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Digging up a Meyer Lemon

1/29/2011

One of these trees is not like the others.

I'm sure my wife is right about me when she says that I just can't leave things alone, and I would be better off to quit messing with things. I planted an Improved Meyer Lemon (on trifoliate rootstock) in the front yard last year. I had bought it from Caldwell Nursery in Rosenberg a couple years ago, and had never really figured out what I wanted to do with it. When I figured out that the big citrus tree that was already in our yard when we moved in was a Meyer, I really didn't know what to do with it. One lemon tree is productive enough, who wants two?

I potted it, changed my mind, planted it in the ground, changed my mind, dug it up and re-potted it, and finally just stuck it in the ground out in the front yard strip along the driveway. It's been doing great there, but it sure sticks out in the winter when the nearby pomegranates lose their leaves.

Appearances aside, my real issue with the Meyer lemon is that it is a lemon. You can't just pick and eat one, you have to either make lemonade, or cook with it, or make marmalade (which is delicious), but you can't just eat it. Plus, as I previously mentioned, we already have one that's 7 feet tall. So when I received a Kashmir Blend Pomegranate, I knew it was time to dig up that lemon tree. Which would you rather have too many of? Lemons or Pomegranates? I can eat at least one pomegranate every day, but I can't put lemons away that fast.

Knowing that I would be damaging the roots, I pruned the tree. I then carefully dug up the root system, taking great care not to damage any of the major roots and saving as many of the finer ones as I could. Once I had it out I planted it in a nice big 30-gallon pot near the garage door where I hope it will still produce a few lemons (although probably not this year). I planted the Kashmir Blend in the Meyer's place, and watered it in well. Now I have a nice row of 5 varieties of pomegranates, and a pretty (albeit abused) potted lemon tree to hide the garbage can.

Lemon tree when I first brought it home in April 2008.

Tree pruned and mulch pulled back

Trifoliate rootstock

Big crater in the front yard.

Meyer lemon tree's new home.

Kashmir Blend Pomegranate

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Figs - Ficus carica

1/26/2011

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Three new figs.

I owe very special thanks to Tammy for picking up a South Carolina Lemon Fig for me from the Montgomery County Master Gardener's Fruit Tree Sale last weekend. Also known as the 'Italian Honey', this fig has been really hard for me to find. I also took a little field trip out to RCW nursery, and picked up LSU Purple and Petite Negra figs.

Our neighbors have a large fig tree of unknown variety that hangs over our fence. Last summer, my son and I would walk over to the tree, and he would gobble up figs as fast as I could pick them. Since he liked them so much, I wanted to plant several so we could have figs all summer. I planted an LSU Gold last summer that I picked up from RCW, and a Celeste fig that I picked out of the clearance plants at Plants for All Seasons ($5!). The new trees make 5 varieties, so we should have plenty of fruit from late June to November.

I planted the new fig trees along the northeast wall of my house where they will get good afternoon sun and wind protection. After planting, I took cuttings from the LSU Gold and Petite Negra. I abraded the bark, dipped the cuttings in powdered rooting hormone, and potted them. Hopefully they'll root, and I'll have new four fig trees to share with people. If you want one, shoot me an email. First come first served while supplies last!

Three new figs planted along the northeast wall.

12' to 18' fig cuttings.

Rooting hormone. You can get this at any garden center.

Potted cutting.

2 LSU Gold, 2 Petite Negra. Free to a good home.

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Making Hot Sauce

1/22/2011

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Bags and bags of frozen hot peppers.

I finally got around to making hot sauce from the hot peppers I've been saving all year. I would have made it earlier, but my wife was pregnant and couldn't stand the smell of boiling vinegar and peppers.

The recipe is simple:
3 cups chopped hot peppers
1.5 cups white vinegar/apple cider vinegar
2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic
1 tbs lemon juice

Throw it all in a stainless steel or enamel pot and boil for 5-7 minutes. Then pour it into a blender and blend until it won't blend any more. Bottle and enjoy.

Finely chopped peppers, seeds and all. Wear gloves when you're chopping up the peppers, and don't wipe your eyes.

Cooking with homemade apple cider vinegar and lemon juice from my Meyer lemon tree.

Fully blended. After blending. I added just a dash or two more vinegar to get it to the right consistency (like a thick Tabasco sauce).

Finished hot sauce. It's really hot, but not unbearable, tangy, and delicious.

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Mason Bee Houses

1/19/2011

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Red and Black Mason Wasp

When I first planted citrus in my yard, I had honeybees everywhere. Unfortunately, Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has been decimating honeybee colonies across the country. Honeybees are very important pollinators of many fruit trees, but luckily they're not the only ones.

Solitary mason bees and wasps are also important pollinators in our area, and they can be encouraged to nest in your yard with just a little effort. Red and black mason wasps are the most common pollinator in my yard, and they seem to take particular interest in my blueberries, blackberries, and Mexican Mint Marigold.

