Tag: lemon

A seasonal pause- or the rain delays have started 2k19

~ Homo neanderthalensis ~ 5 Comments

While I was smart enough to get the brassica beds all finished in time, I dithered on my new herb and leek haul.

Which now that it’s pouring is a bit of a problem.

I mean they’re perfectly happy, but as with the tea shrub I’m a little concerned about them blowing over.

I’m also going to have to drain and disassemble the bird bath- it’s clearly time to take it in.

There’s also now the conundrum of will the scallions germinate in the cold, but if you look closely a few are starting to pop up. Nothing stops an onion!

Taking a cue from the seedling setup I just put a big ol’ rock in the flat.

Anyways, I hope your late November is going well, and may the rain continue!

It saves me from having to water!

 

Lemon tree mystery

~ Homo neanderthalensis ~ 5 Comments

So when my parents bought the house in the late 70s, the backyard came with a lemon tree. According to the previous owners- the tree was a Meyer lemon.

It’s a pretty tree, and a real productive one. It’s main season is winter of course, when all citrus tends to fruit- but this tree tends to fruit pretty much all year round, it just fruits the most in Winter and Spring.

I largely neglect it. No seriously- I’d worry that if I did anything to the tree I’d somehow kill it! I water it weekly in the hottest part of summer and fall and once 4 years ago I put some citrus fertilizer at its base. It’s never been pruned. We just leave it alone and this 30+ year old citrus tree just does it’s own thing and give us lemons.

So. Many. Lemons.

Now they’re big like Meyer lemons- but poking closely you can tell they’re more yellow than yellow-orange like Meyers tend to be.

The pith is also a little weird.

As you can see the pith is fairly thick. The ratio of fruit to pith is not what I’d expect from a Meyer lemon, or at least it’s not like any Meyer lemon I’ve ever bought.

But- the fruit is not overly bitter- sweet as far as a lemon goes while still being tart, and the peel is super fragrant. Seriously the biggest culinary use of these lemons is the zest- cookies, lemon cakes, sauces, the zest is amazing. Which does track with a Meyer lemon.

As for this specimen, dad ate it.

Seriously- I cut it into wedges and he ate it like apple slices.

Big bowl of lemons for dad.

He just… eats them. Whole- peel, pith and all.

I mean- it’s a healthy snack but…

ANYWAYS.

So the modern Meyer lemon is the “improved Meyer lemon” which got popular in the 50s as a way to combat a disease that was sweeping through lemon orchards.

What if the reason this tree is weird is that it’s an OG Meyer? If it was planted when the house was built in the 40s it would be an original Meyer, and since it was a residential lemon tree it was never culled like the orchard trees on citrus farms.

It’s just a theory. The tree might not be a Meyer at all, but some other type of hybrid sweet-ish lemon.

I’m tempted to dig out a seed from my next lemon and try to see if I can get it to sprout.

Not sure what that would tell me other then just be kinda fun.