Patty..You are so sweet and thoughtful..Thank you for thinking of me and your concern, along with everyone else actually.. Been run down....Doing ok though.. I am so wishing this cold weather would end soon..They are talking snow storm by Wednesday and 0 tonight..Way to unusually cold for this time of the year.Hard to believe that April is a few days away..Our summer and spring are not looking good and if not, I am selling my house to move to warmer grounds.. The trees are ok. I had a HUGE loss and twig die back on my best Orange tree..That is because the sunlight and cold was just too much for the huge canopy of leaves to take.So it decided to shed itself! Just as soon as the sun started to get stronger a couple of weeks ago, it decided to grow back ten fold from all new areas on the main trunk and between all teh lost leaves. Funny these plants are. Just like people. My Kishu was completely bare up until just last week..Now tons of new growth and flowers. An explosion..It's the lack of sunlight I tell you. The Lemon tree in the ground is doing awesome, just a foot away from the ground outside! It's starting to burst in flowers.. The Orange tree at work is giving off at least 10 huge almost ripe fruit. No spider mites at all this season. I am thinking it's because I did not fertilize any trees that were not exposed to ideal conditons for ultiamte growth, until the sun returns.. It's the first time I did not fertilize these trees in winter and teh first I have not had to deal with one mite. I think I found my answer for next winter. At least I have some things to look at while this weather stays bleek. Buylady..SO GOOD TO SEE YOU again!! I am so happy you are ok and back. Please hang around, ok? Al, thanks a lot pal...I appreciate it-0) Josh, wil, chat soon and thanks. Mike...I think I discovered a way to 'avoid' mites..lol Hope you are well these days. Nick, Never..lol..Between citrus and orchids, not a chance. Tcamp..too funny...I got a good chuckle out of that.. Hope your trees are ok. I hear teh cold has reached your area and coming this week..All mine on the porch are still thriving..lol. Yes, with one space heater! Even when it was 0 out! I don't know how, but they did. Although, anything on the window sill froze..Stupid me..I forgot it gets too cold there. I lost a couple of very nice orchids. Patty, once again, thank you. You have been a dear friend to us here at home! I wonder how that Jade is doing now that is getting hot by day and cold by night for you. You should see the one you sent me. I will figure a time to post a pic of it for you soon. Mike

Thank Citrusnut! I appreciate your kind words and your desire to keep your trees healthy too!:-) With your enthusiasm, they should do great.:-) I really can't say the FE is the secret though, since I never officially did a test/experiment on whether the ones sprayed regularly fare better than those that I do not. What I can tell you is that insects DO attack the plants I neglect with FE I can tell you that when the FE spraying stops come October, they still stay just as green till I start again come the following spring. If I had to guess what helps them stay that way, I would say it is a combination of many factors. I try and stay in 'tune' with their needs as if they were my kids, or even my cat. lol I would say that trial and error along with everyone here helping me to understand them has gotten me to this point too, in which I will always be grateful. It's nice to understand when they rebel to drastic temp swings, lack of vinegar, my faucet water, pest invasion, poor soil, lack of good sun light, ect. I try to make sure that all their needs come together and unite to provide them with a peaceful and happy state. If I were to suggest one thing that I may do far different from many, I would say I am strict with providing vinegar which keeps the pH of my water solutions in check which in turn encourages their nutritional requirements/neesds are met on a regular basis. These two combinations seem to do wonders for my plants. I just counted 22 fruit in all various stages on my Ponderosa and have no idea what to do with it. Of course the right soil mix is still most crucial for me. Mike