Awhile back I noticed a big pile of scrap fence lumber dumped in the yard next door (vacant house). I had been meaning to build some mason bee houses, so I brought some of it home. Unfortunately, it wasn't untreated wood, but I figured that since it had been sitting out for so long, it would probably be Ok. The mason wasps and bees don't eat or chew the wood, so hopefully it won't keep them from nesting in it.

I took the 4x4 fence posts, and cut out approximately 1-foot lengths at roughly 45-degree angles. Then I drilled several holes in the face with a 5/16" drill bit, and tacked on a little roof cut from an old fence slat. I made four of these houses, and hung them from the fence in different places around the yard. Hopefully I'll see some nesting activity this spring.

Abandoned scrap lumber in the yard next door.

Sawed off block and 5/16' drill bit.

Several 3' deep holes drilled into the block.

Roof made from piece of old fence slat.

Bee house hung on fence near Cara Cara navel orange tree.

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Planting Trifoliate Seeds for Rootstock

1/15/2011

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Hybrid Trifoliate Fruit

When I visited the Texas A&M Citrus Center in December, I was allowed to collect some fallen trifoliate fruit from some of their trees. John said they were a trifoliate hybrid that the center was using for rootstock, but he couldn't remember off the top of his head exactly what the parents were. He emailed me later tell me that it was called the Bitters C-22 Citrange, a cross between a sour mandarin (Citrus sunki) and Swingle trifoliate orange.

I brought the fruit home with me and extracted the seeds to grow my own rootstocks for next year. This hybrid fruit definitely had the tell-tale trifoliate odor, but it wasn't nearly as nauseating as the fruit I collected from the Armand Bayou Nature Center last year. I even tasted a little bit, and didn't vomit immediately.

I was able to get around 20 seeds from just two little fruits. I washed them in really hot water for a few minutes to get the slimy film off, and then planted them all in a 3-gallon pot of plain potting soil. Next year I'll separate them into individual pots, and grow them until they're large enough to graft.

Slightly nauseating trifolaite fruit.

Very seed fruit.

Washing the seeds in hot water.

Around 20 seeds from 2 small fruit.

Planted.

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First Glass of Orange Juice

1/12/2011

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My first Republic of Texas orange.

Ok, so I know a small glass of orange juice may not seem like a significant enough topic to merit its own blog post, but this was no ordinary glass of juice. Or at least not to me. Today I picked my first orange from my Republic of Texas orange tree, which I planted in early 2008.

Since I planted the tree, it has grown to almost 7 feet tall, but I've never got any fruit until now. I think I would have more this year if it were not for the terrible freezes this past winter.

So after almost 3 years, I finally picked my one fruit and juiced it. The fruit was juicy, sweet, and seedy, and only mildly acidic with good flavor. I think it was one of the best little glasses of juice I've every had, and I hope to pick and juice many many more next year.

Preparing to juice.

Very seedy fruit, but very sweet and delicious.

1 orange = 4 oz of juice

Down the hatch!

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No Blog Post - Happy Birthday Ben!

1/9/2011

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Benjamin - Born 1/5/2011

No garden or fruit blog post this weekend, because I'm exhausted. My 2nd son Benjamin was born last Wednesday night. Both he and Mama are doing great. He's a good eater and a good sleeper, but as every parent knows, nobody gets much sleep when there's a newborn in the house.

I'll take him on a tour of the yard once the weather warms up a little bit. Now I've got two little farm hands to help with the chores (or at least help me eat the harvest)!

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Strawberries

1/5/2011

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Strawberries from last spring.

I recently planted 50 'Sweet Charlie' strawberry plants from Ison's nursery. Last year I grew around 70 of these in the holes in the cinder blocks surrounding the vegetable garden, and they produced well in spite of the lack of care I gave them. My little boy would run out there everyday after I got home from work to pick and eat berries.

Since he loves them so much, I wanted to do a better job with the strawberries this year and actually put them in good soil with reliable irrigation. I planted the bare root plants in the flower beds around the deck where it would be easy for him to reach them. Fortunately, we got a good rain right after I planted them, and I dusted the beds with a little Micro Life 6-2-4 to help them get started. I also ran new soaker hose across the top of the beds, so they should get plenty of water.

It really is amazing how resilient this variety is. I've grown 'Chandler' and 'All-Star' before, both of which would wilt when it got dry. Not 'Sweet Charlie'. This variety is pretty tough, enduring bad soil, little irrigation, and neglect. Last year I even had some runners take root in the lawn. Any plant that can hold its own against St. Augustine is pretty tough. I think if I give them some attention this year, my son will have buckets of strawberries this spring.

One weird thing though, my supposedly June-bearing strawberries are trying to produce now. It's January, and I'm going to have a ripe strawberry any day now (pictures below). I guess that really goes to show how warm and mild this winter has been.

November 2010

December 2010

Digging up a Meyer Lemon

Figs - Ficus carica

Making Hot Sauce

Mason Bee Houses

Planting Trifoliate Seeds for Rootstock

First Glass of Orange Juice

No Blog Post - Happy Birthday Ben!

Strawberries

Video Walkabout - 1/1/11

Clayton Bell

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