With Citrus, Christmas Can't Be Far Away

Grapefruit - Rio Red

Bounteous amounts of citrus means the calendar is closing in on Christmas time.  Here in Bakersfield and probably most of the San Joaquin Valley, residents with citrus trees are looking for neighbors to unload the bounty.  Citrus is winter's zucchini - but in a very good way.  Citrus is my favorite. The scent is in everything from the bloom to the peel to the fruit.  It's even in the limbs when they are pruned.  Wonderful.  The fruit can remain on the tree for quite a long time so it can be harvested as needed.  Local nurseries sponsor citrus tasting events throughout the winter where gardeners can learn about the different varieties, sample the fruit/juice, and purchase health stock.

Grapefruit is my favorite citrus.  Rio Red is delicious.  My dwarf tree is weighted down with the most fruit ever.  That little tree should give enough fruit to last through the winter months.  No scurvy here.

Navel Oranges - Robertson

The fruit is now starting to gain color that is really accentuated by the rain washed leaves.  Yes, it rained yesterday and just a bit today.  Wonderful.  Some of the oranges have split.  That is probably due to uneven irrigation.  Any split fruit is removed as soon as it is detected and disposed.  2014 looks to be a bumper year for the oranges as well.

Lemon - Pink Variegated

Two of the fruit trees are potted - lemon and mandarin.  Neither have fruit.  The Satsuma mandarin is very young and having no fruit is expected while it develops.  The lemon, however, usually has some fruit.  Currently, it's blooming.  In the photo above, some Leaf Miner damage can be seen in the leaf on the left.  That's only cosmetic.

Leaf Miner Larva

Leaf Miner larva mine just below the surface of the young leaves and the skin of the fruit.  These moth babies are annoying but not scary like the Asian Citrus Psyllid that can carry the Huanglongbing (HLB or citrus greening) disease.  Many areas of California are quarantined because of this pest.   That pest is the reason I have not added a lime tree to my citrus collection. 

Asian Citrus Psyllid

In the meantime, it's a joy to work in the soft soil in the garden after some wonderful rain. (Let's not talk about the amount of dirt the wind blew in before the rain.  Yuck.)  All the winter vegetables are experiencing a growth boost with the cooler weather and the rain.

Lettuce - Cimmaron

Citrus Christmas

Rio Red Grapefruit

Well, well, well.  Looks like all I had to do was to wait a bit and Blogger would sort out the mess that kept me from posting.  Unfortunately, I deleted a few images to try to add space.  If you notice any missing images, please let me know and I'll try to restore. 

This morning, I enjoyed the first of many grapefruits of the season. It was delicious and cold.  Boy did it smell good too.  No sugar required either.  All the fruit trees in the garden are dwarf to enable our aging bodies to easily maintain and harvest.  The orange and grapefruit are in the ground and the lemon (currently blooming - beautiful) and mandarin are potted.  All have fruit except the mandarin. 

Leaf miner damage (Wikipedia)

All of the citrus show cosmetic damage from leaf miners.  The skin of the fruit show some of those squiggle trails as well. I haven't heard reports of the Asian Citrus Psyllid in Kern County yet.  Hope that plight stays away even though it is in adjacent Los Angeles and Tulare counties.  Probably just a matter of time.

For now, we have grapefruit, oranges, and lemons to enjoy throughout the Christmas season.

It's also nice to be able to add to my garden journal.

Between the Raindrops

Miracles.  A scant amount of rain has fallen in the southern San Joaquin Valley.  When the sun came out in force this afternoon, I grabbed the camera to use on my garden stroll.  Here's a few things I spied.

Chrysanthemums from my pals at work.

Iceberg Rose

Marigolds EVERYWHERE!

Gold Currant tomatoes EVERYWHERE!

Red Flame grapes/raisins.

Rio Red grapefruit loaded on the tiny tree.

Robertson Navel orange

Variegated Pink lemon

There is also items too low for me to capture: lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, mustard, herbs.

Hope the clouds stack up against the Sierras and let loose this weekend.

Garden Update

My screwed up back doesn't allow me to work in the garden as I would like.  I can't even get down and take photos.  I simply get down as low as I can, point the lens in the general direction, then snap a photo.  Most times it works.  If it doesn't, I simply delete.  Here's a sample of what's going on in the garden.

Garlic Chives are going to seed.

The vegetable garden is still producing.  In fact, the fall/winter vegetables have already germinated.  Seeds of broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower were sown on Labor Day, September 3, with the majority of germination occurring just 3 days later on September 6.

Waltham 29 Broccoli


Peppers of all varieties are improving with the cooler weather.  Some might not consider 95° cooler; but it is and there are fewer hours of the day dedicated to baking at those temperatures.

Bell Pepper

A couple of Better Boy Tomatoes were planted earlier this summer with the thought of having fresh, large tomatoes into the fall.  Looks like that plan is working out.

Better Boy Tomato

Pumpkins continue to produce well.  Daily squash bugs hunts continue as well.  The pumpkins rest on dried grape leaves in an attempt to avoid rotting portions on the squash.  So far, so good.

Jarrahdale Pumpkin

 





Fruit trees that have fruit are Granny Smith Apple, Robertson Orange, Rio Red Grapefruit, and Variegated Pink Lemon.  All the fruit trees are due for a haircut/pruning and a feeding.  I would like to wait for the weather to cool down further; but it doesn't look like that will happen anytime soon.

