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How to Sweeten Citrus Fruit

By: Rachel Aenne

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21 July, 2017

Citrus image by Marek Kosmal from Fotolia.com

Sour fruits come to mind easily when considering citrus. Lemons, limes and grapefruit are all a part of the citrus family. Depending on variety, care and location, home-grown citrus fruit can run the flavor gamut from deliciously sweet to too sour to taste. If the citrus fruit you grow is too sour, there are ways to get sweeter fruit, before and after the harvest.

Avoid growing citrus fruit in an area with cool summers. Generally, the hotter the summer, the sweeter the fruit.

Plant a variety of citrus fruit known for its sweetness. Read garden catalogs and seed packets carefully, noting which varieties claim to produce sweet fruit.

Sour fruits come to mind easily when considering citrus.
Depending on variety, care and location, home-grown citrus fruit can run the flavor gamut from deliciously sweet to too sour to taste.

Use potash and Epsom salts to grow sweeter citrus fruit. Sprinkle approximately 6 handfuls of sulphate of potash around the base of each citrus tree. Dissolve 2 tsp. of Epsom salts into 2 1/2 gallons of water. Use this mix to water in the sulphate of potash.

Allow your citrus fruit to ripen on the tree. Most varieties of citrus ripen well this way. Oranges and mandarins especially tend to sweeten if left on the tree longer.

Use potash and Epsom salts to grow sweeter citrus fruit.

Place ripe citrus fruit inside a container, such as a box. Shake the container for several minutes prior to serving. Shaking bruises the fruit, freeing the juice and diluting the sour taste of the fruit.

Top peeled citrus fruit with sugar. Prepare the citrus fruit for serving. Sprinkle sugar on the citrus fruit or provide a sugar bowl for dipping.

Use sour citrus fruit in recipes. Citrus fruit can be used to create a variety of drinks, dishes, spreads and toppings. Turn sour oranges into a sweet orange marmalade, use sour lemons to make a sweet lemonade, or make a sweet citrus pie. Sour citrus fruit can also be used to infuse vodka.

Place ripe citrus fruit inside a container, such as a box.
Sprinkle sugar on the citrus fruit or provide a sugar bowl for dipping.

Properly Irrigate For Citrus Fruit Trees

Calculate the amount of water your citrus tree will require based on its size, type, the soil in which it stands and the time of year. For example, an orange tree with a 10-foot canopy will require about 14 gallons of water per day during the month of August in sandy soil. Remove the spray nozzle from your garden hose and install a more efficient water-saving soaker attachment. This technique will save precious water and provides more effective results for your citrus trees. Continue the irrigation process during the winter months if the trees are subjected to hot sun, high winds or drought-like conditions.

Calculate the amount of water your citrus tree will require based on its size, type, the soil in which it stands and the time of year.
Continue the irrigation process during the winter months if the trees are subjected to hot sun, high winds or drought-like conditions.

Properly Irrigate For Citrus Fruit Trees

Calculate the amount of water your citrus tree will require based on its size, type, the soil in which it stands and the time of year.
Continue the irrigation process during the winter months if the trees are subjected to hot sun, high winds or drought-like conditions.