If you plant fruit trees in your own garden or backyard, you can enjoy the benefits of tending to them for relaxation, stress relief, and physical exercise, while also being able to enjoy the fruits they bear. However, experts warn that during the fruit-bearing season, neglecting fallen or rotting fruits can lead to troubles and unnecessary expenses.
According to a report by the UK’s “The Hunts Post,” professional gardener James Lewis from the homeowner and builder matching platform “MyBuilder.com” emphasized the importance of promptly harvesting fruits from trees and clearing fallen fruits.
Lewis said, “Plants and lawns grow rapidly in the summer and require frequent watering, making garden maintenance a significant task. Therefore, people may overlook the task of clearing fallen fruits because it may seem unnecessary, which is understandable.”
He added, “However, removing rotting fruits is actually crucial. They not only attract wasps and hornets but also invite rodents. This may require pest control measures, which can be costly. Rotting fruits also lead to self-seeding of plants, causing seedlings to sprout all over the lawn.”
So, do not underestimate this task – if possible, clean up daily, and if you cannot consume all the fruits, simply discard them.
In hot weather, fallen fruits can start to rot within a few hours, attracting insects and rodents. Once this process progresses further (within 48 to 72 hours), the seeds within the fruits will spread to other areas of the garden, sprouting seedlings.
Lewis also mentioned that if you have a large tree or a tree bearing many fruits, fallen fruits can spoil the lawn beneath within a few days, resulting in patchy brown areas.
If your fruits fall to the ground and you disregard them, you may face the following consequences:
• Causing diseases to trees and plants
Rotting fruits on the lawn can breed many bacteria and fungi, potentially spreading to the fruit trees themselves and neighboring healthy plants. Treating or removing diseased trees may require significant expenses.
• Attracting pests
Wasps, bees, and insects are attracted to fresh and rotting fruits, affecting your enjoyment of gardening or leading to insect bites. However, a more significant issue is that rotting fruits attract rodents. Mice are attracted to the scent of fruits, providing them with a reliable food source. Dealing with a significant rodent invasion may require professional assistance.
• Encouraging weed growth
If rotting fruits are left uncleared, the soil accumulates rich organic matter, providing ideal conditions for weed growth. While you can manually remove weeds, once weeds take root in an area, the removal process tends to become an ongoing task. The time and cost of weeding are factors to consider.
• Damaging your lawn
Fruits falling on the lawn can impact the grass in various ways, including blocking sunlight and air from reaching the lawn, as well as flattening the lawn with their weight. Without removing fruits, the lawn can be damaged or even die. In just a day, the lawn may turn yellow, entering a dormant state two days later, and wilting after two weeks.
The cost of lawn restoration can be high, sometimes ineffective. In the worst-case scenario, you may need to reseed the lawn.
• Spreading seeds of fruits
For trees, their fruits are a way to spread seeds. Therefore, leaving fruits on the lawn will accelerate seed spreading until the entire garden is filled with seedlings. If this is not your goal, it is best to harvest fruits as early as possible.
The Royal Horticultural Society in the UK points out that fruits to be harvested in autumn include apples, pears, and raspberries, which also bear fruit in the fall.
If you are preparing to harvest fruits from your garden, timing is crucial. The association says, “Timing is essential – if picked too early, the flavor of the fruits may not fully develop; however, if picked too late, the taste and storage quality will deteriorate.”