November/December 2018 citrus pics!
Hi all!! I’ve been so MIA on this forum lately so many things have been going on lately with work and family matters I have been swamped and thus unable to check in. Hope everyone’s doing well! :) Amy, Brian, Mike, Laura, everyone hope you all are well! I wanted to share some exciting news my greenhouse frame is finally up lol it took a while because the instructions were a doozy to try and figure out but there’s finally a shape to it so I thought I’d share with you guys! I’d love to see all your winter set ups and how your plants are holding up as it’s getting colder. Has everyone brought theirs in?
Anyways without further ado, the greenhouse frame lol I’ll take a pic of the whole thing when it’s done of course in the next week or so!
It’s a horrible photo because it’s taken in the dark so forgive me. all my citrus trees are actually inside my house as of yesterday since it got down to almost Freezing! Family’s complaining because they can barely pass through the entrance lol :)
Comments (62)
Monyet
5 years ago
myermike_1micha
5 years agoRelated Discussions
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Comments (56)Well, did we all survive Christmas?! hahaha I think I have a food hangover! A few pics from this morning, as the sun was rising. Mike, an update on the Maruba, and the Maruba leaflet growing in the pot. And, Mike, here's an update on the variegated Jade cutting you sent me from Lancaster gardens. I've removed some albino branches to help develop the overall shape, and I've rooted several cuttings that I've shared with folks. Thank you again!...See MoreDecember 2018 New Build Thread
Comments (176)dsnine, we've been so busy with the move then we finally made it month ago, I'm primarily working away hence not much at home and try and make the best of it when I am. I took these pics this morning; I'll wait for tile work to complete, then a few cabinets installed around bar and fireplace, before providing further updates. No it is not zero entry on one side, left side is a bench. The shower is 10'4" x 4'2". Two person? It is certainly large enough for a few but no way, be just one person with choice of 2 rain showers plus 2 large hand showers on rails and 4 jets, just about enough for fun showering. What you see in the view is the sea, its a harbor. We are a shade over a mile from the freeway and 16 miles to the airport....See MoreDecember 2018, Week 2
Comments (24)Nancy, I knew y'all would be amused by my decision to make salsa. It isn't making it that I find so difficult---it is the struggle to get all the canning done in addition to all the summertime gardening chores, all in the endless summer heat---especially since my kitchen faces the west. Being able to make the salsa in autumn or winter is so much nicer. Also, it comes down to quantity. I made only about a third of what I used to make, so before I had time to get tired and burned out, I already was done. Anyway, it just didn't feel like Christmas without counters and tables covered with gift bags containing jars of salsa. So, now that I have cluttered up the house with gift bags (we buy them in lots of 100 online from U-line) and jars of salsa, it feels like Christmas. Like it or not, and on hot summer days I kinda hate it, this has become our tradition. I honestly did miss canning this summer, and I miss having lots of jars of pickles and canned tomatoes and such, but I put up enough tomatoes in the freezer to get us through the winter, and now we have enough salsa too, even after we give away a lot of it. Tim gave me a stripped down list containing how much salsa he needed for work and it was so short I told him he could add more names, so he added about 10 more. I'm glad he didn't go too wild adding more names to the list, or I'd be making more salsa. It helps that his current work group is about 1/4 the size of the work group he had back when he was a lieutenant. It sounds like you got into the spirit and are creating Christmas joy everywhere. I did decorate the house more this year than I have done in the last decade, purely because the girls love it so much. To me, there's something that is just so nice and cozy about spending chilly, cloudy, rainy winter days indoors in the kitchen, cooking or baking with Christmas lights twinkling on the tree, and elsewhere. Even when the dogs are grabbing ball-shaped Christmas ornaments and running off with them, and the cats are attacking everything on the tree, it still just.....feels like Christmas. Oh, and when I was making salsa all day, I didn't even have to run the furnace because the hot, steamy kitchen was heating up the whole house. I didn't even realize how hot and steamy the house was until I went outside around 5 pm to feed the deer and birds (and squirrels and coons and possums and whoever else shows