The Fruits of Autumn

My pomegranates Tree
By Anna
@LadyDuck (471500)
Switzerland
September 6, 2016 8:01am CST
A chilly wind has blown all the night, making spooky noises in the silence. This morning the lawn is covered by leaves, it's the sign that fall is around the corner. The grapes are ready to be harvested and the figs are ripe on the trees. I took a photo of our small pomegranate trees. It is covered with fruits, that will be ready to pick in about four weeks. You cannot pick a pomegranates if it's not ready, because they stop ripening as soon as you pick them. If you leave them too long on the tree, they will lose their flavor. To test if they are ready, you have to tap them. When they are ripe they have a sort of metallic sound. Which are the fruits of autumn in your country?
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69 responses
@JudyEv (339930)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Sep 16
I didn't know that about tapping pomegranates. You look to have a very nice crop.
7 people like this
@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
6 Sep 16
I wonder how this poor little tree can bear so many fruits.
3 people like this
@JudyEv (339930)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Sep 16
@LadyDuck Do you ever have a branch break because of the weight of the fruit?
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
6 Sep 16
@JudyEv No, it never happened, they are incredibly flexible.
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@marlina (154131)
• Canada
6 Sep 16
Believe it or not, I have never tastes a pomegranate before. We have a lot of apples here and pears in our area.
4 people like this
• Fujian, China
7 Sep 16
@LadyDuck .pomegranates are very Delicious.But it is very troublesome to eat, there are many seeds inside.I like to strip the seeds down.Then put many in mouth.Is that what you eat?Actually I feel better, drink some juice.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
7 Sep 16
@xuliwei830406 I agree, they are full of seeds. I do like you, I put a full tablespoon of seed in my mouth and I eat them, but most of the time I prefer to extract the juice.
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@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
6 Sep 16
The pomegranates are pretty annoying because they are full of seeds. Most of the time I extract the juice.
3 people like this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
6 Sep 16
I do not have the faintest idea what fruits grow at which time of year.
2 people like this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
6 Sep 16
@LadyDuck I never wanted garden, but I have two and spend too much time mowing the grass.
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@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
6 Sep 16
I was almost sure Barry. I confess that I also did not know a lot before I had a garden.
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@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
6 Sep 16
@Asylum Mowing the grass is a real pain, I like winter only for this reason, the grass does not grow. Anyway it's covered with snow so nobody notice.
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@youless (112481)
• Guangzhou, China
7 Sep 16
Long time ago we had the same pomegranate tree at home. But we never tasted the fruits. I don't know why. Perhaps they were not so attractive. In autumn, we still have many fruits here, such as grapes, persimmons, grapefruits, bananas and so on.
3 people like this
@youless (112481)
• Guangzhou, China
7 Sep 16
@LadyDuck In fact today many fruits are available most of the time. As they can shipped from other countries. Sometimes I almost forget which are typical fruits for autumn
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@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
7 Sep 16
@youless I remember looking at the gardens, people have figs, pears, prunes, apples persimmons, pomegranates and cherries here.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
7 Sep 16
We do not have bananas, but we have all the others fruits you mention.
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@Ceerios (4698)
• Goodfellow, Texas
7 Sep 16
@LadyDuck - Ms Anna - I have never yet seen growing pomegranates, but they taste just fine if you don't mind turning your face all red in color. At our place we usually get to harvest oranges and lemons in the autumn of the year, but sometimes, depending on rainfall earlier in the growing season, there comes a second crop if things get really wet. Then harvest can be twice a year. -Gus-
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
7 Sep 16
We do not have oranges and lemons, winters are too cold here, but we have plenty of apples, grapes and prunes.
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@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
7 Sep 16
@Ceerios Beautiful photo, we have the same kind of vineyards here, they are on the slopes.
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@Ceerios (4698)
• Goodfellow, Texas
7 Sep 16
Along the Rhine River, Germany, 1958 Gus Kilthau
@LadyDuck - Ms Anna - What is interesting aboutthe differences is that, here it is too warm in the winters such that we do not have some of the "northern" fruits and you do not have those that appreciate warm winters. Here is an old photo I made years ago in Germany as I traveled the road along the Rhine River. It is of a vineyard on the slopes and a greenhouse setup nearby. -Gus-
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121582)
• Gainesville, Florida
7 Sep 16
Although I have enjoyed pomegranate-flavored juices, I have never eaten a pomegranate before! In fact, prior to seeing your photo, I didn't even know what they looked like! lol
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
7 Sep 16
We use to offer a pomegranate the first day of the year, because it is considered a sign of good luck and to bring money in the house. With the small fruits I make Christmas decorations.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
8 Sep 16
@moffittjc It is supposed to bring you luck for all the year. We have several first of the year superstitions to have luck and money, the pomegranate, the grapes that we should eat at midnight when the old year goes away, the lentils to eat the first day of the year. I pretend that I am not superstitious, but I eat the lentils.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121582)
• Gainesville, Florida
8 Sep 16
@LadyDuck So, did the pomegranate on the first day of the year bring you good luck throughout the years?
