Tweet
Hello, visitor!
Harvesting Dates at Dateland Date Gardens Dates are in season at Dateland Date Gardens. Want to learn how are dates made? Do you want to know what are dates before they are dried?
ENTER TO THE SITE
Visit our site! How are Dates Grown? The Date Harvest & Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Dates. The date season really begins early in the year when we clean up the trees after the end of the dormant period. At this time, we have to start by cutting the thorns off of the date fronds. They say that everything in the desert protects itself by stinging, biting, or poking. And the date trees are no different. They have thorns that are approximately 4 to 5 inches long, and can easily pierce thru a truck tire. So the very first thing we do is to remove the thorns to make it possible to work in the date trees. The Sex Life of a Date. Date Palms are unique in that they are either a male tree or a female tree. The male trees produce pollen, and the female trees produce flowers. Unfortunately, neither birds or bees are attracted to the flowers, so the females have to be hand pollinated. During the later part of February we begin to watch for the sheaths on the male trees to begin splitting open. We check each tree every single day. As soon as a sheath on a male tree begins to open, it is tied with string to hold it together, and removed from the tree. (Notice how the worker is actually standing in the tree. Each frond can hold approximately 250 pounds.) Here you get a much better view of the pollen because the sheath is split wide open. Once the sheath on the male tree opens, we will cut the whole sheath out of the tree, then hang it upside down to dry. Once the pollen has dried to a very fine powder, we sift it into a large air-tight container for storage. A male sheath that has been removed from the tree. Notice the small split where it is starting to break open. This sheath probably weighs close to 10 pounds. The Female trees have the same kind of sheath, and as they begin to flower, we will remove the sheath and separate each strand. We then tie the strands together and hand pollinate the flowers using the fresh pollen that we have collected from the male trees. We use a small ketchup squirt bottle for this process. We pollinate each female tree at least three times. Around April or May, as the fruit begins to bud" on the strands, we will begin the thinning process. First, we open up each bunch of strands that we have tied together, and cut out the middle, leaving only the outside strands. Then we remove about 60% of the dates from each strand. This allows better air flow, and the chance for each individual date to grow to it's optimum size. It is not unusual for the temperatures to be above 100 degrees during May when we are thinning, and closer to 120 degrees during the date harvest, so most of our date workers will wear long sleeved shirts and long pants, and cover their faces with bandannas to protect themselves from both the sun and the heat. This is a strand of Medjool Dates before being thinned. By removing the majority of the dates, the ones that are left will have enough room to grow to a much larger size. This is the same strand of dates. As you can see, there are a lot less dates on the strand, but the number of pounds per tree will be the same, it's just that the dates will be significantly larger. Watering and Irrigating the Date Trees. Date trees take as much water as a willow tree, yet they cannot tolerate rain or humidity. That's why dates have to be grown in the hot desert, where our average rainfall is less than 3 inches per year, and our summer temperatures reach nearly 120 degrees. The ground around the date trees has to be kept clear of grass and weeds which cause humidity. Special "borders" are built up around the trees in order to flood irrigate and contain the water at the root of the tree. This special border disker scoops up the sand and forms a border around the date trees. These borders keep the water where it is needed, at the root of the date trees. Each tree requires approximately 60,000 gallons of water per year, but only at its roots! You could think of it as someone who likes to wade in the water, but doesn't want to get their hair wet! The borders help conserve water and eliminate grass and weeds throughout the grove. Bags & Bunches. Our foreman is holding a small "bunch" of dates that has been cut down from the tree. Notice the thickness of the main stalk. This picture was taken early last August, before the dates had ripened. A bunch of dates (not Medjools) just prior to the date harvest. Around the beginning of August, the Medjool Dates are covered with a white muslin bag to protect the dates from birds and insects. The bags also help to catch any dates that ripen prior to the beginning of the date harvest. Because each bunch is quite heavy, the fronds below the date bunches are positioned to help hold the weight of the dates. Transplanting Date Pups. All of our date trees are grown from pups (offshoots from the parent tree). This guarantees that both the tree and the fruit produced will be identical to the parent.