up....) their dinner. It was windy and chilly, but not rainy that day, and I did wear a coat. When I walked back into the house, I was stunned at how hot and steamy it was just from the day-long salsa canning operation. The difference between the indoor air and outdoor air reminded me why summer canning is so miserable.... Rain makes our cats and dogs crazy. It is almost like they want to go out even more than usual because it is raining and they can't. They drive me crazy with whining and fussing and sitting at the door and wanting to go out into pouring rain. We had mostly light bands of the rain, not the heavier ones that hit y'all, so we only have about 1.6" in our rain gauge, which is plenty since we just had good rainfall last week as well. We have nothing but mud again. I guess winter mud season has begun. The wind has been pretty rough. I think our highest recorded wind gust was only about 41 mph or something, so we never got the drastically higher wind, but even wind speeds in the 30s and 40s create quite a brutal wind chill. Jen, Our dogs are the worst beggars when I'm baking. I guess the aromas drifting out of the kitchen fire up their appetites. I bet you will be busy with extra dogs during the holiday season. There's a pet boarding facility in our county and two of my friends used to work there. They always were insanely busy during holiday periods. It is so nice of you to make puppy gift bags. Jennifer, I'm glad y'all were able to cross getting Ethan a replacement vehicle off your list and now have one less thing to worry about. Traffic was brutal here too. We got paged out to a couple of wrecks yesterday, but the worst wrecks were well north of us, including a double-fatality crash in the evening where 3 VFDs had to extricate two people, both in critical condition, from the wrecked vehicles in addition to the one who didn't survive the impact. It was so horrible, and to think that two families lost loved ones this close to the holidays is just so sad. Hopefully the other patients recover well from their injuries. It is astonishing how many more car wrecks there are when it rains, and a crash like that can change families' lives in an instant. Chris just drove in from Dallas this morning, and told me a few minutes ago that he was battling strong winds in the rain all the way home, so the highways must have had one of those strong bands of wind and rain over them at the time he was driving. It doesn't seem that bad here at the house, but we are in a low-lying area and have acres and acres of trees serving as wind blocks, so I think we don't feel the wind as much here at home, at least sometimes. We did have thunderstorms, which seems odd for December, but our weather is nuts so that doesn't even surprise me that much. I'd say name the chicken whatever makes you happy. But.....sometimes pet names can sound ridiculous to other people. We once had a dog named Biscuit (Chris names him after Limp Bizket) and then got another dog named Honey. When they were out running on the property and I was out calling their names wanting them to come home, it sounded like I was calling my breakfast to come in, i. e. "Honey! Biscuit!" Both are long gone now, and since then I've been more careful about giving animals names that sound like food. Well, except for Pumpkin. He was orange so that name was just a natural for him. Your young roo will realize he is in charge in late winter or early spring when it is time for him to fertilize the girls' eggs so y'all can have chicks if you choose to let the hens set on eggs and hatch them. It is a hormone thing. I am sure it must be triggered by daylength or something once a rooster reaches a certain age. Trust me, he'll turn into Mr. Macho Man when he realizes he rules the roost and that the rest of the chickens are his harem. From that point forward, he'll have an attitude and he will be so proud to show off his boss-man attitude. He might develop a lot of swagger that borders on being obnoxious. We'd had a few roosters over the years who thought they'd spur every human who walked into the coop or the chicken run once the spring season had begun. Generally I could put a halt to the constant spurring by whacking a rooster once or twice (not hard, just enough to get its attention) with the broom. Once you establish that the rooster is not allowed to spur people, life gets much easier. It's all good, though, because once he reaches that point, he'll be a rock-solid protector of his girls, herding them together underneath shrubs or trees, for example, when hawks are flying over. He'll also fight fiercely to protect them. I agree that it can be hard to keep things looking nice when you have indoor pets. It is a constant struggle, but one that we willingly endure because we love both our home and our animals. I feel like I'm constant mopping up