1 person likes this
@Rollo1 (16679)
• Boston, Massachusetts
6 Sep 16
Apple-picking time. And pumpkins are our Autumn favorite. Everything comes in Pumpkin Spice flavor - coffee, tea, muffins, cakes, cookies - it's a little obsessive.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
6 Sep 16
I love pumpkins, they are already on the shelves. It is true that in the United States it's a little obsessive the pumpkin spice mania.
1 person likes this
@scheng1 (24649)
• Singapore
6 Sep 16
We do not have four seasons so the days are either hot and dry or hot and wet. This is the kind of weather perfect for vegetables and mosquitoes. Us, the humans, suffer in misery.
2 people like this
@scheng1 (24649)
• Singapore
6 Sep 16
@LadyDuck We are having a national war against the mosquitoes since we have Zika on top of dengue fever too. Our Zika is not the same type as the Brazil type. Our Zika is localized and the sick ones get well after one day.
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@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
6 Sep 16
@scheng1 I am glad that we have no Zika or dengue, but the bites are incredibly annoying and I am a bit allergic, it takes forever for the red spots to disappear.
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@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
6 Sep 16
So true, there are plenty of mosquitoes here too, I hate those small vampires.
2 people like this
@much2say (55601)
• Los Angeles, California
6 Sep 16
There are a few pomegranate trees in our neighborhood, but it seems like some kind of beetle gets to them before anyone is able to pick them! I have found a new love for figs . . . I am hoping we can get a fig tree at some point. As others have said, here it's apples, pears, and pumpkins!!!
1 person likes this
@much2say (55601)
• Los Angeles, California
6 Sep 16
@LadyDuck I've heard that!! I've never really "experimented" with prosciutto but I'm working my way there. This morning I bought some pancetta for the first time . . . but after your post I realized I forgot to get my box of figs!!
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@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
6 Sep 16
I love figs, they are excellent paired with the Italian prosciutto and salami. The sweet and the salty pair very well.
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@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
7 Sep 16
@much2say I have never tried to pair figs with pancetta, I am not sure that it works. Salami is the best.
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@silvermist (19702)
• India
7 Sep 16
It is really wonderful that you have Pomegranates in your garden.I like to eat them.Also I add them to salads.But I do not like the juice much.
2 people like this
@silvermist (19702)
• India
13 Sep 16
@LadyDuck Yes the salad looks good when we add Pomegranates .
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@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
7 Sep 16
I also add them to salad and to decorate some dishes. The juice alone is not very good, but mixed to orange juice or added to some white liquors it's very good.
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@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
6 Sep 16
Those pomegranates look very healthy, I bet they will taste wonderful when they are ripe.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
6 Sep 16
They are not as sweet as the big ones coming from Turkey, but they are good and very healthy.
1 person likes this
@simone10 (54187)
• Louisville, Kentucky
9 Sep 16
I love your pomegranate trees and that is a lot of fruit. I sure didn't know that they wouldn't ripen if taken off the tree. That's all really interesting to know.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
9 Sep 16
I did not know either when I planted the tree, but I noticed that when I picked them up not ripen they stayed in the kitchen forever and never seemed to ripe. I finally discovered the reason.
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@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
10 Sep 16
@simone10 It's a cute small tree and the flowers in June and July are beautiful, bright red. You can still see one on the lower left corner of the photo.
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@simone10 (54187)
• Louisville, Kentucky
10 Sep 16
@LadyDuck Sometimes you have to learn by trial and error. Your trees and the fruit look really abundant and healthy so you are doing everything right!
1 person likes this
• Eugene, Oregon
6 Sep 16
The grapevines in the vineyards are heavy with fruit and plums are falling off trees.
2 people like this
• Eugene, Oregon
6 Sep 16
@LadyDuck Looks like a record crop here in Oregon I think.
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@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
6 Sep 16
@JamesHxstatic Last year we had a record year, I feel that this year it will not be great.
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@responsiveme (22926)
• India
7 Sep 16
Pomegranates and Pears. bananas all year around.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
7 Sep 16
We do not have bananas, this is a cold country. We have also apple, pears, grapes, plums and apricots during the hot months.
