Medjool in Fresno

[bruce Steele]

I was wondering if the blue plastic bags I used to use on banana bunches would help these dates to ripen?

[Josue Diaz]

I think they're not necessary, but they would certainly speed up, or help them ripen more uniformly. A member of the CRFG (California Rare Fruit Growers) in Porterville use to cut them and ripen them in a greenhouse. They are planted all over the shopping centers and public landscapes here, and they ripen on their own when they're not cut off by the landscapers. 

Edited January 12, 2022 by Josue Diaz

[bruce Steele]

Thanks Josue, Bananas don’t have any problems with moisture but I was wondering if moisture in the bags might be an issue for dates. 
Is there a nursery selling the the Medjool plants in Fresno or do you think they are coming from Indio or some place in California’s desert South? I see a few date palms  in Paso Robles but I haven’t seen them anywhere here in the Santa Ynez Valley where I live.  I think they will grow here but I have doubts about ripening fruit here.  
 

 

[Josue Diaz]

8 minutes ago, bruce Steele said:

Thanks Josue, Bananas don’t have any problems with moisture but I was wondering if moisture in the bags might be an issue for dates. 
Is there a nursery selling the the Medjool plants in Fresno or do you think they are coming from Indio or some place in California’s desert South? I see a few date palms  in Paso Robles but I haven’t seen them anywhere here in the Santa Ynez Valley where I live.  I think they will grow here but I have doubts about ripening fruit here.  
 

 

They're all coming as "retired" palms off the commercial orchards in the Coachella Valley. Once they get too tall, the orchards replace them with younger, shorter palms for easy picking. The retired palms make their way into commercial landscapes up and down the state. In Fresno, try Sago Rey Palm Plantation off Central Avenue, they have Medjools ranging from pups to mature palms over 20' tall. 

And yeah, good point with the added moisture in the bag, Fresno does have relatively high humidity in the winter months - we're having heavy fog almost daily.