pet paw prints, wiping up assorted messes (we should own stock in Chlorox Wipes), and sweeping up/vacuuming up pet hair. It is never-ending. For as much hair as the cats and dogs shed constantly, I have no idea why they are not bald. I have nothing gardening-related, other than that first bloom on the first amaryllis has opened and it is solid white and so very pretty. I placed the amaryllis pot on a shelf in front of a black chalkboard today so the white flower stands out like crazy in front of the chalkboard. That plant has two blooming stalks, each of which normally produces 3 or 4 flowers over a period of weeks, and now a third stalk is arising from the bulb and will produce at least one flower bud. It is an oddly shaped bud, like someone sliced the top off (though it is intact) and gave it a flat-top haircut, so to speak. It will be interesting to see if that bud produces a normal flower. The next plant to bloom is one that has produced only one flower stalk so far. I had the four year old this morning while Chris went to Dallas and back again, and beginning tonight, we'll have both girls for the weekend while Chris and his girlfriend both work. We have lots of fun holiday activities planned and they are excited. It is hard for the little one to understand how much longer she has to wait for Christmas to get here. Every time she comes into the house, she asks if today is the day to open presents. By now, she should know that the answer is 'No'. Today she informed me that she needs a new baby doll because the two dolls she has here at the house "need" a little sister. I personally feel two baby dolls underfoot are plenty. Anyhow, our holiday shopping for her is all done already and I have no desire to fight the crowds to do more shopping. I'm grateful it rained. There were some pretty big fires (800+ acres) yesterday in parts of western OK that had the wind gusts in the upper 50s but no rain. Those of us who received rain could have had the same wildfire issues if we had remained dry. As annoying as the constant rain can be while it is falling (I feel like those rain bands have been circulating over us for days and days, and it really has been only two days), it is good to get the rain after the plants have frozen and are brown, crispy and ready to burn. After today/tonight, we get some better weather for a few days so that will be nice. I miss the sun when it is not shining and visible. Dawn...See MoreDecember 2018, Week 4, Happy Holidays
Comments (30)Megan, I don't really know of any bird feeders that can prevent the issue of dropped seed---it isn't a problem here because our free-ranging chickens scour the ground beneath the feeders searching for dropped seed. I don't suppose you can have free-range chickens there? Actually, there are some seed trays that you can attach beneath feeders that supposedly will catch dropped seed, but I've always wondered what stops birds from kicking seeds out of the dropped seed trays? One year, I put a piece of plywood on the ground all winter beneath the feeders so I could sweep up seed that fell to the ground and landed on the plywood. That works, but it gets tedious.....although I noticed the chickens policed the plywood for me most days. When you live in an area as rural as ours, for the most part, the existing wildlife takes care of the other wildlife. I'm mostly referring to rodents....everything eats them....snakes, owls, coyotes, bobcats, ring-tailed cats, etc., so they are not as big of a problem here as one might imagine. During the day, our own cats will hunt them, especially Pumpkin who is the youngest and considers himself to be the Great Hunter, but our pet cats are locked up indoors at night, because pet cats that stay outdoors at night usually don't last long around here. Jen, I'm laughing about the Indian princess comment. It is so true. dbarron, Your connection to John Ross is fascinating. I've read quite a bit about him. He lived a very interesting life to say the least. Jennifer, You can get bogged down in that genealogy stuff, and I just do not even want to go there and get started on that so I stay away from it. I know if I ever started it, I would be obsessed with it and would drive myself crazy. It is exciting to think about plans for the 2019 garden. Rebecca, I do have some Burpee exclusives that I like to grow , like Brandy Boy tomatoes and Biker Billy peppers, so I have to order from them occasionally, but I try to only order once every 3-5 years and to just be sure I order enough seeds to last a few years. Their seed prices have gotten so ridiculous and before I order anything from them, I make sure they are the sole source for it. (I have found that sometimes a seed company will claim to be the exclusive source for a specific variety and they are not, so I always search for another source to see if they