When I think of citrus, I think of summer, like freshly squeezed lemons used in iced cold lemonade. In California, oranges, mandarin oranges, and lemons are all ripe during this time of year – winter. Perfect when you need extra Vitamin C when you have or want to prevent getting a cold or the flu.
When the temperature drops down to the late 30Fs at night and the 50Fs during the day, one would think it is not citrus harvest time.
Every year at the start of the new year is a great time to harvest oranges, mandarins (tangerines), and lemons in my yard.
It also coincidently happens right around the Lunar New Year too!
In my neighborhood, everyone has a least one citrus tree. In the San Franciso Bay Area, Improved Meyer Lemon is very popular to grow because it can withstand nighttime temperatures of 32F without issues. 32F is 0C!
Improved Meyer Lemons are a cross between an orange and a lemon. They are great because they are thinned skin, very fragrant, have a lot of juice, and taste more sweet than sour.
Great for making lemon pound cake and lemon bars besides, of course, lemonade and lemon water.
This year my mandarin orange tree overly produced itself!
Last year, this same tree only had a dozen mandarins which we only ate one before the rest were all removed by “someone” without a trace, no skins or bits of citrus left on the ground. I think it had to be a possum or a raccoon who cleaned up my tree.
Once I saw fruit growing, I completely netted the tree to protect it from “someone” grabbing these mandarins.
This year’s crop is sweet and juicy, with very few seeds.
Three things nice about growing citrus yourself are:
- Can grow organically without pesticides or chemicals
- Share what you don’t eat with your neighbors, friends and, family
- Blooming citrus blossoms are a heavenly smell in your garden, especially in the morning or at dusk
Besides California, other U.S. states that easily grow citrus are Arizona, Texas, and Florida.
Who doesn’t love citrus?
Share below if you have a citrus tree(s) in your garden. What kind(s) of citrus do you grow?
Cheers,
Karen
la cantidad de mandarinas 
que ya produce tu mandarino, tienes para ir al mercado y vender dos cajones jajaja,
, es un árbol muy pequeño,
