Growing local

May 2013 Blog Posts (3)

Fun and Games with a Lemon tree

I can see why the marketers promote the Lots o'Lemons for pot culture! Left to itself in the ground, it has shot up 2m long thick branches. I’ve no idea if these branches would produce fruit and I bought the plant because it was supposed to be a dwarf form of a Meyer Lemon. So now it has been cut back to size. Next move in a couple of months time, is to remove the excess shoots from the cut ends. No pix of these, but check the cut ends of a citrus tree and see 3-6 new shoots. I…

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Added by Elaine de Saxe on May 25, 2013 at 22:00 — 4 Comments

What Not to Do with Dragon Fruit ...

... leave them on the plant too long!

Oh dear. I kept looking and squeezing, not being able to make up my mind. The plant made it up for me.

So look under the fruit and don't be fooled by the still-green part on top. And the squeeze-test with thumb and forefinger is to feel a rubbery yielding, not soft but just subtly softer than when hard and unripe.

When I looked under, wondering where the cloud of little insects (Vinegar Flies?) was coming from, I…

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Added by Elaine de Saxe on May 18, 2013 at 11:21 — 7 Comments

A Tale of Two Butterflies and a Weed Identification

Looking over the 'Lots o'Lemons' growing in the ground and not producing lotsa Lemons ... wondering whether to prune it. Always a delight to find some native animals have found a home in one of my trees.

This time it's 2 Swallowtail butterflies - or the babies have found munching Lemon leaves quite to their taste.

One is the Dainty Swallowtail Papilio anactus:…

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Added by Elaine de Saxe on May 2, 2013 at 22:00 — 3 Comments