really are the sole source.) I think Jambalaya could be a good one for you, but I haven't grown it myself. It is supposed to bear early and often, so at least on paper it sounds good. Cajun Jewel is fairly dwarf as well but bigger than Baby Bubba, and Jade and Lee are two other varieties suitable for containers. Shumway's has Pink French Quarter and Red French Quarter this year and they both are dwarf, and look good in the photos online, but I haven't grown either of them yet since they are new. Last year my Stewart's Zeebest plants produced so much okra I couldn't keep up with the harvesting, so I want to grow smaller, less productive plants this year. I know that sounds crazy, but not being able to stay caught up on harvesting and using all the okra drove me nuts. Jennifer, It was cold. It felt worse, I think, because it mostly stayed cloudy. We got a little sunshine late in the day. This coming week's weather doesn't look too great. Oh well, it is winter time and I guess we just have to deal with it. To clean chicken (or any sort of bird) poop off anything, you need Poop-Off. You generally can find it in farm supply stores, feed stores, and in most pet stores in the bird section. Or, you can order it online. I'm sure Amazon.com has it. Here is what it looks like: Poop-Off It really does work, but if the poop has been there a while and has dried out long-term, you may have to go through several rounds of spraying and scrubbing to get all of it removed. Wear gloves and a respirator type mask---not because of the Poop Off spray but because of the possible pathogens that can be found in bird poop. I hate buying veggies too. That's why I try to fill up 2 or 3 deep freezes every summer, but still, they are things we don't grow or that cannot be preserved long-term (like lettuce, for example), so I just try to buy organic and still must remind myself that purchased produce never will have the freshness or quality of home-grown. Going to Central Market for produce helps---their produce is superb in quality and quantity and going through the produce section for me is like a trip to Disney. I have a good time. However, being a gardener, I'm always tell Tim when we are there that it still kills me to buy produce, even when it is theirs. We still have fresh onions from the 2018 harvest, but some of them are starting to sprout now so I don't know how much longer they'll last. I do have a ton of them already chopped and frozen. It isn't the same, I agree, but I'd rather take my own frozen produce out of the freezer and cook it in winter than buy it at a store. I have enough frozen tomatoes to last us another year, and they smell garden fresh when I thaw them out and have them cooking away in a pot on the stove so I can make soup or chili or whatever. It is about to be chili type weather again, I believe, based on our forecast. It is time to go start next week's thread for all of us to post on. I cannot decide whether to make it December week 5, or January week 1. lol lol lol. Decisions, decisions, decisions! Dawn...See More
Amy (montreal, canada)
5 years agoJan!! Your bunnies are so adorable!!!!! Oh don’t they look fluffy!!! I can hold them all day long! When did you find that your bunny was pregnant? It must be quite a surprise! Did you have to play the nurse to the baby or the mother was able to take care of her little little one alone?
Mike, carpe diem my friend! We can never predict when cancer or anything else will come. All we can do is make the best of what we have now! I am very blessed to have you guys. I always come here with a smile in my face because I know that you will cheer me up and distract me from all the chemos and everything else!
Brian! Omg! Your trees are loaded! It’s make my mouth water to see all those fruits! Brian, we had a funny weather since last week! Ice on sunday followed with lots of rain and now a snow storm in some area!
Jinnylea!! Lol!! I am so curious! What do you plan to grow next year? I am thinking about some lettuces (we can not buy them anymore here because of the e coli outbreak and I am dying for a caesar salad!!), smurf tomatoes, some herbs and hot peppers.
Bob, lucky_cloud, uour trees look so healthy!
Denise, here is a picture of mu NZL. It’s a entry size from four winds.
Monyet
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoAmy, I going to put a tag on one of the most beautiful trees and name it my Amy tree and give it a little extra care. Stay strong, you will whip it!
Denise Becker
5 years agonulesm
5 years agoAmy (montreal, canada)
5 years agonulesm
5 years ago
sunshine (zone 6a, Ontario,Canada)
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoJan
5 years agoOh my goodness everyone the glass greenhouse is finally done and it’s supposed to dip down to below freezing tomorrow so it looks like I got them in just in time!!!!
