OK so not a huge harvest but these are the ones I left on the trees after I planted them earlier this year to see how they would do.
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| Lemons and oranges |
Lemons and oranges. The limes were eaten by something, one week they were there, the next all gone. Not sure what it was that ate them but whatever it was, it only liked the limes apparently. I'll have to work on that next Spring.
Anyway, here they are from "Farm to Table" as the saying goes...
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| Meyer lemon tree |
Here are the lemons on the tree. We only left the three but they did well, albeit a bit small for Meyer lemons. Still a small tree though and this was its first production.
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| Meyer lemon |
We sliced one up, tasted it and wow, it was so good. It had the traditional Meyer lemon flavor which is sour with a hint of sweet. I used slices in my tea for a couple of days and it was wonderful.
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| Satsuma orange tree |
Here are the oranges. Now these are Satsuma oranges. They survive our weather conditions here. They are a bit smaller than, say, a Navel orange, but they grew well for their first time.
We pulled off five of them to try.
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| Satsuma orange |
Here they are after we peeled and segmented them, just before we ate them. All of them! Ha! They were SO good. As I was peeling them in the kitchen, 2nd Man sitting in the living room said "wow they smell great". The orange scent was amazing...and they were delicious and sweet!
It's a small reward but considering we just planted them a few months back, we're happy to know they are on the right track. Next we just have to get them through the Winter, reading up on the right fertilizing, etc. After eating this small bounty, we'll do whatever we need to protect them, it was definitely worth it.
Let the citrus fun begin!
Let the citrus fun begin!
Oh, to be where lemons and oranges are still producing. And to have your own TREE! Way cool.
ReplyDeleteHi 1st Man :) That is SO amazing! I have one lonely little lemon on my Meyer tree here in my office and I'm waiting and waiting so I don't have to pick it lol! Your citrus looks fabulous! Congratulations on the harvest. Did your cameras pick up the lime thief?
ReplyDeleteThe lemon looks delicious. I can almost taste it from looking at the photo.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Do you have to spray your trees? Cows love citrus. (cow joke)
ReplyDeleteScrumptious! Citrus has to be an indoor tree here, and so far every time I've ordered one, the order gets cancelled :(. Some day though :). In the meantime, I'll live vicariously.
ReplyDeleteOh, how wonderful. They are off to a nice roaring start.
ReplyDeleteGrate the rind from the lemon and orange and that also can be used to put in homemade icings or put right in with the cake batter.
Uses for your citrus rinds. http://www.naturallivingideas.com/20-clever-ways-to-use-citrus-peels/
I would say possibly squirrels eating your limes and other citrus. Coyotes will also come and eat the fruit off the trees.
One thing that really works to protect your fruit trees from squirrels, birds etc. is netting. (sprays and using hot pepper really doesn't work that well) Usually called fruit tree netting or bird netting.
Just drape it over the tree, they may get the ones touching the net. But it will save most of the fruit.
There can be no openings anywhere, so best to drape it over and tie it underneath to the trunk, plus use twist ties or something like that to sew up the edges. Make sure the net holes are 1/2" or smaller.
What a treat.
ReplyDeleteHome grown fruit and vegies are the BEST.
We grow citrus including oranges, grapefruit, satsumas & Meyers lemons .... and for the first time in 15 years we are losing A LOT .... to ... raccoons ... lots of raccoons. We are now in a state of war. Geo
ReplyDeleteYour fruit harvest is awesome for a first try, you are lucky you are not using spray chemicals, so you can use the delicious rind of all your citrus.
ReplyDeleteYour oranges look just like what we ( Australians ) call Mandarines, very easy to remove skin and the segments just about fall apart.
Congrats. I have to bring in our Meyer Lemon tree by late fall. In time you will have so many lemons we will have to share recipes. I make lemon curd with them, but would love to have other ideas.
ReplyDeleteThe deer ate the limes! Not really, they actually drank them in their vodka gimlets! :-)
ReplyDeleteI would love to have oranges and lemons in winter. However, I would want a tree house, also called a hot house/greenhouse, so there were would be no continual struggle with weather and animals.
ReplyDeleteThat sure was some beautiful citrus! Yes, their smell and taste are delicious.
ReplyDeleteSince my citrus is organic, as is yours, I even eat the peels of the Meyer lemons. If I feel a scratchy throat or a cold coming on, I put an entire Meyer lemon in the blender with some local honey, mix that with some warm water, and sip that in the evening - by morning, I feel fine.
There is also a way to make candied orange peels, which are so good.
My poor Meyer lemon tree got hit really hard by that bad freeze last winter and I lost about half of it, so I have just a few lemons this year.
I think that your lime tree may have been robbed by a possum. I have had trouble with them previously - I found that if I left some fruit at the base of the trunk, they would eat that and leave the fruit on the tree alone.
For winter protection, I put a big mound of mulch at the base of my fruit trees, making sure to cover the graft - the mulch holds in some heat.
oh my gosh now that's a treat!! I have missed reading your posts!! I still think of that snake in your house,, it gives me the willies still! lol,, I will have to catch up now I am back!
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