How are dried dates made
How is khajur made
How dates are made sweet
Harvesting Dates at Dateland Date Gardens Dates are in season at Dateland Date Gardens. Want to learn how are dates made? Do you want to know what are dates before they are dried?
ENTER TO THE SITE
Visit our site! How are Dates Grown? The Date Harvest & Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Dates. The date season really begins early in the year when we clean up the trees after the end of the dormant period. At this time, we have to start by cutting the thorns off of the date fronds. They say that everything in the desert protects itself by stinging, biting, or poking. And the date trees are no different. They have thorns that are approximately 4 to 5 inches long, and can easily pierce thru a truck tire. So the very first thing we do is to remove the thorns to make it possible to work in the date trees. The Sex Life of a Date. Date Palms are unique in that they are either a male tree or a female tree. The male trees produce pollen, and the female trees produce flowers. Unfortunately, neither birds or bees are attracted to the flowers, so the females have to be hand pollinated. During the later part of February we begin to watch for the sheaths on the male trees to begin splitting open. We check each tree every single day. As soon as a sheath on a male tree begins to open, it is tied with string to hold it together, and removed from the tree. (Notice how the worker is actually standing in the tree. Each frond can hold approximately 250 pounds.) Here you get a much better view of the pollen because the sheath is split wide open. Once the sheath on the male tree opens, we will cut the whole sheath out of the tree, then hang it upside down to dry. Once the pollen has dried to a very fine powder, we sift it into a large air-tight container for storage. A male sheath that has been removed from the tree. Notice the small split where it is starting to break open. This sheath probably weighs close to 10 pounds. The Female trees have the same kind of sheath, and as they begin to flower, we will remove the sheath and separate each strand. We then tie the strands together and hand pollinate the flowers using the fresh pollen that we have collected from the male trees. We use a small ketchup squirt bottle for this process. We pollinate each female tree at least three times. Around April or May, as the fruit begins to bud" on the strands, we will begin the thinning process. First, we open up each bunch of strands that we have tied together, and cut out the middle, leaving only the outside strands. Then we remove about 60% of the dates from each strand. This allows better air flow, and the chance for each individual date to grow to it's optimum size. It is not unusual for the temperatures to be above 100 degrees during May when we are thinning, and closer to 120 degrees during the date harvest, so most of our date workers will wear long sleeved shirts and long pants, and cover their faces with bandannas to protect themselves from both the sun and the heat. This is a strand of Medjool Dates before being thinned. By removing the majority of the dates, the ones that are left will have enough room to grow to a much larger size. This is the same strand of dates. As you can see, there are a lot less dates on the strand, but the number of pounds per tree will be the same, it's just that the dates will be significantly larger. Watering and Irrigating the Date Trees. Date trees take as much water as a willow tree, yet they cannot tolerate rain or humidity. That's why dates have to be grown in the hot desert, where our average rainfall is less than 3 inches per year, and our summer temperatures reach nearly 120 degrees. The ground around the date trees has to be kept clear of grass and weeds which cause humidity. Special "borders" are built up around the trees in order to flood irrigate and contain the water at the root of the tree. This special border disker scoops up the sand and forms a border around the date trees. These borders keep the water where it is needed, at the root of the date trees. Each tree requires approximately 60,000 gallons of water per year, but only at its roots! You could think of it as someone who likes to wade in the water, but doesn't want to get their hair wet! The borders help conserve water and eliminate grass and weeds throughout the grove. Bags & Bunches. Our foreman is holding a small "bunch" of dates that has been cut down from the tree. Notice the thickness of the main stalk. This picture was taken early last August, before the dates had ripened. A bunch of dates (not Medjools) just prior to the date harvest. Around the beginning of August, the Medjool Dates are covered with a white muslin bag to protect the dates from birds and insects. The bags also help to catch any dates that ripen prior to the beginning of the date harvest. Because each bunch is quite heavy, the fronds below the date bunches are positioned to help hold the weight of the dates. Transplanting Date Pups. All of our date trees are grown from pups (offshoots from the parent tree). This guarantees that both the tree and the fruit produced will be identical to the parent.
How are dried dates made
How is khajur made
How dates are made sweet