@Blondie2222 (28611)
• United States
6 Sep 16
Alot of people harvest grapes and blueberries this time of year, we also have lots of apples. I can't wait to plant some trees next year and have our own fruit. My boyfriend works at a winery so right now it's harvest season for them and their grapes turned out better than they thought this year
1 person likes this
@Blondie2222 (28611)
• United States
7 Sep 16
@LadyDuck well that sucks. At my boyfriends work their putting up deer fence to protect the grapes and stuff and preparing for harvest season
1 person likes this
@Blondie2222 (28611)
• United States
7 Sep 16
@LadyDuck Yeah it is i hate this time of year because my boyfriend works long hours and we don't see each other much
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@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
7 Sep 16
@Blondie2222 Yes, the grapes demand a lot of work and it's a shame when the weather does not help.
@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
9 Sep 16
Wow, lovely pomegranates! So there must be a metallic sound to know if they are ready for eating. Thank you Ana, I'm finding it hard to know when to pick my pomegranates. Now I can try your method. Thanks a lot!
1 person likes this
@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
9 Sep 16
@LadyDuck I tapped my pomegranates but not anyone of them has that metallic sound yet.
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@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
9 Sep 16
@salonga I think it's too early. Most of the time we pick them up in November/December here.
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@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
9 Sep 16
I am tapping them every day, I think I have to wait a couple more weeks, but I like them so much.
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@rebelann (112876)
• El Paso, Texas
6 Sep 16
How lucky. So you have a lot of variety where you are, correct? The only fruit I am aware of in this area is the prickly pear bulbs but boy are they hard to get to with all those teeny thorns all over that plant. I've never harvested any but I've heard they make a wonderful jelly and the leaves once dethorned make a tasty vegetable dish that many here enjoy with their breakfast.
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@rebelann (112876)
• El Paso, Texas
6 Sep 16
I have heard that the desert in Arizona has a different variety of flora that we do here @LadyDuck we do have prickly pear but we do not have those large cacti that the desert seems so famous for, ours has a different variety.
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@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
7 Sep 16
@rebelann Do you mean the Joshua trees? I think to remember that I did not see them in Texas, while the prickly pears were the same. We have prickly pears in Italy, only in Sicily.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
6 Sep 16
We have many varieties of fruits, pears, apples, grape, persimmons, prunes and in summer cherries and abricots. I love the prickly pears and I remember I bought a jar of prickly pear jelly in Arizona, it was delicious.
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@shshiju (10342)
• Cochin, India
6 Sep 16
That's pomegranate and looks great. We have passion fruit in this season.
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@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
28 Sep 16
@shshiju Yes this is the reason, no tropical fruits grow here.
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@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
6 Sep 16
Passion fruits are very good, they do not grow in our country.
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@shshiju (10342)
• Cochin, India
28 Sep 16
@LadyDuck Cold climate may be the reason.
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@spiderdust (14761)
• San Jose, California
7 Sep 16
We have pomegranates in my area too. There are some trees growing along the street nearby; I've been keeping an eye on the fruits, waiting for them to be ripe enough to pick. I know what you mean by that hollow, metallic sound they have then they're just right. Grapes are also reaching their peak this season, as are apples, pumpkins, and almonds.
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@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
7 Sep 16
I think that people who never tried to tap a pomegranate cannot understand what I mean by "metallic sound". We also have grapes here, but no almonds, only walnuts and hazelnuts. I know that you also have walnuts in California. Your area is beautiful, I have visited California several times.
@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
7 Sep 16
@spiderdust What a shame about your fig, we also have a fig tree in the garden.
@spiderdust (14761)
• San Jose, California
7 Sep 16
@LadyDuck It's true, we also have walnuts coming into season. When I take walks, I have to step around all the black walnuts that have fallen to the ground. We also have ripe figs right now, which I forgot because we lost our fig tree this summer. It's growing back, but we won't have a crop of figs this year until it's much bigger.
1 person likes this
6 Sep 16
I am happy to know that Autumn is just "around the corner" in your land but here in my place, well... the sweltering heat is gone but the sun still shines with all his might making it impossible to imagine that Autumn is anywhere near even. I hope to feel the first streaks of Autumn pretty soon. By the way, we too have pomegranates in Autumn. But I did not know that pomegranates, when ripe, produce a metallic sound. I must try checking them this time.
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@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
6 Sep 16
Yes, it's a funny sound that it's almost metallic, if there is no sound, do not pick the pomegranates.
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@LadyDuck (471500)
• Switzerland
6 Sep 16
@The_Bong_Woman Yes, or they are not ripe enough, so there is too much empty space to produce the right sound.
6 Sep 16
@LadyDuck If there's no sound then does this mean they are rotten on the inside?
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