Satsuma Season in South Louisiana: When They Ripen and How to Pick a Good One

In a typical year, Louisiana satsuma season moves from early varieties in September to Brown's Select and then Owari, the most widely grown satsuma. The LSU AgCenter's Louisiana Home Citrus Production guide says Brown's Select matures from mid-October to early November and Owari from early to mid-November, with harvest possible through early December, which makes early November the handoff between the two. These dates are general guidance, not a forecast for 2026, and we found no 2026 ripeness report from the AgCenter or the state. The AgCenter's advice on picking one comes down to a short test: taste it.

The season starts with the early varieties. In a 2019 column, AgCenter horticulturist Heather Kirk-Ballard listed Armstrong Early, Louisiana Early and Early St. Ann as maturing from September into October, Brown's Select next, then Owari and Kimbrough in early to mid-November, and noted that Louisiana Early and Early St. Ann can be hard to find in retail nurseries. Owari fruit, according to the home citrus guide, is medium to small and seedless. The guide says Brown's Select keeps well on the tree without becoming puffy, and that Armstrong Early should be picked by early November for best quality.

Color alone does not settle ripeness. A 2013 column from the AgCenter's Livingston Parish office says the simple answer is that "you have to taste them," that orange peel "can be an indicator" but "is not the best tool to determine sweetness," and that early varieties can still be green and ready. It adds that citrus does not keep ripening once it is pulled from the tree, and that as a rule the earlier fruit is picked the less sweet it is. The home citrus guide agrees on the direction: satsumas are edible once they show some yellow, and fruit left on the tree turns orange, loosens its skin and gets sweeter. The guide also says satsumas do not separate cleanly from the stem and should be clipped, not pulled, so the skin does not tear. At a stand, the taste test means asking if you can try one before you buy a bag.

The 2026 crop comes with a caution. LSU AgCenter assistant extension agent Anna Timmerman opened her Oct. 22, 2026, column in the St. Bernard Voice by writing that "this year many citrus trees finally have a crop on them worth harvesting after the devastation of the 2025 blizzard and freeze that negatively impacted most citrus trees in Louisiana." The rest of that column is behind a paywall. In February, Louisiana Farm Bureau News reported Plaquemines Parish citrus producer Patrick Becnel as saying much of the region's citrus industry never recovered from the 2025 snowstorm and that relatives of his had announced they would close their roadside stand. Neither source puts a number on the 2026 crop, so only a stand can tell you how much fruit it has.

Plaquemines Parish Tourism keeps a farm stands and nurseries page for Highway 23 in Belle Chasse and Port Sulphur, and one citrus stand's entry there mentions satsumas. The page is undated and does not say what any stand has on hand, so call before you drive. The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry's 2026 Farmers' Market Nutrition Program directory lists markets and roadside stands approved to accept program benefit cards, and its harvest calendar puts satsumas and other tangerines among fall fruit. Three entries mention satsumas: Grow Dat Youth Farm's roadside stand in New Orleans, listed for November to June, and Berry Town Produce stands in Hammond and Ponchatoula, listed year-round. A listing is not a stock report, so call those too. According to its site, the Plaquemines Parish Fair & Orange Festival is Saturday, Dec. 5, and Sunday, Dec. 6, 2026, at Historic Fort Jackson in Buras, with Friday, Dec. 4, listed as carnival only.

If a satsuma run turns into a longer food drive, we've written about Scott, the boudin capital of the world, the Natchitoches meat pie and the Tabasco factory on Avery Island.

Photo: "Louisiana Satsuma, October 2012," taken Oct. 12, 2012, by Infrogmation of New Orleans, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY 2.0. An archival photo, not from this season.