If you have a large container and an warm space for winter protection, you can grow the sweetest nectar you will ever taste.
Oranges, lemons and limes all can produce fruit as patio plants here in Central Texas.
While the blooms are forming for the new fruit to come, I'm enjoying the final fruits of last year's harvest.
I grow my oranges organically and while they may not be beautiful on the outside, they are quite wonderful on the inside where it counts.
I'm growing a satsuma orange in a 20 inch ceramic patio container. Last year, the small tree produced more than 30 oranges and today I'm juicing the last 6 fruits of that harvest.
These oranges are super juicy and very seedy. Since seeds can be easily excluded, these oranges are perfect for juicing, but a little challenging to eat in slices.
With my old school, hand juicer, I juice each orange half one at a time. It takes a little elbow grease, but it's so worth it.
Six oranges yield a full container of rich, pulpy juice sure to give you a juice-gasm.
One sip and you can tell this juice is special. I'll savor it's wonderful sweetness very, very slowly. There will be no more juice till next year. Such sweet sorrow.
The oranges look beautiful to me :) I only see buds on one of my 5 citrus trees. Should I be worried or do I still have time?
ReplyDeleteThey are normally blooming right now, but one of my trees is very slow to bloom this year as well. Have you fertilized yet? I think I'll add some fertilizer and compost to my trees and see what happens.
DeleteYUM! Your fresh orange juice sounds so good. Wonder if this variety would survive in the ground or does it need to be grown in a greenhouse?
ReplyDeleteThere are some people in protected areas of the city that grow citrus in the ground, but I think it's pretty rare. When grown in a container, the trees can be kept to a manageable size. Before I had my greenhouse, I used to move them inside to some windows with a southern exposure.
DeleteThese look great. I wish I had room to keep one of these trees, over winter.
ReplyDeleteI bet even the blooms and the tree itself smell wonderful.
Yummmm!!!!! I agree- growing your own is so rewarding! And you can't beat the fragrance of the blooms.
ReplyDeleteYour photographs are beautiful, especially of the blooms. I grew up on the coast and my parents always had citrus--all kinds. I still bring some back when I visit fall/winter. I wish I had room to grow my own, though. Enjoy!
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