Granny Smith Apple

The Red Flame Grapes set a second crop of berries this summer.  The first issue was a bust.  All the berries split and were moldy.  These bunches aren't as tight and look pretty good.  The berries a larger too.  Don't know if they will be very sweet.

Red Flame Grapes

Some flowers in the veggie patch are appreciating the change in weather too.  All kinds of pollinators are attracted to the garden with the help of all kinds of flowering plants.

Calibrachoa Hybrid - Superbells Coralberry Punch

Petunias without bud worms!

There's tons that needs to be done before we're officially out of Swamp Pants Season:

• Turn the old tomato bed.
• Plant peas
• Plant sweet peas
• Clean up the overflowing boysenberry canes.
• Prune / feed roses.
• Clean out remaining tomato (Gold Currant) bed.
• Plant lettuce
• Plant onions
• Prune / feed all fruit trees.

Happy New Year!

Variegated Pink Lemon

Dang it.  2012 is here whether we like it or not.  Using the new year as a marker, the trees were sprayed with pyrethrum and copper sulfate.  This was the 1st of 3 sprays scheduled for the winter. In about 3 weeks, they will be hit a 2nd time.  The final application must be scheduled before any of the buds break.  This helps to control pests and fungus.  Good.  That was the final task of 2011.

Blenheim Apricot

Sadly, there hasn’t been much cold weather to speak of.  That cold helps the dormant fruit – apricot, nectarine, pear, apple, peach, and plum.  AND it’s been mighty dry.

Red Flame Grapes

Farmer MacGregor is in charge of the grapevine.  The 1st task of the new year was to prune the vine with the hopes of a superior crop in 2012.  The old dove nests and unwanted vines were removed.  The arbor is clean and ready for the summer shade.

Volunteers from the summer continue to thrive.  Sunflowers and tomatoes are going strong.  In fact, fresh picked tomatoes were enjoyed on Christmas Day.  Sheesh!  At 9:30 this morning, it was already warm out in the garden.

This weather will give me plenty of opportunity to do chores in the garden to prepare for the spring and summer crops.  I will be planting more beets, broccoli, and cauliflower with hopes they will do better than what is out there now.

 

Biggest Dud of 2011 in the Garden:  Grafting.  Not one success there.

Biggest Success of 2011 in the Garden:  Golden Current Tomato.  They’re still producing.

Recommendations for 2012:  Heinz Tomato.  Nice plant with beautiful fruit that is easy to harvest and preserve.  Good for fresh eating or canning.

Goal for 2012:  Incorporate more flowers into the garden.

Christmas is Citrus

Rio Red Grapefruit

At Christmas, all kinds of citrus is ripe around here.  I remember as a kid going out to the shed at the citrus orchards and sampling all kinds of citrus that could be purchased and shipped as gifts.  All the fruit was naturally cold, sweet, and juicy.  This Christmas I only have 2 varieties ready (or real close) – grapefruit and lemons.

Variegated Pink Lemon

It’s a brain scratcher seeing the price of citrus in the grocery store then seeing loads of wasted fruit in yards with citrus trees.  Fruit is left to rot on the ground until the gardener comes along and carts it off to the dump.  What a lame waste.

Even though I’ve never experienced a White Christmas or anything that resembles a scene on a box of Rite Aid Russel Stover’s candy, I have enjoyed Christmases with fresh citrus fruit and blossoms.  If I can’t have the snow, this is a fine trade.

Red in the Garden

Red in the garden this time of year seems to be just as abundant now as in the summertime.  Is the garden forecasting the results in November 2012?  Don’t know.

Pansy – Crown Scarlet

Snapdragon – Chimes Red

Skeletons of summertime scaretape decorating the grape arbor.

Lettuce – Parris Island Romaine (green) & Marvielle of Four Seasons (red)

Geranium – No stinkin’ idea what variety.  The nursery didn’t have an identifying tag.  Thanks Bolles Nursery!

Asparagus Fern (Asparagus densiflorus)

Some sad bell peppers from hotter days.

Lemon - Variegated Pink blossoms show a blush of red on the buds.

Beans - Borlotto Solista

Ajax’s well worn Kong toy with a nod to Santa to please bring a couple of new ones to enjoy.  He’s been pretty good if you don’t count terrorizing the wisteria and lilacs, destroying the Texas Ranger, and severely “pruning” the Bay Laurel.

Any suggestions for good “red” candidates for the garden? 

Poinsettias need not apply.

Progress

I sometimes keep a small ruler with me in the garden to track the progress of a few things of interest.  Here’s how things are moving along this summer.

Jarrahdale Pumpkin in the second 3 Sisters bed.  This one settled on the ground.

              

This pumpkin climbed up  the bean support for a better view of the garden.  It’s getting to be a fat, happy baby.

            

The Variegated Pink Lemon is producing a few fruit and currently blooming.  The scent is great.

         

Citrus Blossom Time

Longer days, warmer days, and good fertilization along with sweet rain on well drained soil all combined to help create a bounty of citrus blossoms.  The scent will fill the garden along with the wisteria in the coming days.  Most of the blossoms will drop from these dwarf varieties because they are so young; but I’ll enjoy the blossoms for now.

Locally, one of the last citrus tasting events will be held tomorrow at White Forest Nursery.  It’s pretty nice way to sample a variety of citrus to help determine what works best.  A representative from Four Winds Growers is there to provide samples to taste, growing advice, and stock to buy.  It’s a pretty great deal to help get started in growing citrus.

 Variegated Pink Lemon

 

Satsuma Mandarin

 

Robertson Orange

 

 Rio Red Grapefruit