Getting cold: to harvest or not to harvest?
 

This is one of my Blue Java/Ice Cream bunches. First fruits emerged on July 5. Should I bag it up to protect it from possible frost this week or harvest it and hang it in the garage to let it ripen? Has nice stretch marks already...

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This is my Namwah bunch. First fruits emerged on August 17. Should I bag it up and protect it from possible frost this week or harvest it and hang it in the garage to let it ripen?
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I already know that I do have to protect two other IC bunches. I hate cold weather!!!

Re: Getting cold: to harvest or not to harvest?
 

If they are big enough to remove you can still ripen and eat fruit that's not 100% mature. I pretty much lost all 83 fingers of my cavendish bunch :( , first bunch this mat ever had. It was covered but saw two times where it got down to 30 or 28 degrees. Most of them were damaged at the tips and turned black. Good luck.

Re: Getting cold: to harvest or not to harvest?
 

NWS pinpoint forecast for my area says 42 lowest the next 7 days.

Weather Channel for Fallbrook shows 38 as the lowest a couple nights for the next ten day.

Crazy banana I think your ok, your a lot closer to the coast than me.

Re: Getting cold: to harvest or not to harvest?
 

The microclimate here is different from other areas in San Diego. A big canyon behind the house sucks the cold air in. It was already down to 39F last night and I am getting nervous.

Re: Getting cold: to harvest or not to harvest?
 

So sorry, my accu-rite indoor/outdoor thermometer recorded 52 as the low for last night.

Hope its accurate.

Re: Getting cold: to harvest or not to harvest?
 

I have the same brand and bought another one for the backyard...... :(

Re: Getting cold: to harvest or not to harvest?
 

I'd cut the fat bunch & hope for your other bunches to endure the weather unless your protecting them some way.. :^)

Re: Getting cold: to harvest or not to harvest?
 

I do have the agribon 19 frost cloth and some bags with the solar panel on one side. So I will definitely use that on my other two IC bunches. It usually just gets down to 28F for a couple early morning hours, but that kills the foliage, so the fruits will loose their "solar panels" for proper development if not protected.

Re: Getting cold: to harvest or not to harvest?
 

I'd cut half and leave half. A bird in the hand is worth two in the tree

Re: Getting cold: to harvest or not to harvest?
 

They can develop just fine without leaves. I just finished some dwarf red bananas that spent the last 3 months ripening without any leaves on that p-stem. Would they have been bigger if the plant had plenty of healthy leaves? Probably. But they were still respectable size and tasty.