disperse.
Specialized nurseries and online seed suppliers carry yellow seeds. You can be confident that guava and strawberry seeds are easily found.
Details Regarding Germination:
Make sure the seeds germinate on time by planting them in sterile soil that is wet and between 21 and 29 degrees Celsius (70 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit).
The germination period is expected to be between 4 and 6 weeks, although it may take up to 12 weeks, contingent on soil quality and temperature constancy.
When to plant: Planting a strawberry guava is best done in the spring. There is a greater chance of rain, the earth is more pliable, and the sun is rarely present.
Where to plant: Brazilian-style tropical environments are often ideal for strawberry guava plants. They can be cultivated as a tiny tree in your garden, planted outside your house, or both.
But since plants are invasive, staying away from growing in places you don’t want to invade is advisable!
How to plant: You must maintain a consistent temperature and soil since guava seeds can be challenging to germinate.
Sow the seeds in rich, loamy soil, ¼ to ½ inch deep. To guarantee effective germination, the soil temperature should stay between 70 and 85°F.
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How Do You Know When A Strawberry Guava Is Ripe
The fruit goes from a deep maroon to a deep scarlet when it matures. The fruit can range from tiny enough to fit in a coin to slightly larger than a golf ball.
The guava strawberry’s flesh is yellow and white with hints of pinkish-red color. The complex golden seeds are.
As its name implies, the strawberry guava fruit is pinky-red to burgundy in color when mature and tastes like strawberries.
The fruits take several months to mature from their green beginnings. This year, it blossomed in late spring and produced its first mature fruit in August.
Furthermore, please place them in a paper bag with an apple or banana to expedite the ripening process.
Rinse guavas well to expedite ripening since they may have been coated with edible wax that slows the ripening process. Guavas may be kept in the refrigerator for up to two days after ripe.
How Big Do Strawberry Guava Get Before Harvest
The thick, smooth, dark green, four-inch-long, leathery leaves match the soft, gray-brown to golden bark, which peels off in elegant thin sheets.
The tree may grow to a height of 25 feet, but it is more commonly seen at 10 to 15 feet.
There are several almond-shaped leaves that range in size from tiny to medium on the Strawberry Guava.
This tree is an excellent screen due to the dense evergreen foliage that it presents.
On the other hand, it is a tree that is already gorgeous in its own right. The blooms are relatively little and white and are not particularly noticeable.
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Final Thought
Now that we have established when to harvest strawberry guava, After being planted, strawberry guava trees often start producing fruit within a few years of the planting date.
The form of fruits is oval, and their sizes range from that of an apricot to that of a baseball. As the fruit ripens, the green skin color changes to a yellowish hue.
The strawberry guavas should be harvested when the skin is somewhat pliable when subjected to gentle pressure.
It is possible to consume the strawberry guava in its fresh form, make jams and jellies, or use it to make juice; however, the seeds must be removed first.
Last but not least, one of the fascinating characteristics of this species is that the skin does not change color until it is mature.
When pineapple guavas are ripe, they are often softer than unripe guavas and will fall from the tree. This is the technique to tell whether or not they are ripe.