I told my family they’d rarely see me from now on lol. I should get a landline in there just in case they need to reach me! By the way bcgreenhouse builders are the best they’ve answered my 100 pesky questions and even replaced glass that I broke for no charge :) I didn’t think service like that existed anymore!
bob how lucky you are electricity in Vancouver is quite expensive unfortunately I hope it won’t take an arm and leg to heat this place since it is single tempered glass. However the weather here is not quite bad I plan on going the low level and low temperature route this year and see what will happen. Your trees all look like they’re loving your setup :)
Lol yes smoo is an angora rabbit her kind are used to make angora wool if only I knew how to spin yarn and knit lol! Lol mike my birds don’t sing like yours for some reason they’ve stopped perhaps they’re not happy any more but I haven’t changed anything! I love all animals much like you sometimes more than certain people lol! though I’ve yet to get a kitten they’re adorable but somehow I have a feeling my dogs might protest lol. mike I hear you, my own mother is dealing with lots of health issues right now and when I was younger and even up until recently you just never think it’ll happen to anyone you know or anyone so close to you. I always thought my mother was invincible and Would always be there and then I remember how old she is and how old I am and how I’ve seen many of my friends pass as well In the recent years. Sometimes at work I see people getting so worked up over such tiny things, I work at a bakery doing sales and service and y9u wouldn’t believe how angry they’d get over something so small like the size of the scones that day (only centimetres of a difference btw) and you know I think to myself life is so short they won’t even remember this in a week why make such a big deal of it. Which is why I’m so glad to have met all you kind folks on here and that we all have a hobby that brings us joy, it’s important :)
amy you’re always in my prayers do you have many more rounds of chemo to do? Amy I have watched many friends battle cancer and it is not an easy journey you must be so strong I am so inspired by those fighting and at the end of the day they’re the ones having to cheer me up! :’). Amy Do not tempt me with your list lol I know for sure I want a boukhobza too thanks to you lol you enabler you! Oh dear and I’ve heard such great things about the valentine lol I hope I put enough pressure on Gary this year lol i check their page every night and I didn’t realize they closed for the winter I’ve tried to call them everyday this week lol. amy, Denise would love to see your nzl mine too looks like a V and not so vigorous mine perhaps it doesn’t like its container it is in clay!
brian lol I’m sure you’ll fit more trees in there somehow Perhaps if you gave up the pathway to the back of the greenhouse lol although with the way your trees grow I’m thinking second greenhouse lol Brian your weather sounds crazy!11 it’s only gotten slightly below freezing this year on one day for us and again tomorrow but otherwise that’s it! I’m not sure my glass would be able to withstand such cold temperatures but you must be a miracle worker Brian I don’t know how you keep your trees so beautiful with such crazy weather I’m always in awe! That’s sad for the Kishu Brian let me know what they taste like next year mine hasn’t done anything since I got it not a single new leaf or bud lol Brian I too check the Phoenix wbsite daily so far nothing Lol! I’ve called them everyday not realizing they closed for the winter lol they’re thinking who is this crAzy person calling everyday lolMonyet
5 years ago
jenny_in_se_pa
5 years agosunshine (zone 6a, Ontario,Canada)
5 years agomatt_lcv10a
5 years agoDwarf Meyer Lemon tree harvest time. 5 Years old, @30 lemons. Only 3 feet tall X 5 feet wide.
The red limb spreaders are used to try and keep the fruit off the ground.
Jan
5 years ago
Monyet
5 years agonulesm
5 years agogreenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
5 years agoHey, thanks, Bob!
I've been pruning it to keep it in shape and to prevent it from blowing over in windstorms. It has a nice balance to it, I think. Can't wait to put it into a much bigger container and really see what happens. Here's a pic of the full tree, 9 days ago.
socalnolympia
5 years agoDunstan Citrumelo
It's a cross between Poncirus trifoliata and Duncan grapefruit.
About an hour south of Seattle, zone 8aMonyet
5 years ago
Matt z5b - Greenhouse 10a
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agomyermike_1micha
5 years ago
calamondindave
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoI'll share too ... Here are some of my outside citrus. Two on left are Calamondins (I have over a dozen Calamondins left after giving some away), and that's a Red Lime on the right....