Can't this be said of Trump supporters too? Look at any depressed area of the country where jobs have disappeared. Have they prepared themselves for changes in technology that eliminated factory jobs? Did they get a college education or training to prepare themselves for today's jobs? Did they even graduate high school? Have they been willing to move away from depressed areas? Have they turned to drugs and alcohol? Had children they can't afford? Trump is their knight in shining armor who's going to bully the world into making them love us again. I was trying to speak about the Hispanic community and to some degree the African-American community due to personal experience, what I've learned in discussions with my wife who is from the South, and endless readings on economic and political issues. So yes there are some Trump supporters that may see a knight in shining armor. I would say the same thing to them. Without going back to re-read what I wrote earlier, I think freedom and independence in all facets is what is great about this country. I don't want to be an economic slave to some politician, whether that's Clinton or Trump. I don't need affirmative action or a government handout, no thank you. I'll compete on my own and give anyone a run for their money on my own. If I don't get a job, I don't complain it must've been racism. I go get another skill or credential. I have an internal locus of control and it's great! It's empowering! At the risk of repeating myself, this country is a magnificent place. I am one of the most blessed human beings on this Earth and money plays only a small part of that statement. I am one generation removed from abject poverty where corruption (sorry to say, so similar to what we see happening on the left today) nearly guarantees a permanent underclass. Which by the way, that underclass competes for our manufacturing jobs for 20 cents on the dollar. In similar ways, the corruption , enslavement, and political servitude that my parents fled is now increasing in this country. That saddens me as a very proud American. One of the greatest inspirations in my life are my dad and mom. My father came to Los Angeles as a 5 year old not speaking a word of English. There wasn't nearly the support there is for non-native speakers. Nevertheless my father made it through high school, through lots of racial unrest (particularly with Latino and Black tensions), through racism and never did they take government assistance. My father stayed away from drugs and the gangs which he says were all over. It's a part of my family history that I don't forget. I drive by the house where my father was raised. And I drive into the cul-de-sac where I lived until I was 4 years old. And honestly it's emotional for me. So much sacrifice has been made by my parents to help me get where I am at today. My mother's father was murdered when she was 2. Even in the third-world country where she lived, she was able to fight for an education, didn't mess around with men (avoiding teenage pregnancy that is almost guaranteed in her homeland), and focused on studying accounting. She shares stories of how poor they were that they often had only had one egg to split with the 5 siblings for breakfast. She shares that she had to use candlelight to do homework because electricity would be cut off after 7 or 8 pm. It's these stories that make me realize, anything is possible with hard work in this country. No, the white man is not trying to keep me or my sons down. No my white CEO is not trying to keep my wages down because I'm Hispanic. There is opportunity all over the place! And this great country made that possible. But I don't look for government to grant me my success. The freedom to work hard is there for everyone. That is the principle I am raising my kids with. Trying to bring this back to gardening, I do share this with my kids. I have a lot of plants on a mere 8000 square foot lot. Blueberries, peaches, nectarines, citrus, apple trees, and a struggling persimmon tree and a Kishu Mini (overwatering maybe the problem). And its sometimes a pain to keep it under control but I do. And my kids notice the hard work that it takes to reap rewards from my investment. And I love it. We believe in a reap and sow world. It has paid dividends in my life and my wife's (who ironically comes from a similar background but definitely had more challenges than I did). My son has a friend who lives across the street. The mom is single. In fact she has 3 kids each with different fathers. God bless her she has done as good of a job as she can. Her kid is a good kid. But you know what that kid says to my kids? Vote for Clinton because my mom says I'll get free college. The contrast is my kids hear that college is a good option and that we are saving for it so that when the time comes, the money is there. It's two polar viewpoints and its not unlike what we see in the adult world. And by the way, I tell my kids, don't ever look at a politician as the solution to your problem. I encourage them to find the solution within themselves. I truly believe it's that paradigm that can help the poor climb out of poverty and the vicious cycles that perpetuate it. I'll share one more thing. I work in a typical corporate environment. I talk to everyone from upper management to security guards and the janitors. I really enjoy talking to this one security guard who is making minimum wage because he allows me to hear a very different perspective. He is an immigrant from a country where socialistic leanings have destroyed opportunity. It's a country where man of their taxi cab drivers are college-educated but cannot find work in their fields. Without me sharing my viewpoint on politics, he opened up about the election and said he gets angry at Hispanics because we should know better. We have fled countries like Venezuela and Cuba. My parents fled a country with one of the highest murder rates in the world (even compared to war zones! How is that even possible!). The utopian projects have failed so he says why do we come here and try to bring the principles of our failed homelands here! It was brilliant. That day I shared with my friends and coworkers, that he so eloquently describe my frustration with my own. It really frustrates me and frankly I'm not sure there is anyway to get most of them to get this major point. We must stop looking to government to fix our problems. It takes sacrifice and determination and the ability to fight temptations (like sex at 14 or 16 or blowing every penny you earn on cable tv, $100 phone plans, $600 phones, and new cars you can't afford). Well, the end of this race is near which means more time to garden! God Bless America.

Best tasting (in my personal opinion, which is very subjective) Mandarins: Satsuma (from a mature tree, takes years to develop full flavor) closely followed by Shasta Gold and Kishu Some people also really love Page (the aroma reminds me of pine needles, not in a bad way) Minneola Tangelos are of course a classic For oranges, Valencia is the one and only (if grown in a warm climate, because in cooler climates it may not develop full flavor and sweetness) Grapefruits: Duncan has "classic grapefruit flavor", the gold standard by which to measure grapefruit flavor (but is a bit seedy, and some people complain of grapefruit bitterness) Oroblanco is sort of like a milder version of Duncan, less bitterness, but a tiny bit less aroma also, still a great one. It's sweet, and even many people who don't care for grapefruits still think Oroblanco is okay.