Here are some seed grown citrus on the neglected side, and some others, I have more spread around the house...
And here is a mandarinquat....
And I have some new citrus popping up under grow lights...
socalnolympia
5 years ago
poncirusguy6b452xx
5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
Flower on NZL
caged valentine pomelo
Seed grown Fukushu below with new growth above
seed grown Meiwa kumquat with one fruit
another seed grown Meiwa kumquat with new growth
The other 2 seed grown Meiwa kumquat trees.
3.5 month old NZL on sour orange.Steve
Jan
5 years agoJan
5 years agoponcirusguy6b452xx
5 years ago
I still use bucket lights. The big trash can lights use 23 watt daylight CFL's. They are maintenance only and keep the trees health with minimal leaf drop.
seed grown Meiwa kumquat under each light. 23 watt day light CFL.
New Zealand lemonade tall bucket. 3 flying dragon seedlings +2 rooted US897 cuttings left bucket.
Fukushu Kumquat in bucket and new shoot in peep hole.
SCARE BUG It didn't work.
stacydkas
5 years agoBeginning of spring just before going outside..
Just brought in for the winter.. And he was planted from seed! I know, I've been told I will probably never get fruit, but he smells sooo good!
Laura LaRosa (7b)
5 years agosunshine (zone 6a, Ontario,Canada)
5 years agoponcirusguy6b452xx
5 years agosunshine (zone 6a, Ontario,Canada)
5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
evdesert 9B Indio, CA
5 years agostacydkas
5 years agomyermike_1micha
5 years agoLaura LaRosa (7b)
5 years agoLaura LaRosa (7b)
5 years ago
PROHome
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoEveryone’s trees look so happy, great to see that we’ve all mostly figured out our winter setups :)
My Meyer in the warmer room and window was dehydrating bc it was warmer so I finally gave it a good watering and staked it nicely.
^Taken today, still droopy but looking better. No new growths but leaves are green and staying on :)
^Taken today, no more leaves dropping. I feel bad that I’ve watered these two so little, maybe only once every two months now lol and not a deep drink either.. they’re still doing good though! It’s very cold where they sit so the little watering hasn’t harmed them yet. I’ll water them soon though incase they suddenly drop dead on me and I regret it lol. I’ve definitely found the sweet spot for my trees. I don’t check on them much and don’t see any pests. There was only some leaf drop in the beginning but not enough to visibly dent the canopy. I’m pretty happy with how they’re doing even if they’re not flowering but who knows, maybe they’ll suddenly flower when I give them a deep soak :Dbtw awesome greenhouse and bunnies Jan! And yes to more kittens, they are so adorable when they have their kitten meows
stacydkas
5 years agosunshine (zone 6a, Ontario,Canada)
5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
jinnylea
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agocalamondindave
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agom0j4vem4dm4n
5 years ago
A candid of the Treemister brothers, Lemmy and Limey, a couple of weeks ago. Seeds from the same lemon, pretty sure a meyer, picked back in April '16 while at a friend's. They are inside for the winter and get taken out for full sun when I can manage.
jan - Great looking greenhouse, hope it brings you lots of joy. To help with heating you can try hanging some poly sheeting on the inside to create an air barrier between it and the glass.
stacy - We're in the same boat with our "grown from seed" experiments. As for the gnats, sunshine offered some good advice. I was able to manage an infestation last winter just by allowing the potting soil to dry completely between waterings and placing the yellow sticky cards in the containers. Though it didn't eradicate them, their numbers were significantly reduced. When I transferred them to larger pots this past spring they were bare-rooted into a well draining mix and I haven't seen a one fungus gnat since. You might also want to look into microbial pesticides, specifically Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis. It's used commercially and highly effective.stacydkas
5 years agosunshine (zone 6a, Ontario,Canada)
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agojenny_in_se_pa
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agopoaky1
4 years ago
evdesert 9B Indio, CA